The large-scale research project “Transformation of Military Experience into Social Leadership: An Internationalized Model of Veteran Empowerment as Agents of Social Change” has been launched with financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The official start was marked by an inaugural meeting of the project team. During the meeting, participants synchronized their vision, clarified the conceptual foundations and structure of the project, and clearly distributed roles and responsibilities. The team discussed key areas of work in the initial stages and identified priorities for the analytical phase.

The inaugural meeting was attended by experienced researchers and university managers: V.S. Kurylo (project leader), I.V. Myhovych (responsible executor), Ya.I. Yurkiv, L.I. Vorona, L.V. Chernovska, O.M. Tovstukha (executors). The project involves active participation of the LNU Veterans Development Center, departments of psychology, social pedagogy, and other structural units of the university, which will ensure the interdisciplinary nature of the research and practical orientation of the results.

The project aims to rethink traditional approaches to working with the veteran community and proposes a paradigm shift from models of reintegration and support to models of activating the potential of veterans as carriers of unique leadership, communication, and social experience. The initiative is based on modern international research and practices from the USA, Israel, and Great Britain, as well as the concept of post-traumatic growth, which views military and post-traumatic experience not only as a challenge but as a resource for social transformation, civic leadership, and intercultural dialogue. The project involves developing an internationalized methodology for transforming military experience into social leadership, testing it within pilot programs, and further scaling in educational, public, and international contexts.

During the inaugural meeting: the overall conceptual framework of the project, its purpose and key objectives were outlined; the logic of work packages and implementation stages was presented; priorities for the first analytical-conceptual stage were identified; functional responsibilities were distributed among project team members; approaches to interdisciplinary and inter-structural cooperation were agreed upon. In the near future, the project team will focus on completing tasks of the first work package, which involves a thorough analysis of international models of veteran leadership development, formation of the project’s methodological foundations, and preparation of analytical materials for subsequent stages.

The implementation of this project is an important step in strengthening the university’s social mission, developing internationalized approaches in higher education, and forming scientifically grounded solutions for working with the veteran community in the context of Ukraine’s post-war recovery.

Information provided by I.V. Myhovych (project responsible executor)