Donor Generosity Recognized at Student Seminar

December 20, 2011 – The establishment of a new University of Alberta-Ukraine Student Exchange Endowment Fund was announced at a student seminar held at the University of Alberta’s Telus Centre on November 30. The event was co-organized by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, the Alberta Society for the Advancement of Ukrainian Studies, and the Ukrainian Students’ Society.

“The purpose of the fund,” said CIUS Director Dr. Zenon Kohut, “is to offer scholarships at the undergraduate or graduate level to students from the University of Alberta and universities in Ukraine to study abroad for one or more semesters at a partner university with which the University of Alberta has a valid student exchange agreement.” The exchange program between the U of A and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv has been in existence since 2006, and more than a dozen students have benefited from it.

That same year, CIUS launched an appeal to the Ukrainian community to help establish an endowment fund in order to sustain the program and defray the expenses involved in studying abroad. To date, CIUS has received many small donations from 49 donors in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, and the United States, totalling more than $15,000, which have made it possible to establish the fund and begin using its proceeds.

The third student seminar on this academic exchange, titled “Ukraine and Canada as Witnessed by Students,” followed the announcement. It offered the best evidence of the considerable benefits of the exchange to participants. The seminar featured first-person accounts by participants from the University of Lviv, Vira Holiyan and Ihor Kotsiuba. Also participating were U of A students Stephan Pacholok and Dominika Lirette, who took the course “Ukrainian Through Its Living Culture” offered annually in Lviv by the Ukrainian Culture, Language and Literature Program in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies (MLCS). Mr. Pacholok and Ms. Lirette were recipients of the Ivan Franko School of Ukrainian Studies Ukraine Travel Award at CIUS, which helped defray the cost of their travel to Ukraine. Both programs give students the opportunity to study abroad and gain new life experiences, improve their language skills, and make new friends.

In their joint presentation Vira Holiyan and Ihor Kotsiuba, both from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, spoke about their experience at home and compared it with their studies in Edmonton. They noted the importance of the balanced and well-structured curriculum at the U of A, course options, private rather than public announcement of grades, the greater openness and friendliness of Canadian professors, and active student participation in class. They also emphasized that courses they attended at the U of A tended to be more practically oriented than those in Ukraine, which stress knowledge of theory. The students had little difficulty with the English language, since mathematical terminology is universal. The Ukrainian students also liked the U of A Campus, where all facilities are in one place. In Lviv, by contrast, university buildings are scattered across the city. U of A libraries were also, in their view, convenient to use and usually had the required books available.

In everyday life, Ihor and Vira noted the comfort and convenience of Edmonton. They were impressed by Canadian hospitality and attracted to the informal student culture, as manifested in casual clothing and eating habits.

Stephan Pacholok (Faculty of Science) and Dominika Lirette (Faculty of Arts), along with other students from the U of A, took the MLCS summer course “Ukrainian Through its Living Culture,” which has been offered for the past eleven years. They found studying in Lviv an unforgettable experience that allowed them to learn their ancestral language through immersion in an authentic Ukrainian-speaking environment and everyday experience. They attended regular classes taught by Dr. Alla Nedashkivska, walked around the city, attended plays and concerts, and went to cafés and restaurants. The students were charmed by the rich cultural life of Lviv and its historical sites. Most important, they noticed a significant improvement in their Ukrainian language skills after the course. There were also very emotional moments when participants met their families, and Lviv was an excellent base from which to travel the country.

The seminar attracted a sizeable audience, including students, donors, professors, and community members. Dr. Zhi Jones (Associate Director, Education Abroad Program, U of A International) noted the role of her department in promoting international education and opportunities to obtain financial support. Dr. Colm Renehan (Associate Vice-President, Office of Development) acknowledged the unique achievements of the Ukrainian community in Canada, and praised its commitment to the support of worthwhile projects.

CIUS regards the growth of the new University of Alberta-Ukraine Student Exchange Endowment Fund as one of its priorities and encourages the community to assist in this endeavour. The short-term goal is to increase the capital of the fund to $30,000, earnings from which could fund one annual scholarship of $1,000. The long-term goal is to reach $100,000, which could provide two annual scholarships of about $1,800 each. Currently, this amount would suffice to cover the cost of travel between Ukraine and Edmonton. (If writing a cheque, please specify that it is in support of this program.) For further information, please contact CIUS by phone at (780) 492-2972 or by e-mail (cius@ualberta.ca).

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Students answering questions from the audience (L. to R.): Vira Holiyan, Ihor Kotsiuba, Dominika Lirette and Stephan Pacholok