Invisible University for Ukraine Summer School Brings Leading Scholars to Budapest to Discuss Ukraine's Future
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, July 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion while planning for its long-term recovery, the Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) will bring together some of the country's most promising students and leading Ukrainian and international scholars for its fifth annual Summer School, Between Pasts and Futures: Competing Legacies, Narratives and Visions of the Future in Ukraine and Beyond.
Taking place in Budapest and Lviv from 1–12 July 2026, the Summer School explores the ideas, institutions, and historical debates that will shape Ukraine's democratic future, European integration, and post-war reconstruction.
With this Summer School, the Invisible University for Ukraine completes its ninth semester overall. Launched in March 2022 as an initiative of academic solidarity to support students and scholars whose education was disrupted by Russia's full-scale invasion, IUFU has evolved into one of the most significant educational initiatives in the world supporting Ukraine's academic community. What began as an emergency response has become an intellectual space where Ukrainian and international scholars jointly examine some of the defining questions facing Ukraine, Europe, and the wider world.
This year's Summer School brings together 60 outstanding students from the IUFU program alongside internationally renowned scholars from institutions including Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, Emory University, the University of Alberta, the University of Konstanz, Tallinn University, Lund University, Kyiv School of Economics, Bard College, and Central European University.
Throughout the program, participants engage in lectures and events around the role of civil society in preserving and renewing democracy. Further, the long-term legacies of genocidal violence, Ukraine's path towards European integration, memory politics, post-war reconstruction and democratic resilience. Together, these discussions demonstrate how rebuilding Ukraine is not only about physical reconstruction but also about fostering critical thinking and preparing the next generation of scholars and civic leaders.
Program highlights for media coverage: Tuesday, 7 July
Journalists are warmly invited to attend the Summer School on Tuesday, 7 July, when discussions focus on Ukraine's institutional transformation, student research, wartime resilience, and Europe's future.
Program highlights include:
Ukraine's Path to the European Union: Meeting Rule of Law and Judicial Independence Standards, featuring Olesia Tragniuk (Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University) and Nuria Magaldi (University of Córdoba), exploring judicial reforms, constitutional democracy, and Ukraine's progress towards EU accession.
Student Research Conference, where participants present original research on topics including memory politics, cultural heritage preservation, wartime civil society, security policy, law, media, identity, and democratic resilience.
Lessons Learned from Tactical Medicine, a practical workshop led by Maiia Novkovych (Prytula Foundation), demonstrating how methods developed in wartime medicine can improve decision-making and crisis management far beyond military contexts.
CEU's 35th Anniversary Presidential Lecture: "Growth Through Fire: Ukraine Is Building the Future Before the War Ends," delivered by Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of the Kyiv School of Economics. The lecture explores how Ukraine continues to innovate, strengthen democratic institutions, and invest in education despite the ongoing war, offering valuable lessons for Europe and the international community.
Program highlights for media coverage: Wednesday, 8 July
On Wednesday, 8 July, the program turns to one of the central challenges facing the next generation of scholars: producing impactful research in times of war and rapid political change.
Highlights include:
Writing Day, an intensive series of workshops where students work directly with experienced scholars and editors to strengthen academic writing, discuss responsible uses of AI in research, and prepare publications.
From Research to Policy Analytics: Translating Evidence into Impact, exploring how academic research can influence policymaking and public debate.
How Do We Do a PhD in the 2020s?, an open discussion on academic careers, international collaboration, funding opportunities, and conducting research during periods of global uncertainty.
Literary Evening with Marianna Kiyanovs'ka, one of Ukraine's most acclaimed contemporary poets and recipient of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize. Her internationally recognised work, including The Voices of Babyn Yar, explores memory, responsibility, war, and the legacy of violence—themes that resonate strongly with the Summer School's broader intellectual agenda.
Why This Year's Summer School Matters
Reflecting on the completion of the ninth semester of the Invisible University for Ukraine, Ostap Sereda, Academic Director of the program, says:
"When we launched the Invisible University for Ukraine in March 2022, none of us imagined that we would still be running the program more than four years later. What began as an initiative of academic solidarity has grown into a unique intellectual community. Today, the program not only helps mitigate the immediate consequences of war but also provides a stimulating space for discussing some of the most important – and often most difficult – questions concerning Ukraine's past, present, and future in an open, reflective, and transdisciplinary way."
Balazs Trencsenyi, Professor of History at CEU Vienna and Director of the CEU Institute for Advanced Study in Budapest, as well as co-organizer of IUFU, says:
"The Summer School is built collaboratively by our students, mentors, and faculty, who together shape the program's intellectual agenda. This year's discussions focus on issues that are crucial not only for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole: the role of civil society in preserving and renewing democracy, the long legacies of genocidal violence and how societies come to terms with them, and the opportunities and challenges of Ukraine's path towards European integration. These are conversations about rethinking and rebuilding – not only infrastructure, but also institutional practices and intellectual agendas, thus empowering the next generation of people who will shape Ukraine's future."
Distinguished Speakers Throughout the Summer School
The Summer School features leading scholars and public intellectuals including Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University), Stephen Kotkin (Stanford University), Aleida Assmann (University of Konstanz), John-Paul Himka (University of Alberta), Jason Francisco (Emory University), Liisi Keedus (Tallinn University), Andriy Portnov, Tymofiy Mylovanov, and many others.
The program provides participants with unique opportunities to exchange ideas across disciplines and national borders while developing the knowledge, critical thinking, and international networks that will contribute to Ukraine's future as a democratic European state.
About the Invisible University for Ukraine & Visible Ukraine
The Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) is a transnational academic initiative that provides accredited university courses, mentoring, and an international intellectual community for Ukrainian students whose education has been disrupted by war. More than preserving academic continuity, IUFU prepares a new generation of scholars, policymakers, journalists, legal experts, and civic leaders who will help shape Ukraine's recovery and long-term development.
IUFU scholars and participants also form the core editorial and intellectual community behind Visible Ukraine, an open-access online journal that connects academic research with public debate. Together, IUFU and Visible Ukraine counter intellectual isolation, challenge dominant narratives, and ensure that Ukrainian perspectives are represented in global conversations about democracy, war, memory, and reconstruction.
About Central European University
Founded in 1991 and based in Vienna since 2019, Central European University (CEU) is a non-profit private university with around 1,500 students from more than 100 countries pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs accredited both in the United States and Austria. With more than 200 outstanding faculty members and researchers, CEU maintains an excellent student–faculty ratio and consistent external recognition through prestigious research awards and third-party funded projects. CEU is committed to equal opportunity, diversity, open societies, and freedom of expression – exemplified through initiatives such as the “Invisible University for Ukraine.”
CEU maintains a research and civic engagement presence in Budapest through the CEU Democracy Institute, the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archivum (OSA), the Roma Graduate Preparation Program (RGPP), the CEU Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and the CEU Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine (CELAB), as well as a wide range of public educational programs, lectures, and cultural events, organized by the Civic Engagement, Arts and Culture Unit.
Taking place in Budapest and Lviv from 1–12 July 2026, the Summer School explores the ideas, institutions, and historical debates that will shape Ukraine's democratic future, European integration, and post-war reconstruction.
With this Summer School, the Invisible University for Ukraine completes its ninth semester overall. Launched in March 2022 as an initiative of academic solidarity to support students and scholars whose education was disrupted by Russia's full-scale invasion, IUFU has evolved into one of the most significant educational initiatives in the world supporting Ukraine's academic community. What began as an emergency response has become an intellectual space where Ukrainian and international scholars jointly examine some of the defining questions facing Ukraine, Europe, and the wider world.
This year's Summer School brings together 60 outstanding students from the IUFU program alongside internationally renowned scholars from institutions including Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, Emory University, the University of Alberta, the University of Konstanz, Tallinn University, Lund University, Kyiv School of Economics, Bard College, and Central European University.
Throughout the program, participants engage in lectures and events around the role of civil society in preserving and renewing democracy. Further, the long-term legacies of genocidal violence, Ukraine's path towards European integration, memory politics, post-war reconstruction and democratic resilience. Together, these discussions demonstrate how rebuilding Ukraine is not only about physical reconstruction but also about fostering critical thinking and preparing the next generation of scholars and civic leaders.
Program highlights for media coverage: Tuesday, 7 July
Journalists are warmly invited to attend the Summer School on Tuesday, 7 July, when discussions focus on Ukraine's institutional transformation, student research, wartime resilience, and Europe's future.
Program highlights include:
Ukraine's Path to the European Union: Meeting Rule of Law and Judicial Independence Standards, featuring Olesia Tragniuk (Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University) and Nuria Magaldi (University of Córdoba), exploring judicial reforms, constitutional democracy, and Ukraine's progress towards EU accession.
Student Research Conference, where participants present original research on topics including memory politics, cultural heritage preservation, wartime civil society, security policy, law, media, identity, and democratic resilience.
Lessons Learned from Tactical Medicine, a practical workshop led by Maiia Novkovych (Prytula Foundation), demonstrating how methods developed in wartime medicine can improve decision-making and crisis management far beyond military contexts.
CEU's 35th Anniversary Presidential Lecture: "Growth Through Fire: Ukraine Is Building the Future Before the War Ends," delivered by Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of the Kyiv School of Economics. The lecture explores how Ukraine continues to innovate, strengthen democratic institutions, and invest in education despite the ongoing war, offering valuable lessons for Europe and the international community.
Program highlights for media coverage: Wednesday, 8 July
On Wednesday, 8 July, the program turns to one of the central challenges facing the next generation of scholars: producing impactful research in times of war and rapid political change.
Highlights include:
Writing Day, an intensive series of workshops where students work directly with experienced scholars and editors to strengthen academic writing, discuss responsible uses of AI in research, and prepare publications.
From Research to Policy Analytics: Translating Evidence into Impact, exploring how academic research can influence policymaking and public debate.
How Do We Do a PhD in the 2020s?, an open discussion on academic careers, international collaboration, funding opportunities, and conducting research during periods of global uncertainty.
Literary Evening with Marianna Kiyanovs'ka, one of Ukraine's most acclaimed contemporary poets and recipient of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize. Her internationally recognised work, including The Voices of Babyn Yar, explores memory, responsibility, war, and the legacy of violence—themes that resonate strongly with the Summer School's broader intellectual agenda.
Why This Year's Summer School Matters
Reflecting on the completion of the ninth semester of the Invisible University for Ukraine, Ostap Sereda, Academic Director of the program, says:
"When we launched the Invisible University for Ukraine in March 2022, none of us imagined that we would still be running the program more than four years later. What began as an initiative of academic solidarity has grown into a unique intellectual community. Today, the program not only helps mitigate the immediate consequences of war but also provides a stimulating space for discussing some of the most important – and often most difficult – questions concerning Ukraine's past, present, and future in an open, reflective, and transdisciplinary way."
Balazs Trencsenyi, Professor of History at CEU Vienna and Director of the CEU Institute for Advanced Study in Budapest, as well as co-organizer of IUFU, says:
"The Summer School is built collaboratively by our students, mentors, and faculty, who together shape the program's intellectual agenda. This year's discussions focus on issues that are crucial not only for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole: the role of civil society in preserving and renewing democracy, the long legacies of genocidal violence and how societies come to terms with them, and the opportunities and challenges of Ukraine's path towards European integration. These are conversations about rethinking and rebuilding – not only infrastructure, but also institutional practices and intellectual agendas, thus empowering the next generation of people who will shape Ukraine's future."
Distinguished Speakers Throughout the Summer School
The Summer School features leading scholars and public intellectuals including Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University), Stephen Kotkin (Stanford University), Aleida Assmann (University of Konstanz), John-Paul Himka (University of Alberta), Jason Francisco (Emory University), Liisi Keedus (Tallinn University), Andriy Portnov, Tymofiy Mylovanov, and many others.
The program provides participants with unique opportunities to exchange ideas across disciplines and national borders while developing the knowledge, critical thinking, and international networks that will contribute to Ukraine's future as a democratic European state.
About the Invisible University for Ukraine & Visible Ukraine
The Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) is a transnational academic initiative that provides accredited university courses, mentoring, and an international intellectual community for Ukrainian students whose education has been disrupted by war. More than preserving academic continuity, IUFU prepares a new generation of scholars, policymakers, journalists, legal experts, and civic leaders who will help shape Ukraine's recovery and long-term development.
IUFU scholars and participants also form the core editorial and intellectual community behind Visible Ukraine, an open-access online journal that connects academic research with public debate. Together, IUFU and Visible Ukraine counter intellectual isolation, challenge dominant narratives, and ensure that Ukrainian perspectives are represented in global conversations about democracy, war, memory, and reconstruction.
About Central European University
Founded in 1991 and based in Vienna since 2019, Central European University (CEU) is a non-profit private university with around 1,500 students from more than 100 countries pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs accredited both in the United States and Austria. With more than 200 outstanding faculty members and researchers, CEU maintains an excellent student–faculty ratio and consistent external recognition through prestigious research awards and third-party funded projects. CEU is committed to equal opportunity, diversity, open societies, and freedom of expression – exemplified through initiatives such as the “Invisible University for Ukraine.”
CEU maintains a research and civic engagement presence in Budapest through the CEU Democracy Institute, the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archivum (OSA), the Roma Graduate Preparation Program (RGPP), the CEU Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and the CEU Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine (CELAB), as well as a wide range of public educational programs, lectures, and cultural events, organized by the Civic Engagement, Arts and Culture Unit.
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