Ukrainian Student Migration: Pursuing Education in a Time of War

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused substantial flows of refugees into the European Union. This paper explores a subset of wartime Ukrainian emigration—educational migration—relative to circumstances in Slovakia. We apply the extant literature on migration to assess the actions taken to welcome Ukrainian students on a general level, as well as relative to one Slovak university (University of Economics in Bratislava). In this context, a survey of Ukrainian students at UEBA reveals some possible consequences of the university’s actions for return migration of students after the war concludes. The expressed intentions to remain outside Ukraine, which differ between genders, regions, and length of stay abroad, might point to possible losses for Ukraine as it endeavors to rebuild in a post-war environment. The Ukrainian government might need to focus post-war policies on attracting more reluctant students to return home.