The role of international assistance in restoring work of displaced higher education institutions: experience of V. Dahl EUNU

Abstract

Education is one of the basic human rights, which lays the foundation for the development of the country as a whole and its regions. There is a significant number of higher educa-tion institutions in Ukraine, which promote this right. There are also displaced higher education institutions in Ukraine, that were forced to relocate in 2014 due to the armed conflict. The forced displacement of educational institutions has signif-icantly affected the sustainability of their operation due to the loss of their material and technical base, and human re-sources, the impact of negative factors such as proximity to the contact line, departure of population from Donetsk and Luhansk regions etc. The goal of the article is to explore the role of international assistance in restoring the work of dis-placed higher education institutions, in particular, on the ex-ample of Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University (V. Dahl EUNU).

The article states that displacement of higher education institutions to new locations was a complex process that could be accompanied by conflicts, difficult adaptation etc. In 2016 the Council of Rectors of Displaced Higher Education Institu-tions was established as an advisory body to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. This Council contributed to the support of these institutions and the protection of rights of participants in the educational process. However, the inter-national community has provided the most significant support for the restoration of institutions’ functioning through various assistance programs and projects.

Today V. Dahl EUNU, like other relocated higher edu-cation institutions, has become a full participant in the re-gional development process, a centre of cohesion and active.