The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta is celebrating its 50th anniversary. During this time, the institute has awarded at least 1,742 research honors, grants, and scholarships. Of these, 883—or about 51%—were awarded to Ukrainian scholars and institutions.
To mark the anniversary, the institute will host an international symposium titled “Recentring the Humanities: Ukraine and the World” (Recentring the Humanities: Ukraine and the World). It will take place October 28–30, 2026, in Edmonton, with the option to participate online upon prior registration.
Among the confirmed participants are Oleksandra Matviychuk, director of the Center for Civil Liberties; Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People; historians Serhii Plokhy and Yaroslav Hrytsak; philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko; and Metropolitan Borys Gudziak.
Participants will discuss how Ukraine’s experience—particularly its resistance to Russian aggression—is shaping international debates on history, human rights, democracy, and cultural identity.
A highlight of the symposium will be a lecture by Metropolitan Boris Gudziak titled “The World Has Never Been So Ukrainian: Challenges and Opportunities for the Global Ukrainian Community.” It will take place on October 28 at the Horowitz Theater at the University of Alberta to mark the 25th anniversary of the Bohdan Bociurkiw Memorial Lecture Series.
The program will be complemented by exhibitions on the history of the Ukrainian Canadian Institute of Studies (UCIS), the connection between George Orwell’s work and the Holodomor, and childhood on the Canadian prairies in the 1930s.
The symposium will open on October 28 at the University of Alberta. The main discussions on October 29–30 will take place at the Edmonton Convention Center.
The CIUS’s contribution to the development of Ukrainian humanities cannot be overstated: the CIUS currently comprises 11 research centers and programs. They study the Holodomor, medieval and early modern Ukrainian history, contemporary social processes, the Ukrainian language and methods of teaching it, as well as the history of Ukrainians in Canada and other countries.
One of the key areas of focus concerns the history of Ukrainian statehood. The Petro Yatsyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Studies, led by historian Frank Sysyn, is working on fundamental historical projects. The Institute also supports research on Baturyn, the former capital of the Hetmanate, as well as the publication and preservation of its historical heritage.
Crimean Tatar studies constitute a separate area of focus. Over the past two years, the KIUS has allocated more than half a million Canadian dollars—from its own funds and external grants—to their development. This work helps to present the history of Crimea through the lens of the peninsula’s indigenous people and to counter Russian imperial interpretations.
Among the institute’s long-term projects is the English-language Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. It provides an international audience with scholarly, verified information on Ukrainian history, culture, and society. Through the Petro Yatsyk Program for the Study of Contemporary Ukraine and other academic initiatives, KIUS supports Ukrainian researchers, their publications, and international scholarly exchanges.
History and Interesting Facts
KIUS was founded in 1976 with the support of the provincial government, the University of Alberta, and the active participation of the Ukrainian community in Canada. Its mission is to study the history, language, culture, and society of Ukraine, as well as the Ukrainian experience beyond its borders.
The institute made its first payment to an institution in Ukraine in 1987–1988. The Central Scientific Library in Kyiv received $1,000 for catalogs of its newspaper collections.
As early as 1989–1990, the KIUS hosted nearly 100 scholars from Ukraine. The Institute became one of the hubs through which Ukrainian researchers established contacts with the academic community in North America. As early as 1989–1990, the KIUS hosted nearly 100 scholars from Ukraine. The Institute became one of the hubs through which Ukrainian researchers established contacts with the North American academic community. After 1990, Ukraine accounted for approximately 60% of all the Institute’s research awards, grants, and scholarships.
Cooperation also encompassed legislative reforms and the development of democratic institutions. Through the KIUS, a legislative project worth 4 million Canadian dollars was implemented from 1996 to 2000, and the CULIP program, worth approximately 4 million, was carried out from 2000 to 2003. A significant portion of the funding for both initiatives was provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Other areas of support included the Petro Yatsyk Program in Lviv, worth 1 million Canadian dollars, and a project to ensure the transparency of the 2004 elections, worth 250,000 Canadian dollars.
Natalia Hanenko-Friesen, Director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, and Serhiy Tsipko, Deputy Director for Research, gave a tour of the exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of CIUS to Bill Flanagan, President of the University of Alberta
Natalia Hanenko-Friesen, Director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, leads a tour of the exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of CIUS for Bill Flanagan, President of the University of Alberta.
The General Assembly of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine elected Oleg Topuzov as president of the Academy for a five-year term—from September 18, 2026, to September 17, 2031.
According to the results of a secret ballot, 185 assembly members supported his candidacy, nine voted against, and two ballots were deemed invalid. Topuzov was the only candidate for the position.
He succeeded Vasily Kremen, who had led the academy since 1997. The General Assembly unanimously elected Kremen as honorary president of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences for life.
In presenting the academy’s development program, Topuzov outlined four core principles of operation: continuity, competence, openness, and effectiveness.
“My task is not to start from scratch. My task is to preserve the best of what we have and, together with you, to usher in a new phase of our academy’s development,” he stated.
Among the main areas of focus for the new leadership, Topuzov highlighted strengthening the influence of educational science on the formation of state education policy, rebuilding human capital, overcoming educational gaps, supporting young scholars, and researching the impact of artificial intelligence on the education system.
One of the key initiatives is to be a systematic foresight study on the development of education in Ukraine through 2035. It will cover possible scenarios for the development of preschool, K-12, vocational, higher, and adult education, taking into account demographic changes, labor market needs, technological development, and European integration.
“Our research should not end with just monographs, articles, or recommendations. It must influence government decisions,” Topuzov emphasized.
He identified scientific support for education during wartime and postwar reconstruction as a separate priority. This refers, in particular, to the psychological resilience of children and youth, support for educators, inclusion, and the reintegration of veterans and Ukrainians returning from abroad.
According to the new president of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Ukraine’s recovery must begin with the restoration of human capital.
Topuzov also proposed launching a university-wide program titled “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Education.” Research should cover changes in the role of teachers, approaches to assessing knowledge, issues of academic integrity, and the competencies students will need over the next 10–20 years.
The NAPN’s European integration will involve expanding joint research, participating in international consortia and programs such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, and COST, promoting academic mobility, and increasing the number of joint international publications.
For young researchers, there are plans to create the “Young Scientist of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine” program, which will provide grant support, mentorship, international mobility, and participation in major research projects.
During the annual meeting, the results of the NAPN’s activities for 2017–2026 were also presented. During this period, the Academy’s institutions completed 163 fundamental and 195 applied research projects, produced more than 14,000 scientific articles, and published over 250 monographs, preprints, and other scientific works.
The NAPN’s electronic library collection has grown to 40,000 full-text resources, and the number of downloads has reached 19 million. The Academy’s institutions participated annually in nearly 50 international scientific and educational projects and programs.
During the meeting, the Academy’s new leadership was also formed. Volodymyr Lugovoy and Vitaliy Panko were elected vice presidents of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, and a new presidium was formed consisting of 29 members, 22 of whom had not previously served on it.
The National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine conducts fundamental and applied research in the fields of education, pedagogy, and psychology; participates in the development of educational standards, curricula, and textbooks; and provides scientific support for reforms in the education system.
Ukrainian universities are joining the European Researchers’ Night initiative, which will take place on September 25 this year. Specifically, Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University will host “Science Night 2026” on that day, while Lviv Polytechnic is coordinating a separate European Researchers’ Night 2026–2027 project as part of the Horizon Europe program.
According to Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic, “Science Night 2026” will take place on September 25 on the university campus and will be aimed primarily at schoolchildren, prospective students, and young people. The program includes interactive experiments, scientific demonstrations, a children’s science conference, and international events featuring foreign partners. The event will be held with due consideration for the security situation; the university notes that shelters are available.
A separate international conference as part of “Science Night” is also scheduled for September 25. Researchers from European universities are expected to participate.
In addition, for the first time at this level, Ukraine is represented by a separate project in the European Researchers’ Night program. Lviv Polytechnic has become the coordinator of the international project STEM for Science, Technology, Awareness & Researchers (STEM4STAR), selected for funding under the
European Researchers’ Night and Researchers at Schools 2026–2027 program of Horizon Europe.
According to the university, 241 applications from various European countries were submitted to the competition, and funding was recommended for 49 projects. STEM4STAR received the highest scores from experts across all criteria. The project involves organizing science festivals, European Researchers’ Night events, demonstrations of modern technologies, geospatial games, mapping challenges, mapathons, STEM programs, and startup competitions in Lviv. Some sessions will also take place in schools and colleges across Western Ukraine.
European Researchers’ Night is a pan-European initiative funded by the EU through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. In 2026, the main event will take place on September 25. According to the European Research Council, over 1 million participants are expected across approximately 40 countries. Universities and research institutions will host open labs, experiments, science shows, discussions, exhibitions, and interactive events for the general public.
Forbes has published its 50 Over 50: Innovation 2026 list, which includes 50 women over the age of 50 who continue to exert a significant influence on science, medicine, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, space research, industry and the technology business. The ranking was published on August 11, 2026, and is part of the broader Forbes 50 Over 50 project, which includes a total of 200 women in four categories — Innovation, Impact, Investment and Lifestyle.
An important clarification is that Forbes does not assign all 50 participants positions from No. 1 to No. 50. On the main Innovation page, the names are listed alphabetically. The de facto exception was Ritu Narayan, founder of the transportation startup Zum, whom both the company and the entrepreneur herself describe as the “No. 1 honoree” in the Innovation category and the face of the issue’s cover. However, Forbes did not publish a complete numerical ranking of the remaining 49 positions.
Narayan, who grew up in India and built her career in Silicon Valley, created Zum, a technology platform modernizing the U.S. school bus system using artificial intelligence, GPS and electric vehicles. Forbes values the startup at approximately $1.7 billion, with 2025 revenue of $333 million.
The 50 honorees also include Stanford professor Zhenan Bao, who works on electronic skin and wearable electronics; 2025 Nobel Prize laureate Mary Brunkow; NASA science program leader Nicola Fox; MIT School of Engineering dean Paula Hammond; MIT professor and developer of wireless medical technologies Dina Katabi; Takeda head Julie Kim; astrophysicist and dean of MIT’s School of Science Nergis Mavalvala; former Yahoo chief and Dazzle AI founder Marissa Mayer; HubSpot chief Yamini Rangan; Cummins leader Jennifer Rumsey, and many others.
An analysis by Experts.News reveals an interesting geography of the list. Forbes itself does not publish separate statistics by nationality, so it is more accurate to speak about the countries of birth and origins of the participants. By this measure, the United States clearly dominates: most of the women in the Innovation-50 were born and built their careers specifically within the American scientific and entrepreneurial environment.
Among the participants born outside the United States, several countries stand out. Serbia is represented by two natives — Vunjak-Novakovic and Matarić. India — Ritu Narayan and Yamini Rangan. China — Zhenan Bao and Michelle Zhou. Morocco — Bahija Jallal and Wafaa Mamilli. Serbia therefore belongs to a small group of countries that produced two participants in the Innovation-50. Zhou’s Chinese origin is confirmed by the Association for Computing Machinery, while Mamilli herself lists Casablanca as her city of birth; Roche lists her citizenships as French, Moroccan and U.S.
Among other countries, Pakistan, Syria, South Korea, Thailand, France, the United Kingdom and Israel each have one participant on the list. For example, Nergis Mavalvala was born in Lahore, Pakistan; Dina Katabi in Damascus; Julie Kim in Seoul; Thai Lee in Thailand; Aude Oliva in France; Nicola Fox in Hitchin, England; and Daphne Zohar in Israel.
At the same time, the list’s main geographical conclusion concerns not so much passports as the concentration of talent within the American innovation ecosystem. Even most of the women born in Serbia, India, China, Pakistan, Syria, South Korea or France now work at American universities and companies — MIT, Stanford, Columbia, USC, Berkeley, HubSpot, Cummins and other organizations. Four participants on the list are associated with MIT alone — Paula Hammond, Dina Katabi, Nergis Mavalvala and Aude Oliva.
For a Ukrainian audience, it is notable that there are no Ukraine-born women in the Forbes 50 Over 50: Innovation 2026 category. However, the structure of the list itself demonstrates a model that is also relevant to Ukraine: a significant share of the most successful scientists and technology entrepreneurs are migrants or people originating from other countries who developed and implemented their innovations after integrating into major international universities, research centers and venture ecosystems. In this respect, the example of the two women born in Belgrade is particularly illustrative for Eastern European countries.
The full Innovation-50 includes Maya Ajmera, Lauren Antonoff, Katrina Armstrong, Zhenan Bao, Wendy Barnes, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Karen Blanks Ellis, Marsha Anderson Bomar, Christine Brown, Mary Brunkow, Jennifer Tour Chayes, Karen S. Carter, Margaret Dawson, Cindy Eckert, Karen Eng, Katie Farmer, Nicola Fox, Paula T. Hammond, Lisa Harris, Lisa Gelobter, Jacqueline Hinman, Colette D. Honorable, Janice Bryant Howroyd, Bahija Jallal, Sabrina Martucci Johnson, Dina Katabi, Julie Kim, Debra Laskin, Tessa Lau, Thai Lee, Emily Liman, Wafaa Mamilli, Christina Maslach, Maja Matarić, Nergis Mavalvala, Marissa Mayer, Vivienne Ming, Aude Oliva, Ritu Narayan, Yamini Rangan, Shubhi Rao, Jennifer Rumsey, Heather Shoemaker, Ellen Stofan, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Susie Wee, Beth Wozniak, Laura Yecies, Michelle Zhou and Daphne Zohar.
Thus, the 2026 Forbes list demonstrates two trends at once. The first is that an innovation career after the age of 50 increasingly continues for decades and can lead to major scientific and entrepreneurial achievements well beyond the traditional career peak. The second is that the United States remains the main center of attraction for such specialists, while simultaneously making use of the talents of scientists and entrepreneurs born in dozens of other countries.
Original source: Forbes — 2026 50 Over 50: Innovation
Andriy Butenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science, together with Marcin Kulasek, Poland’s Minister of Science and Higher Education, opened a new International Center for the Shared Use of Scientific Equipment on Mount Pip Ivan and signed a declaration of cooperation.
“We agreed to develop the Carpathians as a shared European space for science and education: joint research, student and researcher exchanges, and support for young researchers. A telescope has been installed here under a dome, specifically designed for challenging high-altitude weather conditions. Next, a robotic system will be added to the telescope—and it will be possible to control it remotely. This is one of four high-altitude observatories of this caliber,” Budenko wrote on Facebook.
According to him, the observatory was restored by the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University in collaboration with Polish partners.
“They will work here together, but the equipment is also open to others: any research team will be able to submit an application,” the minister said.
He noted that astronomy is not the only field of study here, as the Chornogora range features high-altitude flora and distinct ecosystems where the climate and nature can be studied. There are meteorological laboratories on site.
The minister recalled that the observatory was built back in 1938 as a research station for the University of Warsaw. Later, the Soviet authorities destroyed it, and for decades, ruins stood on the mountaintop. Ukrainians and Poles restored it together. The project began back in 2012.
The updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5) showed $13.9 billion in losses and $33.5 billion needed to restore education and science in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Education and Science.
“The education and science sectors have also suffered significant losses. Total losses are estimated at $13.9 billion and cover the infrastructure and assets of all subsectors, from preschool education to scientific institutions,” the ministry said in a statement.
It is noted that the most damage was recorded in scientific infrastructure, higher education institutions, and schools, particularly in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions, as well as in the city of Kyiv.
“For the complete restoration and reconstruction of the education and science sector for 2026-2035, the total need is estimated at $33.5 billion,” the ministry added.
The priority areas for support are: reconstruction of educational institutions; restoration of face-to-face learning through the construction and modernization of shelters and the introduction of temporary solutions to ensure access to face-to-face learning; comprehensive overcoming of learning losses (improved teaching practices, flexible catch-up programs, and psychosocial support are needed to compensate for lost learning time and overcome psychological trauma).
“When we talk about the damage caused by Russia to the Ukrainian education and science system, we are not just talking about destroyed buildings. It is limited access to education, lost opportunities, and educational gaps that affect children’s future earnings and the country’s economic potential — and these consequences are exacerbated as long as the war continues,” the press service quotes Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi as saying.
The RDNA5 report was prepared jointly with the World Bank, the European Commission, and the UN. It covers the period from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2025. The total cost of recovery in Ukraine as of December 31, 2025, is $588 billion (over EUR500 billion) over the next decade, which is almost three times Ukraine’s projected nominal GDP for 2025.
