October 2024 marks a significant milestone in our TransLearnN project: we are celebrating our first anniversary, and it is already the halfway point in the project. Thus, in addition to implementing the numerous activities, we are also reflecting on what has happened so far and planning for the coming year.

It has to be said that we have taken on a lot – a project consortium of 10 universities wants to form a network including three working groups working on very different topics as well as to develop three courses jointly. The goals we have set ourselves are to align ourselves more closely and more explicit with the principles of sustainability in university management and teaching (internal change); to promote and shape sustainable societal change through partnerships and collaborations outside the academic world (cooperation & societal change); and to strengthen the role of universities at the political level, thereby also advocating for a more sustainable reconstruction process in Ukraine (national level).

The freedom of Ukraine, of its universities and of its people is existentially threatened. Every day. Thus, we see the necessity to confront this incomprehensible threat together and to courageously tackle fundamental reforms. We are aware that the challenges, even apart from the war of aggression, are enormous due to structural and historical conditions, and that these cannot be solved within a small two-year project. But we want to lay the foundations and, at best, get things moving. To do this, we need to find allies, ideally people and initiatives that are already working in the same direction, to support them and to get involved. This is what our project is mainly about: developing a common language, learning to develop and implement things together and then showing this to the larger community and the public and inviting them to join in.

Since the composition of partners is very large, diverse and also new, it was extremely important to meet in person at the beginning of the project. The kick-off event took place in Germany in December 2023 with about 60 people attending. This was followed by an introspective; surveys were conducted at all universities and reports on the understanding and implementation of sustainability at universities and in various sectors of the economy were compiled. At the same time, the three working groups in the TransLearnN network were formed, focusing on the topics of (1) sustainable university management, (2) sustainable community development, and (3) biosphere (reserve) research. The sustainable community development group in particular developed many great initiatives and project ideas, which are already in the process of being implemented. A guideline document and a platform for further exchange are being developed for the topic of ‘sustainable university management’ that will continue to be used after the project. And in the biosphere research group, various activities and platforms are being tried out to improve communication and knowledge exchange between universities and protected areas in Ukraine.

Since July, the project has started the process of course development – 3 courses are being developed in parallel by all universities to develop skills to deal with the new challenges of war and reconstruction. The focus is on (1) adaptive management, (2) sustainable business and (3) risk management. Here too, but not only here, challenges arise due to the different levels of experience and geographical locations of the partners and thus the impacts of war. Capacities are lost due to the daily threat situation, even online communication is not always possible, and of course this has a huge impact on the mental health of colleagues. And all this on top of the usual and everyday challenges in a large and new project consortium. But nevertheless, we recognise the successes that we already created jointly in just one year, the processes that got pushed, the new connections that were built.

In the coming months we will finalise the course materials, launch two platforms, implement three spring schools and organise our final big event in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Watch out for publications, invitations and announcements!

Get in touch with the Ukrainian network -> reach out to Viktoriia Khrutba

Get in touch with the project coordination -> reach out to Angela Dichte