Reforming Ukraine's Universities During a Crisis

Serhiy Kvit, Rector of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and outspoken blogger on higher education reform, became Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science in March 2014.  He worked quickly with the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) to enact the Law on Higher Education, to give much greater autonomy to the country’s universities and bring Ukrainian universities into compliance with the Bologna Agreement.  The military conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas has since caused internal displacement of university scholars and students and scientific researchers, while economic crisis hampers the government’s ability to implement needed reforms.  Minister Kvit will discuss the conditions and prospects for Ukrainian education and science in a time of economic and security uncertainty.

Serhiy Kvit has been Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science since February of 2014. He became President of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 2007 and was Dean of Social Studies from 2002 to 2007. He founded the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism in 2001 and became president of the Media Reform Centre, which was founded to initiate open debate and promote transparency in government media. He also served as chair of the Consortium on University Autonomy from 2005 to 2010. Kvit has a Ph.D from the Ukrainian Free University and also holds a doctorate in philology. He was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to Ohio University in 2006 and 2007, a Kennan Institute scholarship winner at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC in 2009, and held a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship at the University of Cologne in 2010. He has published several books and numerous articles and, prior to his appointment as Minister, maintained a regular blog for University World News.