Ukraine and Canada as Witnessed by Students

A student seminar, “Ukraine and Canada as Witnessed by Students,” was held at Edmonton’s Ukrainian Youth Complex on February 13. This was the second annual seminar organized by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta (U of A) and the Alberta Society for the Advancement of Ukrainian Studies as a forum for participants in the exchange program between Ukraine's Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and the U of A. The program offers young people an opportunity to study abroad, take specialized courses, improve their language skills, learn about their cultural heritage, gain new life experience, and make new friends. Seminar speakers reported on achievements of the program in promoting Ukrainian studies in Alberta and informed the public about the opportunities that it offers. In 2009, students from Ukraine were the only ones to speak at the seminar; hence a new format was introduced this year: two student speakers from Ukraine and two from Canada. This change made the event more vibrant and allowed for an exchange of perspectives.

Lviv University was represented by students in their fifth year of study at the Faculty of Law, Mykhailo Lavrys and Mariana Hnatyshyn. In their joint presentation, they spoke about their university and faculty, comparing it with their experience in Edmonton since September 2010. They noted particularly that the curriculum at Lviv University is standardized and permits little choice. At the U of A, they could choose elective courses and take new ones unavailable at home. This allowed them to learn about Canadian approaches to jurisprudence based on precedent law, which differs from normative law as practised in Ukraine. No doubt, the students will benefit from this knowledge and obtain new perspectives in their understanding of the judicial system.

At Lviv University, students study in groups of 25-30 for five years, forming friendships that last for many years. The Ukrainian students noted that the Canadian approach to university learning is more individual and competitive. For example, student grades may be posted publicly in Ukraine, which would be impossible in Canada. The Lviv students also found Canadian professors to be more open and friendly than their Ukrainian counterparts, who may still resort to authoritarian methods in teaching. Better access to the Internet would be also very helpful to Ukrainian students.

Susanna Lynn (Modern Languages and Cultural Studies) and Jordan Vincent (History and Classics) represented the U of A. Susanna took a summer course in Lviv, while Jordan spent a whole semester there. The Canadian students focused more on personal impressions from their stay. Besides regular classes, their course of study included walking around the city, attending plays and concerts, and going to cafs and restaurants. Such everyday socializing with Lviv inhabitants helped them improve their Ukrainian “monumentally” and become more confident. They praised the city’s rich cultural life and opportunities for meeting both local and foreign students. While Susanna enjoyed wonderful theatre presentations, Jordan managed to experience a Ukrainian wedding and even participate in a ritual.

Once the students had spoken, audience members were eager to ask questions and continue their discussion over coffee. The use of numerous pictures and other visuals enlivened the seminar. Both the students and the representatives of CIUS, which administers the student exchange program, noted its achievements and importance. But financial support of the program is still insufficient, said CIUS director Dr. Zenon Kohut. He called the creation of an endowment fund in support of the program one of the Institute’s priorities and encouraged the community to become involved.

An institution that helped make the exchange program possible is U of A International, which prepared the necessary agreement documents and subsidized the first participants. Breanne Fisher of U of A International attended the seminar and called the program exemplary. She informed the audience about the Bridges Program offered by her unit, which is designed to teach Albertans about other cultures and global awareness.

The student exchange program has been in existence at CIUS since 2006. To date, CIUS has received many small donations totalling more than $13,000, a sum allowing for only a small amount of accrued interest. The short-term goal is to increase the capital to $30,000, earnings from which could fund one scholarship of $1,000 per year. The long-term goal is to reach $100,000, which could provide two annual scholarships of about $1,800 each. CIUS encourages further donations in support of the student exchange program. (If writing a cheque, please specify that it is in support of the student exchange with Lviv University.) For further information, please contact CIUS by phone: 780-492-2972 or by e-mail: cius@ualberta.ca

Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies

PHOTOS

1 - Susanna Lynn, Arts student at the University of Alberta

2 - U of A student Jordan Vincent

3 - Lviv University law students Mariana Hnatyshyn and Mykhailo Lavrys