Student seminars on the history of Finland and relations between Ukraine and Finland
During last several years, Senior Lecturer of the Department of History Vitalii Buzan and Director of Education programs of the Center for International Education, President of the Ukraine-Finland Society, Professor Borys Tsyganok have been organized at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute annual student seminars and roundtable discussions on the history of Finland and relations between Ukraine and Finland.
On December 7, 2017, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute held a roundtable discussion on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Finnish Declaration of Independence. Student reports were devoted to the Finnish Declaration of Independence adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917, the foreign policy of Finland during the interwar period, the participation of Ukrainians in the Winter War 1939-1940, the fate of Finland in World War II, foreign policy of Finland at the present stage, and Finnish innovations in social sphere. Besides Kyiv Polytechnic Institute students, pupils of the Scandinavian Gymnasium of Kyiv also participated in the roundtable discussion. They delivered reports, presented presentations and self-made videos on the history of Finland, Ukrainian-Finnish relations, social security and volunteering in contemporary Finland.
On December 10, 2018, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute held a student history seminar titled «100th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Finland». Students discussed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Finland in 1918 and the development of relations between these countries during 1918-1921. The participants of the seminar paid special attention to the activity of a leading Finnish diplomat, politician and scholar Herman Gummerus, who was Finnish chargé d’affaires to the Ukrainian State and Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1918-1919. He made considerable efforts to convince the Finnish leadership to recognize the Ukrainian State, establish relations with it and the open of the Finnish Embassy in Kyiv. Gummerus left descendants interesting memories about his diplomatic mission to Ukraine. Students read, critically analyzed and discussed the content of these memoirs at the seminar. Students also discussed the diplomatic efforts of the Ukrainian Embassy in Finland in 1918-1921. Participants tried to analyze and compare the course of events in Ukraine and Finland one hundred years ago through the lens of the life and views of the Hetman of the Ukrainian State Pavlo Skoropadsky and the Finnish military leader, Regent of Finland Gustaf Mannerheim.
On December 6, 2019, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute hosted a student historical seminar titled «Relations between Ukraine and Finland: History and Current Situation». The participants of the seminar compared the historical experience of Ukraine and Finland and discussed the development of Ukrainian-Finnish relations in the past and found out the main directions of cooperation between Ukraine and Finland at the present stage.
In 2017, the Embassy of Finland in Ukraine donated books to the Denysenko Scientific and Technical Library (KPI Library), and in 2018, the Second secretary of the Finnish Embassy participated in a student seminar on the history of Ukrainian-Finnish relations, which took place at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
KPI Library provided reading rooms for those events and organized thematic exhibitions of books about history, geography, society, language and literature of Finland.
Participation in those roundtable discussions and seminars provided students with an opportunity to improve their knowledge about the history of Ukraine and Finland, world history, enhance their ability to prepare and deliver reports, write proceedings in accordance with the requirements and principles of academic integrity, and develop skills of public speaking. The students, who participated in these seminars, demonstrated the ability to discuss topics related to the history of Ukraine and Finland, compare the historical experience of the Ukrainian and Finnish people and make concise statements.
Vitalii Buzan