Rethinking decolonisation and resilience of Ukrainian higher education in the context of war and global platforms

Abstract

The large-scale Russian invasion has led to a significant escalation in the necessity for a comprehensive institutional and intellectual restructuring within Ukrainian higher education, necessitating a systematic decolonisation process. The core objective of this paper is to investigate the intersection of decolonisation and institutional resilience, proposing a theoretical framework that integrates decolonisation, deconstruction, and the strategic utilisation of global platforms. The findings highlight that the transformation process must focus on the crucial role of genuine academic autonomy as a precondition for quality and resilience, as well as the necessity of establishing a comparative decolonial perspective that links Ukraine's struggle with diverse global experiences of colonial and post-colonial realities. This approach moves beyond the passive absorption of historical injustices to shape a future-oriented post-colonial framework actively. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates the vital function of global platforms and digital resistance (e.g., internet memes) in reinforcing institutional stability, challenging aggressor narratives, and ensuring the ethical integration of media literacy. The study concludes by asserting that the crisis must be methodologically transformed into an advantage for the universal critique of imperial control.