FROM GREEN TO RESILIENCE: LESSONS FROM...

How wartime university management in Ukraine is reshaping our understanding of sustainable campuses

Bratislava, 19–22 October 2026

What does a Green Campus mean when electricity is unavailable, buildings are unsafe, and students cannot attend classes?

For universities in Ukraine, this is not a theoretical question. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian higher education institutions have been operating under extraordinary conditions, facing security threats, infrastructure damage, energy disruptions, displacement, and continuous uncertainty.

Their experience raises a fundamental question for European universities: Can a campus truly be sustainable if it cannot guarantee the basic safety and needs of its academic community?

This question became a central theme of the discussions during the international Workshop on Green Campus Development, Living Labs and Resilient University Management, held in Bratislava on 19–22 October 2026 within the framework of the STICS – Smart Transformation and Innovation Consortium Slovakia project.

The workshop brought together Ukrainian and Slovak academic representatives to exchange experiences in sustainable campus development, university governance, and crisis management. The Ukrainian participants contributed practical insights into how universities can continue functioning under wartime conditions and what these experiences mean for the future of university campuses across Europe.

Rethinking the Green Campus: Safety Comes First

Traditionally, the Green Campus concept focuses on environmental sustainability: energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, resource management, and reducing the environmental footprint of university operations.

However, the experience of Ukrainian universities demonstrates that environmental sustainability cannot be considered separately from institutional and human security.

Before a university can focus on reducing energy consumption, it must ensure that electricity is available. Before developing smart learning environments, it must provide safe spaces where students and teachers can study and work. Before promoting sustainable campus lifestyles, it must ensure access to basic services and support.

This does not mean abandoning the Green Campus concept. Instead, it means recognising that resilience is a prerequisite for sustainability.

A resilient campus must first be able to protect its community, maintain essential services, and ensure the continuity of education. Once these foundations are secured, universities can develop more advanced environmental and technological solutions.

The Ukrainian experience therefore suggests an important evolution in campus development thinking: from a primarily environmentally oriented Green Campus towards an integrated Resilient Smart Green Campus.

Three Dimensions of University Resilience

During the workshop, discussions based on Ukrainian experience identified three interconnected dimensions that determine a university's ability to function under crisis conditions.

1. Resilient University Management

The first dimension concerns the ability of university management to make decisions, coordinate activities, and respond rapidly to changing circumstances.

Traditional university governance structures often rely on established procedures, hierarchical decision-making, and relatively predictable operating conditions.

Wartime experience has demonstrated the importance of flexibility, adaptability, trust, and decentralised decision-making.

Participants highlighted several practical approaches, including digital university management, cloud-based information systems, cybersecurity, rapid delegation of responsibilities, and shared accountability within university teams.

Digital technologies can support the continuity of institutional operations even when staff members are physically dispersed or access to university buildings is restricted.

However, technology alone is insufficient. Effective crisis management also requires clear communication, mutual trust, staff preparedness, and the ability to reorganise institutional processes quickly.

The lesson is that a resilient university is not necessarily one that can predict every crisis, but one that can adapt its management systems when established procedures are no longer sufficient.

2. Resilient Educational Processes

The second dimension focuses on maintaining education when conventional teaching arrangements become impossible.

Ukrainian universities have had to adapt educational activities to air raid alerts, security restrictions, interruptions to electricity and internet access, and the displacement of students and academic staff.

These challenges have made flexibility an essential characteristic of educational organisation.

Workshop participants discussed approaches such as adaptive academic schedules, combinations of online and offline learning, virtual reality technologies, academic mobility, and alternative facilities for practical education.

Special attention was given to the possibility of using protected educational spaces, including underground laboratories and classrooms, to support face-to-face activities under security restrictions.

Another important consideration was the organisation of practical training through cooperation with external institutions and enterprises.

These experiences demonstrate that educational resilience is not simply about moving classes online. It requires designing learning processes that can continue under different security, technological, and organisational conditions.

The objective is not to preserve one fixed educational format, but to preserve access to education itself.

3. Resilient Physical Campus Infrastructure

The third dimension concerns the physical environment of the university.

In conventional Green Campus strategies, infrastructure development often prioritises energy efficiency and environmental performance.

In wartime conditions, however, the immediate priority becomes the availability of essential resources and safe facilities.

The workshop discussions highlighted the importance of alternative energy sources, backup power systems, reliable internet connectivity, heating, and protected spaces.

Particular attention was given to the concept of campus resilience centres — facilities capable of providing essential services to students and staff during emergencies.

Energy systems were discussed not only from the perspective of environmental performance but also in terms of security and operational continuity.

Digital monitoring of energy generation and consumption, alternative energy technologies, and university-level energy management systems could contribute to both resilience and sustainability.

This creates an important connection between the two concepts: solutions initially introduced to ensure survival and continuity can also become foundations for long-term green transformation.

Beyond Infrastructure: The Human Dimension of Resilience

One of the important lessons from Ukrainian universities is that institutional resilience cannot be reduced to buildings, energy systems, or digital platforms.

Universities are communities, and their ability to function depends on the well-being of students, academic staff, and administrative personnel.

The workshop discussions therefore addressed psychological support, first-aid training, legal assistance, volunteer initiatives, and mechanisms for meeting basic needs during emergencies.

These services are not secondary elements of campus development. In crisis conditions, they become essential components of university resilience.

Participants also considered the importance of student engagement, communication, and opportunities for students to participate actively in university life.

A resilient university community requires more than access to infrastructure. It needs trust, social connections, institutional support, and a sense of belonging.

This human-centred perspective expands the understanding of campus sustainability beyond environmental indicators to include the ability of universities to protect and support their communities.

From Resilience to Green Transformation

The experience of Ukrainian universities suggests that campus transformation should be understood as a sequence of interconnected priorities.

First, universities must ensure basic safety and essential services. This includes physical protection, access to electricity, heating, water, communication systems, and emergency support.

Second, they must establish resilient institutional operations. Flexible governance, digital management, adaptable educational processes, and reliable communication are necessary to maintain university functions during disruptions.

Third, universities can integrate resilience with long-term environmental sustainability. Renewable energy, smart energy management, resource efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure can strengthen institutional independence while contributing to climate and environmental objectives.

These stages are not necessarily separated in time. Some green technologies, particularly decentralised renewable energy systems, can directly support immediate resilience needs.

Nevertheless, the hierarchy of priorities is important: environmental ambitions must be built upon the ability to provide a safe and functioning educational environment.

This approach does not position resilience and sustainability as competing objectives. Instead, it recognises their interdependence.

What Can European Universities Learn from Ukraine?

Although the Ukrainian experience has developed under the extreme circumstances of war, its lessons extend beyond the Ukrainian context.

European universities also face growing uncertainty related to energy security, climate-related disasters, cyber threats, infrastructure disruptions, and other emergencies.

The Ukrainian experience offers an opportunity to reconsider whether existing campus strategies sufficiently address these challenges.

Several questions emerge for university managers and campus planners:

Can essential university services continue during prolonged energy or communication disruptions?
Are university governance structures flexible enough to respond rapidly to emergencies?
Can educational activities continue when physical access to campus facilities is restricted?
Are students and staff adequately supported during crisis situations?
Can investments in green technologies simultaneously strengthen institutional resilience?

These questions suggest that resilience should become an integral component of campus development strategies rather than a separate emergency management issue.

Towards a Resilient Smart Green Campus

The Bratislava workshop, organised within STICS Task T6.5 Green Smart Campus, provided a platform for connecting Ukrainian experience in crisis management with Slovak expertise in sustainable campus development, living labs, and institutional cooperation.

The discussions demonstrated the potential value of integrating resilience considerations into Green Smart Campus strategies and action plans.

The living lab approach offers an opportunity to explore these connections in practice by involving students, researchers, university management, and external stakeholders in developing and testing solutions.

Potential areas include resilient energy systems, digital university governance, adaptable learning environments, campus safety, and community support mechanisms.

The Ukrainian experience also highlights the importance of treating universities not only as educational institutions but as essential components of wider community resilience.

A New Perspective on Sustainable Universities

The most important lesson from Ukrainian university management during the war is that sustainability begins with the capacity to protect people and maintain essential functions.

A campus cannot be considered truly sustainable if its community lacks safety, access to basic services, or the possibility of continuing education.

At the same time, resilience should not be viewed as an alternative to environmental sustainability. It is the foundation that makes long-term sustainable development possible.

The experience shared during the Bratislava workshop encourages a broader understanding of university transformation — one that connects human security, institutional adaptability, digital innovation, energy independence, and environmental responsibility.

The future of university campuses is not simply green or smart. It must also be resilient.

And the path towards a sustainable campus begins with ensuring that people are safe, supported, and able to learn.

The workshop “Green Campus Development, Living Labs and Resilient University Management” took place in Bratislava on 19–22 October 2026 within the framework of the STICS – Smart Transformation and Innovation Consortium Slovakia project, contributing to Task T6.5 Green Smart Campus.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participants for their active engagement, valuable contributions, insightful discussions, and willingness to share their knowledge and experience.

Special thanks go to our distinguished colleagues:

Artem Pavlychenko – National Technical University “Dnipro Polytechnic”, Dnipro, Ukraine.
Hanna Trochymenko – Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
Viktoriia Chruba– National Transport University, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Alla Pryshchepa – National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, Rivne, Ukraine.
Olena Chomenko – Cherkasy State Technological University, Cherkasy, Ukraine.
Tetiana Kovtun – Odesa National Maritime University, Odesa, Ukraine.
Larysa Cherniak and Anzhelika Kokarieva – National University “Kyiv Aviation Institute”, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Olena Verenych and Oleksandr Kovalchuk – Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Nataliia Honcharenko – Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Yulia Nikitchenko – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany.
Inna Koblianska – Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine.

We also extend our appreciation to our Slovak colleagues, the SPECTRA Centre of Excellence EU team, and all speakers and organizers for their dedication to facilitating meaningful knowledge exchange and strengthening international academic cooperation.

The workshop provided a valuable platform for sharing experiences in sustainable campus transformation, living labs, and resilient university management, while fostering dialogue between Slovak and Ukrainian academic institutions.

Together, we are building greener, smarter, and more resilient universities and creating new opportunities for international collaboration and innovation.

Authors: Nataliia Yehorchenkova and Oleksii Yehorchenkov