Oksana Pyatkovska
Fellow 2024/2025
Economics
International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations, Lviv Polytechnic National University
Volkswagen Stiftung
oksana.r.piatkovska@lpnu.ua
Bio
Oksana Pyatkovska is the Deputy Director of the International Institute of Education, Culture, and Diaspora Relations (IIEC) at Lviv Polytechnic National University.
She obtained a Specialist Degree in International Relations from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in 2002. From 2002 to 2018, she worked at IIEC as a Junior Research Fellow, Research Fellow, and later as a Senior Research Fellow. In 2013, she earned a PhD in International Economics from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, focusing her dissertation on the mechanism of regulation of international labor migration in Ukraine.
Throughout her career at IIEC, she has conducted scientific research, contributed as an expert in drafting legislation, and presented at international academic events and parliamentary committee hearings in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. She has also coordinated and executed research projects on return migration, migration aspirations among students, civic activism of Ukrainians in EU countries, and the formation of Ukrainian diaspora organizations. Additionally, she has moderated round tables and panel discussions and served as deputy chair of organizing committees for international symposiums, congresses, and conferences.
Ukrainian Forced Migrants’ Integration into Ukrainian and Local Communities: Case of the Baltic Countries
Despite two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian migration remains underexplored, particularly in the Baltic states. While Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic dominate migration research, Estonia has the highest share of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, with Lithuania and Latvia ranking fourth and sixth. Existing studies focus on economic and linguistic integration, key challenges, and future plans, while this project examines attitudes toward local societies, interactions with the Ukrainian diaspora, and the role of Ukrainian communities in host countries.
As fewer Ukrainian war migrants plan to return home, analyzing their potential transformation into a new diaspora is crucial. This study explores how they perceive their new societies, whether they experience discrimination or appreciation, and how they engage with local populations and authorities. It also assesses their involvement in existing Ukrainian communities or the creation of new organizations.
The research combines secondary analysis of statistical data and sociological surveys (e.g., IOM, UNHCR) with in-depth interviews of Ukrainian community representatives and war migrants in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Field visits will facilitate interviews and collaboration with scholars from Vilnius University.
Findings will be shared through an IIEC webinar, presentations at three international conferences, and at least two English-language journal articles.