World Nations Rally to Aid Ukrainian University Students
By Milan Korcok
As nations the world over rally to assist war-torn Ukraine, European member-states have focused efforts on supporting and relocating student-refugees enrolled in Ukrainian universities, among them international students pursuing their academic careers in this beleaguered nation’s highly- respected institutions of higher learning.
According to reports from Erudera, an international education search platform backed by Artificial Intelligence, there were 80,470 international students in Ukraine in 2019, more than 18,000 from India, followed by over 8,000 from Morocco and over 5,000 from Azerbaijan.
And according to a Schengen report, most EU nations have implemented assistance programs for displaced Ukrainian students--offered sheltering and mental health assistance, aid with enrollment transfer procedures, reduced tuition fees (in some cases lifting such fees entirely).
In Germany, for example, the Technical University of Munich has offered financial support and easier applications processes for incoming Ukrainian students. The Technical University of Berlin has even offered to reimburse fees for Ukrainian students attending German language courses..
In Poland, which has absorbed the greatest number of Ukrainian refugees, Ukrainian students will be able to continue their education in selected Polish universities, and the University of Lodz is offering housing at university dormitories for students’ family members.
Hungary has offered free education at the Budapest Semmelweis University until the war ends, and Slovenia is providing rent, housing costs, food, clothing, study materials and computer equipment for students.
Ireland has offered reduced tuition fees for Ukrainian students as well as free language courses and other aids. Students at Trinity College in Dublin are working with groups of Ukrainian students to create scholarship programs.
And in Switzerland the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is providing financial support and counselling services in addition to spiritual care for refugee students.
Beyond Europe, colleges and universities in the US, UK, Australia and Canada have also offered Ukrainian students financial aid, free room and board and tuition, counseling food and housing resources, financial aid to assist their repatriation.
American universities, including such internationally known institutions as MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and others are offering academic and financial support, temporary teaching and research positions, and undergraduate scholarships.
In addition, in June 2022, the University of Chicago’s Center in Paris is expected to start offering in-person and online admission and college-readiness support, which will include a streamlined application process for Ukrainian students who are unable to complete their final semesters, as well as a connection to help these students apply to over 150 other universities through the Coalition for College app.
From the UK
Erudera reports that as of the end of March, universities in the UK, among them Oxford, Cambridge, King’s College, London School of Economics, and universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Warwick were offering Ukrainian students a range of counselling services, tuition deductions and other financial support for living and transitioning expenses.
Australia too has stepped up to offer displaced Ukrainian students counselling, financial assistance, and residential supports at eight of its leading universities in Melbourne, Sydney, Western Australia, and Adelaide.
And in Canada, the higher education consulting firm Academica reports: “As the crisis in Ukraine continues, postsecondary institutions are continuing to find ways to support Ukrainian students. In Alberta, the University of Alberta’s Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies has launched an initiative that will help protect the digital data of Ukrainian archivists, librarians, scientists, and others by offering free and secure cloud storage. In Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg is waiving application fees for students from Ukraine; the University of Manitoba is supporting students with extended fee deadlines and the removal of fee penalties, bursaries, emergency loans, and food; and Brandon University has announced that it is waiving tuition for students from Ukraine and will allow refugees to stay in its residences. In Nova Scotia, Acadia University is fundraising to provide full tuition for one or more refugees from war or conflict zones.”
The worldwide initiative to support Ukraine’s students clearly appears to be more than a reaction to a single catastrophic episode, but recognition that we can’t afford to lose a generation of students and scholars wherever they may be located. As University of Chicago president Paul Alivisatos has emphasized: “The invasion of Ukraine and the devastating humanitarian crisis that is unfolding has many dimensions, including the disruption of the lives and careers of scholars and students who have the potential to contribute to new knowledge that will benefit humanity.”
Milan Korcok is a national award wining medical writer who has been covering international medical and travel health issues for leading professionals journal in the United States, Canada, and the UK for many years. He works and resides in Florida.