University and War: Life Beyond the Red Line

Abstract

This article analyzes the transformation of Ukrainian universities in the context of the full-scale war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The authors examine how higher education institutions were faced with the need to make strategic decisions in a situation of existential threat and to fulfill the role of institutions of state stability. Based on the case study of the State University of Economics and Technology (Kryvyi Rih), three stages of the university's transformation in wartime are revealed: overcoming the shock period, forming and implementing protocols for wartime functioning, and transitioning to strategic development focused on recovery and innovation.