Research and teaching on Ukraine: Center launches at Viadrina
At the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Ukraine will be given more space in research and teaching in future. On Thursday, the Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies was opened as a new academic institution. It was founded in July. The existing Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies was expanded to accommodate the new center.
Research projects are to be developed and courses offered at the new center. There are additional opportunities for intensive academic study of the history and culture, politics and society of Ukraine.
In addition, the institution aims to offer a transfer of knowledge about Ukraine to society that is also accessible to the public and to work closely with academic institutions in Europe and overseas. According to the university, it maintains the closest contacts to Eastern Europe with Ukraine and Poland.
"Viadrina has a special mission, it is located on the German-Polish border and has always been committed to successful communication and cooperation with our neighbors in Eastern Europe. Ukraine has played an important role in this from the very beginning," said Viadrina President Eduard Mühle. Institutional structures are now being created in order to pursue this even more intensively. Poland and Ukraine are closely intertwined in their history and therefore cannot be viewed in isolation, explained the President of the University.
With the new center, the European University is also following up on the initiative of Brandenburg's Science Minister Manja Schüle to establish a special Ukraine Center in Frankfurt (Oder) in order to strengthen German and international Ukraine research in the long term. With the launch of the Center for Polish and Ukrainian Studies, Schüle sees Viadrina University as a bridge builder to its neighbors. "At a time when bridges are being destroyed and broken down all over the world, we need these symbols of hope and encounter more than ever," emphasized the Minister of Science.
The new Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies at Viadrina will focus on developing research projects and offering courses related to Ukraine's history, culture, politics, and society. This center aims to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about Ukraine to the public and foster close collaboration with European and overseas academic institutions.
Source: www.dpa.com
