Solidarity with Ukraine

H-BRS supports Ukrainian students and their partner university, Chernihiv Polytechnic National University

After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg showed solidarity with the victims of the invasion, which is in contravention of international law. “We don’t just want to express our solidarity, but also offer concrete support,” stressed University President Hartmut Ihne. To fulfil this promise, H-BRS launched an emergency fund of 300,000 euros between April 2022 and March 2023 to provide short-term and uncomplicated assistance to students, doctoral candidates and prospective students from Ukraine. Alongside the emotional and psychological strain, it quickly became clear to those responsible at H-BRS that students were also threatened financially. “We noticed that many were afraid about what would soon happen. Some students were receiving support from their home country but that would no longer be possible in the foreseeable future, and some were even supporting their family at home. The fear of having to go back was also real,” says Paulina Hinz, refugee project coordinator. This is why HBR-S implemented a short-term scholarship to be able to react flexibly to the students’ needs. “No-one knew how long the war would last, when refugee students would arrive or how long they would stay.”

Alongside financial support, the university organised language courses and counselling services for the refugee students and hired a Ukrainian-speaking assistant using money from the emergency fund. H-BRS students supported their fellow students and offered advice, discussion and help through a study-buddy programme. After the emergency fund expired in March 2023, H-BRS continued to support refugee students with help from programmes offered by the DAAD and the Ministry of Culture and Science.

Destruction and Rebuilding

Chernihiv Polytechnical National University, which has been a partner university of H-BRS since 2012, was hit heavily with bomb and drone strikes. 4,000 square metres of windows, the entire heating system, roofs, walls, floors and doors, along with IT systems, labs and research equipment were destroyed. To assist in the reconstruction, H-BRS appealed for donations of money and materials. Thanks to the funds donated thus far, a mobile power generator could be delivered to Ukraine.

Mehr: ȹ www.h-brs.de/en/ukraine ȹ www.h-brs.de/en/io/h-brs-emergency-fund-2022