The full-scale invasion into Ukraine by a neighbouring state has accelerated the spread of the Ukrainian agenda in the EU academic circles. Increasingly, Ukrainian scholars are participating in joint research projects or teaching at leading EU universities.

A special area of such cooperation is the organisation of joint international events dedicated to Ukraine with European partners. One of them, called “Lunch Talks with Lviv”, was recently launched with the direct participation of Taras Romashchenko, associate professor of the Department of Economics and International Economic Relations.

“Bielefeld University, where I continue my research and teach as a guest professor, has launched this semester a joint educational project with its Ukrainian partner, Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). This is a series of online meetings between representatives of these universities and other interested parties to discuss the current state of intellectual life and challenges in Ukraine, particularly in the context of the ongoing war.

Given my objective involvement in both Ukraine and Germany, I was invited by Prof. Dr. Kornelia Kończal to co-chair and organise the first season of “Lunch Talks with Lviv” on behalf of Bielefeld University”, said Taras Romashchenko.

The premiere session took place last Monday and was dedicated to the launch of the book “Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation” by UCU professor Yaroslav Hrytsak. The prominent Ukrainian historian not only answered questions from the participants of the online broadcast about the defining pages of the Ukrainian past in the global context, but also revealed interesting facts about the writing of the book, the importance of which for contemporaries and future generations of Ukrainians can hardly be overestimated.

According to Taras Romashchenko, in the first season of “Lunch Talks with Lviv”, a total of six German-Ukrainian academic discussions on topics relevant to modern Ukraine are planned. If interested, teachers and students of Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy can also join future online conversations. The language of the discussion is English.

Department of Economics and International Economic Relations