Summer School 2026

KIU Summer School Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies:

Nationalities, minorities and identity: (Re)Configuring Ukraine?

Frankfurt (Oder), 07.09. – 18.09.2026

 

Viadrina University, together with its partner institutions, invites you to the second KIU Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Summer School!

Our international summer school is part of the Viadrina’s MA certificate program in Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies and will bring together students and scholars interested in historical, cultural, social, political, economic, law-based and conflict-related questions on and about Ukraine.

We invite you to discover Ukraine’s impressive ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and to learn more about its more than 100 minority and indigenous groups, their history and culture, and their situation in today’s Ukraine – including against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression. Communities such as Crimean Tatars, Roma and Sinti, Hungarians, Romanians, and Jews contribute significantly to Ukraine’s multilingual and multicultural landscape. Since 2014, and particularly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, minority groups have confronted increasing challenges related to displacement, security, and the safeguarding of human, social, and cultural rights. In territories under temporary Russian occupation, communities including the Crimean Tatars as well as the North Azovian Urums and Roumeans face systematic persecution and violence.

Through a series of intensive modules lasting between two and four academic units, the summer school will provide detailed and in-depth knowledge of minorities, nationalities, and collective identity in Ukraine in both historical and contemporary perspectives. Courses will focus on the multifaceted impacts of culture, diversity, heterogeneity, resistance, self-empowerment, and transnational integration on Ukrainian identity.

Furthermore, as at every KIU summer school, students have the opportunity to learn Ukrainian at various levels, attend courses on academic writing, and discover and discuss new visions of Europe in the exciting atmosphere of the German-Polish border.

Highlights include:

• A course on Crimean Tatar Studies: by Elmira Muratova from the European Centre for Minority Issues
• A course on the North Azovian Greeks, Urums and Rumeans: by NGO founder, activist and researcher Olha Tsuprykova
• Public Reading: Olesya Yaremchuk will read from her book ‘Our Others’
• Keynote Lecture: Svitlana Biedarieva on Ambicoloniality
• Workshop: ‘Mediation & Peace Processes’: In this workshop, students will learn the basics of conflict research, mediation and negotiation techniques, which are particularly relevant for the post-war period, for establishing a just post-war order, but also for understanding negotiation tactics. The workshop is organized by the Institute for Conflict Management at Viadrina University.

…plus courses in Ukrainian language (A1-B2) (18 x 90 minutes), academic writing (for Ukrainian native speakers), film screenings, public discussions, excursions, and much more to explore at Viadrina – the most Ukrainian university outside Ukraine1!

A number of travel grants, calculated in accordance with the rates of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the respective country of residence, will be available for participants with an active student status. In addition, a daily allowance (30 € for students of German universities, 42 € for students of international universities) can be offered. Accommodation will be provided on a paid basis (ca. 110 € for the whole duration of the summer school) in the student residence in Słubice (Poland).

Students at bachelor's, master's and doctoral level both from German and international universities are invited to participate. Please provide your CV information, a motivational letter of up to 800 words, specifying your particular interest in the topic of the summer school, your specialization in your studies and information on further activities such as volunteer work, activism, experiences related to the topic etc.

Interested persons who are not students can also apply and participate in all courses while they are not eligible for any reimbursements. The summer school is currently undergoing the accreditation process to be recognised as a continuing professional development course under the educational leave scheme (Bildungsurlaub) and is expected to be recognised as such by the state of Berlin.

Applications can be submitted from 01 June 2026 via the KIU application portal. Applicants must register in advance. The application deadline is 01 July 2025. Notifications regarding participation will be sent out on 15 July 2025.

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1 rated by a Ukrainian Scholar at a KIU conference