Dr Ivan Yatskevych is a professor and researcher specialising in labour law and social security law and Head of the Private Law Department at the Faculty of Law, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA). His work also explores broader private law issues in the context of Ukraine’s EU integration. Earlier this year he took part in a CIVICA short visit at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. We caught up with him to hear how he benefited from the experience.
Dr Yatskevych, what are you currently researching?
I am a professor and researcher in the field of labour law and social security law. In addition I serve as Head of the Private Law Department within the Faculty of Law at NaUKMA. I also seek to extend my research to a wider range of private law issues particularly in the context of Ukraine’s EU integration. Nevertheless labour law remains my primary area of academic focus.
Can you tell us about your CIVICA short visit: where did you go and what activities were you involved in?
My CIVICA journey began in November 2023 when I visited Bocconi University to take part in the CIVICA Inclusiveness Workshop. Participation of Ukrainian staff is organised under the SGH project CIVICA Support for the European Future of Ukraine (CIVICA for Ukraine) implemented in cooperation with the European University Alliance CIVICA and five Ukrainian universities including NaUKMA. The workshop aimed to exchange best practices in implementing equality and inclusion policies and to foster a socially responsive community across CIVICA and Ukrainian universities. Following the workshop we began revising our inclusiveness policy at NaUKMA.
My second opportunity to engage with CIVICA came in May 2025. At the invitation of Professor Martijn Hesselink, Full-time Professor of Transnational Law and Theory, I visited the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy as part of the project CIVICA – The European University of Social Sciences (2022–2026) funded by the Erasmus+ European Universities Alliances programme. This visit was supported by the CIVICA Ukrainian Scholars Short Visits initiative.
During my research stay I worked extensively in the EUI Library, discussed potential collaboration and guest lecturing opportunities with Professor Hesselink and connected with members of the EUI CIVICA team. I also attended the Science for Policy Workshop (26–27 May 2025) at the Robert Schuman Centre.
What did you find most valuable about your time at EUI?
The most meaningful aspect of my research stay was meeting colleagues and gaining a deeper understanding of EUI’s research environment and academic events. I was particularly impressed by the EUI Library and by the warm welcome from the EUI CIVICA team who were always helpful and professional.
It was also a great pleasure to meet Professor Hesselink and discuss potential collaboration in both teaching and research.
How did this experience contribute to your research/academic work? Were there any moments that stood out to you?
It is too early to fully assess the impact of my research stay at EUI. However I can confidently say it was both inspiring and motivating, setting high standards for my research and teaching. I especially valued discussions with Professor Hesselink as well as reading his recent co-authored paper European Private Law & Intersectionality: Three Strategies which reached thought-provoking conclusions on European private law.
What insights did your visit give you about academic collaboration between Ukrainian institutions and EU partners?
From my discussions and the events I attended it became clear that we need to both promote and effectively represent Ukrainian perspectives in academic research while also being attentive to the needs and requests of our EU partners.
The most practical route for joint research is applying for grants and other funding opportunities on current issues relevant to Ukraine and the EU particularly in law. Another promising area is collaboration on doctoral studies including joint supervision of research projects or PhD theses and facilitating research stays for PhD students. Organising joint academic events could also provide a valuable platform for exchanging ideas on pressing topics.
I believe that academic collaboration between NaUKMA and EUI as well as between other Ukrainian institutions and EU partners will become even more important in light of Ukraine’s ongoing EU integration process.
I am deeply grateful to EUI and NaUKMA as CIVICA universities for this opportunity and unforgettable experience.