Founding and Founders
The Department of International Relations of Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University is one of Ukraine’s leading regional centers of analytical thought and “track two diplomacy.” Located in Ivano-Frankivsk — Ukraine’s historical gateway to Central and Eastern Europe — since its founding in 2007, the department has evolved from an ambitious educational project into a recognized international hub where academic scholarship intertwines with real diplomatic practice.
The department was established in 2007 within the Institute of History and Political Science as a strategic response to the European integration challenges facing Ukraine in the mid-2000s. A unique feature of the department was its concentration of high-ranking professional diplomats, which made it possible to combine academic training with practical experience.
Its founder and first head was Petro Sardachuk — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to Slovakia, Poland, Finland, and Iceland. Under his leadership, the department’s academic foundation was laid and the research project “Ukraine in the European Integration Process” was launched.
Equally significant was the role of Professor Ihor Tsependa — former Counsellor of the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland and author of the course “Methods of Conducting International Negotiations.” The diplomatic corps was reinforced by Associate Professor Zinovii Kuravskyi, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Second Class. The core of theoretical training was formed by historians and political scientists: Volodymyr Kroitor, Ihor Hurak, and Nataliia Stetsiuk.
In its very first years (2007–2010), the department organized a series of landmark events: the All-Ukrainian round table “EU Issues in History Lessons,” an international seminar on mountain tourism in the Carpathian Euroregion, the “Ukraine–Turkey” symposium, and a conference dedicated to the Piłsudski–Petliura alliance of 1920. In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, fundamental collections of documents on Ukrainian-Polish and Ukrainian-Czech relations were prepared.
The Present Stage
Today, the department operates within the Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations. It is headed by Nataliia Stetsiuk, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, whose professional path from Teaching Assistant in 2010 to Head of the Department demonstrates the effectiveness of the university’s internal personnel policy.
The teaching staff has been joined by Professor Mykhailo Nahorniak; Associate Professors Tetiana Strutynska, Petro Havrylyshyn, Nataliia Holubiak, Tetiana Dereshchuk, and Orest Boichuk (Head of the Educational and Research Center for the Study of Central and Eastern Europe); Teaching Assistant Yuliia Bohachyk-Didovych; and others. The department is the graduating department for specialty 291 “International Relations, Public Communications and Regional Studies,” providing a full cycle of training — from the bachelor’s level to the Doctor of Philosophy (introduced in 2023).
The popularity of the specialty is confirmed by the numbers: more than 400 applications are submitted annually for the 80 licensed bachelor’s places.
Leading practitioners are involved in teaching: diplomat Vitalii Reznichenko (course “Diplomatic Protocol and Etiquette”), Honorary Doctor of the University Vitalii Maksymenko (“Diplomatic and Consular Service”), and Associate Professor Mykola Kapitonenko (theory of international relations).
Research School
The department’s research core has been shaped by leading scholars. Professor I. Tsependa is a recognized expert in Ukrainian-Polish relations and the initiator of a number of projects on historical reconciliation between the two states. Professor M. Nahorniak has carried out an in-depth analysis of the state-building legacy of Tomáš Masaryk. The Dean of the Faculty, I. Hurak, focuses on issues of international security and the foreign policy of the EU and the United States. The Head of the Department, N. Stetsiuk, has published a number of works on information security, separatism in Europe, and diaspora studies.
Specialized research areas are developed by: T. Strutynska (regional studies), T. Dereshchuk (international law), N. Holubiak (comparative regional studies), O. Boichuk (the politics of history in Germany and Poland, EU foreign policy), P. Havrylyshyn (diaspora, historical demography), and Yu. Bohachyk-Didovych (sociology of migration processes).
Landmark Initiatives
“Meetings with Diplomats” is a permanent platform where theory turns into living experience. Over the years of the project, students have spoken with Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Oleksandr Mishchenko, Inna Ohnivets, Mykola Kulinich, Vasyl Zvarych, Vasyl Kyrylych, Mykola Doroshenko, and many others. In 2024, representatives of the department took part in a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha.
Double Degree Programs. The flagship partnership is with the University of Warsaw (agreement of 19 September 2011). Master’s students study free of charge at the Centre for East European Studies of the University of Warsaw, receive a scholarship, and are awarded two diplomas — of the Ukrainian and Polish standard.
The student research club “Dyplomat” has been active since 2009. From internal discussions, the club has grown into a platform for youth diplomacy that hosts delegations from leading Polish universities — Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin. The club’s current activities focus on information security and digital diplomacy.
The Educational and Research Center for the Study of Central and Eastern Europe coordinates interdisciplinary research, the creation of databases, and the organization of seminars and conferences.
International Forums
The “Ukrainian-Polish Meetings” (“Yaremche Meetings”) are an annual forum that has become a brand not only of the university but of the entire Carpathian region. Launched in November 2008 with a conference marking the 350th anniversary of the Union of Hadiach, since 2010 they have evolved into a platform for discussing the current political, security, and economic agenda. It is the only international expert forum of this level in Ukraine to have operated continuously for more than 18 years. Its co-organizers are the Centre for East European Studies of the University of Warsaw, the I. F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and the newspaper Kurier Galicyjski; support is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the Senate of the Republic of Poland.
The 17th Meeting (September 2024) — “25 Years in NATO, 20 Years in the EU: Poland’s Experience, Lessons for Ukraine.” The 18th Meeting (September 2025) — “Ukraine and Poland amid the Formation of a New World Order.” Participants have included former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski; Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Polish Sejm and Government Plenipotentiary for Ukraine’s Reconstruction Paweł Kowal; and former Ambassadors of Poland to Ukraine Jacek Kluczkowski and Marek Ziółkowski.
International conferences of young researchers have been held since 2013, and since 2017 — jointly with the Fulbright Foundation and in English. Speakers at the 29th conference (December 2024) included representatives of the University of Warsaw, the U.S. Naval War College, the University of Wrocław, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Karabük University, Tufts University, and the Jagiellonian University; in previous years — Harvard University.
Cooperation with the State Higher Vocational School in Chełm (Poland) has been ongoing since 2015. Joint conferences are organized annually, with collective monographs published as a result.
Large-Scale Projects
EDUC-WIDE is a project under the Horizon Europe programme (2024–2027). Among its six beneficiaries, alongside Carpathian National University, are the universities of Cagliari (Italy), Masaryk University (Czechia), the University of Potsdam (Germany), the University of South-Eastern Norway, and Jaume I University in Castellón (Spain). The university’s project coordinator is Professor Ihor Tsependa, with Associate Professor Orest Boichuk participating in the project.
Erasmus+ and cooperation with the University of Rzeszów. In 2021, Ihor Hurak took part in an academic mobility program at the University of Rzeszów. In December 2024, a research agreement was concluded within the project “Migrants from Ukraine in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship” (funded by the Regional Excellence Initiative program, 2024–2027).
International Agreements
At the department’s initiative, cooperation agreements have been signed with the Academy of Justice (Poland), Batumi State University (Georgia), the University of Wrocław, the University of Łódź, Karabük University (Turkey), Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Matej Bel University (Slovakia), Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (USA).