Digital transformation ahead of schedule. How Ukrainian universities survive and transform in times of war. An interview with Kateryna Suprun.

After the full-scale war in Ukraine started in February 2022, local universities were taken by surprise and had to adapt to a completely new and unpredictable reality overnight. After the first destructions, ongoing missile attacks and Russian troops coming closer to Ukrainian cities, academic institutions went “on hold” to figure out what to do next in this situation. It took them a few weeks to get used to the new reality and resume their work. Digital alternatives provided help in a situation in which usual work on site was not possible or hindered. We asked Kateryna Suprun - the acting head of the Digital Transformation of Education and Science Expert Group at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine - to give us some insights about the fast-track digital transformation Ukrainian universities are going through now. Several universities in the country have been either completely destroyed or damaged. Most recently, the central building of the Taras Shevchenko National University standing in the center of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv suffered from an explosion nearby. At the same time, the interview itself illustrated the dramatic circumstances of this process: the online-talk was disrupted by air raid siren alerts. Possible ways to support the Ukrainian academic system will be discussed with Kateryna Suprun at an Open Space event of the Stifterverband on October 28 2022.