THE WAR IN UKRAINE. Can students fleeing the war in Ukraine continue their education at GU? Can we make exceptions from the requirement of financial support to employ Ukrainian doctoral students? How should we handle co-publications with Russian researchers? These were some of the questions that came up at Friday’s information meeting on Ukraine.
More than 150 employees attended the information meeting, organized by the International Centre on March 11. The aim was to provide information on how the University handles collaborations with higher education institutions in Russia and Belarus, and to give an overview of the university sector’s support efforts for Ukraine. The aim was also to capture questions from the university staff. Many of the questions do not currently have straight answers, but will be brought back to relevant bodies and answered and published on the Staff Portal and Student Portal.
Safeguard indivduals
Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg underlined that the government’s demand to freeze collaborations with state institutions in Russia and Belarus does not automatically translate to breaking all ties to individual researchers and students from the two countries.
“We follow the government’s demands and act against the state of Russia by freezing agreements. But I want to stress that the “freeze” does not automatically apply to individuals. We safeguard personal relationships, and the University will never tolerate discrimination or abuse of either students or staff due to nationality. We must act responsibly and with careful consideration, while protecting the well-being of all, including the students and researchers who come from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine”, she said.
In collaboration with researchers from Russia and Belarus, an assessment must be made in each individual case, based on the subject area, to see if the collaboration can be continued from a security policy perspective.
Exemption from tuition fees?
Ukraine has just over 1.5 million students and over 60,000 researchers. The university sector has reacted to Russia’s invasion with strong condemnations. Targeted measures are underway, including the European Commission’s promise of support measures for researchers and students from Ukraine in the Horizon and Erasmus + programmes. Sweden’s Ministry of Education is currently preparing several issues as a result of the EU Temporary Protective Directive, including whether the directive will include exemptions from tuition fees.
Scholarships for Ukrainian students?
Hans Abelius, head of unit at the International Centre, said that at the outbreak of the war, the university had no students or staff in Ukraine.
“We are currently conducting a survey of the departments’ collaborations with Russia and Belarus, to get an overview. We are also investigating the possibility of establishing scholarships for students from Ukraine”, he said.
The University of Gothenburg coordinates the Swedish section of Scholars at risk. A dialogue is currently underway with the Ministry of Education, the SUHF and research funders to establish a national support programme for researchers fleeing Ukraine.
More efforts
The university has appointed a coordination group for Ukraine issues within the Central University Administration.
Several initiatives are underway at the university.
“For example, there is a dialogue about how the University of Gothenburg can support with interpreting assistance, we are the only university in Sweden that educates in the Ukrainian language”, said Eva Wiberg.
Welcome Services also reviews the prioritization of guest accommodation.
Read more
The Staff Portal and the Student Portal have pages that gather information on Ukraine-related issues. There you find information about support, and important links.
- Due to the war in Ukraine – Employee portal (gu.se)
- Due to the war in Ukraine – Student portal (gu.se)
- On the external website’s home page, there is a section with the theme Ukraine: www.gu.se
- Via this link below you will find an FAQ for international students: Regarding the war in Ukraine | University of Gothenburg (gu.se)
Contact
• Questions about research collaborations and research agreements, contact FIK, fik@gu.se
• Questions about students affected by the war in Ukraine, contact IC, internationalcentre@gu.se
• Questions concerning the hosting of researchers from Ukraine, contact IC, Karolina Catoni, karolina.catoni@gu.se
