SUSTAINABLE POST-WAR RECOVERY OF BORDER UNIVERSITIES IN UKRAINE: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31499/2306-5532.1-2.2025.346716Keywords:
higher education institution; sustainable development; digital technologies; Sustainable Development Goals; borderland universities; post-war university recovery model.Abstract
The full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has drastically transformed the operation and mission of Ukrainian higher education institutions, especially border universities exposed to heightened risks. These institutions have faced infrastructure damage, relocation of staff and students, and disruptions to educational and research activities. Despite the conflict, they have acted as community hubs, providing shelter, material support, psychological assistance, and integration services for internally displaced persons, highlighting the increasing importance of the "third mission" of universities - engagement with society. This study proposes a conceptual model for the sustainable post-war recovery of Ukrainian border universities, based on sustainable development principles and digital transformation. The model comprises five interconnected blocks: strategic-target, functional-structural, partnership, digitalization, and monitoring-evaluation. The strategic-target block emphasizes safety, educational quality, research relevance, and sustainable leadership. The functional-structural block addresses renovation and reconstruction of campuses, resilience of processes, and institutional adaptability. The partnership block relies on the Quadruple Helix model, fostering collaboration between academia, industry, government, and civil society to generate synergistic effects for universities, local businesses, and communities. The digitalization block focuses on AI, big data, IoT, blockchain, and cloud technologies to enhance interactivity, remote experimentation, campus security, and institutional efficiency. The monitoring-evaluation block provides indicators to assess strategic alignment, financial sustainability, educational quality, digital competence, security, and partnership outcomes. The proposed model enables border universities to adopt a "build back better" approach, transitioning to a higher level of development that strengthens societal impact, competitiveness, and international recognition. Integrating sustainable development and digitalization ensures resilience, adaptability, and the capacity to meet post-war challenges, contributing to the systematic reconstruction of higher education in Ukraine.
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