Academic Cultures in Conversation: Teaching, Learning and Higher Education Across Different Educational Contexts

How do academic cultures shape the ways we teach, learn and engage with challenging ideas? Participants will share perspectives on innovations in teaching and learning, the growing role of generative AI in education, academic freedom and the discussion of sensitive topics in the classroom and evolving expectations of students and instructors. The conversation will also examine how institutional policies, political and social developments and educational traditions influence academic experiences, particularly for international students, faculty and scholars working in exile. By bringing together voices from different disciplines, institutions and educational contexts, the roundtable aims to foster dialogue, exchange ideas and reflect on the challenges and opportunities shaping higher education today. Participants Andreea Deciu Ritivoi — English, Carnegie Mellon University Svitlana Maksymenko — Economics, University of Pittsburgh Stuart McAdams — Undergraduate Student, Political Science/Russian/ROTC, University of Pittsburgh Stephen Sudia — Ph.D. Student, Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University Elizaveta Volkovskaia — Ph.D. Student, Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh Fellows of the Russian Academic Renewal and Exchange Program (U.S.-RAR) Moderator: Olga Klimova, Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, Carnegie Mellon University