She is the director of Canterbury's Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum and has twice been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair.
Chaban completed a Bachelor of Arts in Germanic languages and literature at Cherkasy State Technological University [uk] in Ukraine, followed by a Master of Arts degree in media studies and higher education administration at New York University.
[1] In 2002, Chaban joined the faculty of the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, rising to full professor.
[4][5] Chaban has twice been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair, an Erasmus programme designed to deepen access to European Union studies throughout universities.
[10] In November 2024, Chaban was awarded the Mason Durie Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, for "her innovative research into perceptions in international relations and public diplomacy, most recently about the war against Ukraine".