Student life during wartime

Date: 04 February
Time: 18:00 - 19:00
Location: Leiden University, Wijnhaven

Years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian universities and students continue to live, study, and teach under extraordinary circumstances. Education has persisted through air raids, displacement, power cuts, and the emotional weight of war. At the same time, universities have become spaces of civic resilience and innovation. They adapted to hybrid education, are maintaining academic standards and are playing key roles in supporting their students and communities.

So how do the students in Ukraine view education in times of war? What are their challenges and dreams? And what can we learn from them? These are some of the questions explored by Tobias de Saint Laurent in a student film in which he interviewed five students in Ukraine and brought their voices to the world.

We invite you to a film screening and panel discussion on 4 February from 18:00 at Wijnhaven 3.48.

Panel discussion

The panel will explore how students and universities in Ukraine navigate life during war, what support systems have emerged, and what do they think about future reconstruction. It will bring together Ukrainian voices and policy experts to reflect on daily realities and long-term strategies. Last but not least, it aims to engage the audience in a discussion about the broader meaning of education. What can we learn from Ukrainian students regarding what does it mean to get an education?