On Thursday 1st of December, the University of Birmingham announced it has given 12 Ukrainian students, studying a range of courses, the opportunity to complete their education.

The university has pledged £300,000 in awards and support for students whose ability to complete their degree has been disrupted by the Russian invasion.

In a comment to the university, President of the Ukrainian Student Society, Mykhailo Pymkin (First-year, Business Management with Marketing), stated: “This is a great opportunity to study on a beautiful campus and it is fantastic that the University of Birmingham has been helping Ukrainian students to continue our education with a range of support.”

Daniel Dubrov (Second-year, Computer Science) told the university: “It brings me a lot of pleasure to be studying in Birmingham and feeling safe as I sit in my lectures. But the impact of war is still brought home to me as I get messages from home and I start worrying about my family and friends. I remember my Mum shaking me awake at 6am and telling me that war had begun. We watched the explosions happening on TV, shaking because we couldn’t believe that such a terrible thing could be happening.”

Since the beginning of the conflict, universities and student unions throughout Ukraine have coordinated mass evacuations. With over 95 pre-higher and higher education institutions being damaged, and at least 9 destroyed.

As a result, students have been unable to both begin their route into higher education and complete current degrees. This is where the University of Birmingham has stepped in to provide support. With funds for students and supporting the Cara scheme, working with academics in war torn countries.

Nataliia Chubenko (First-year, English and Creative Writing), stated to the university: “Our teachers at Birmingham have been lovely and very supportive – I’ve made some wonderful friends. I really appreciate being given the space to express our thoughts, stories and emotions – it’s very important to us.” 

Karina Malinovska (Third-year, Biochemistry) commented: “I’m enjoying my studies in Birmingham – it’s a different approach to studying in Ukraine. I want to use this experience to get my degree and return to Ukraine when the war is over to help in rebuilding my country – perhaps through teaching in a university.” 

Through the #TwinForHope campaign, the University of Birmingham has formed a partnership with the Ivan Franko National University, Lviv (IFNUL). This includes opening up access to digital resources, joint training initiatives and ‘developing joint research projects on: refugees and migration; global security and geopolitics; Shakespeare studies; and analytical methods of chemical detection.’ 

The #TwinForHope campaign has been set up to help showcase the importance of the benefits of partnerships between UK and Ukrainian universities through the conflict. The positive differences made involve ‘rebuilding campuses and sharing academic resources… welcoming Ukrainian staff and students to the UK to allow teaching and learning to continue’.

There are now over 100 long-term partnerships that have been put in place between UK and Ukrainian universities. In addition, the UK government has announced funding for the scheme. It will help colleagues from both universities keep in contact, to maintain education in Ukraine and bring hope to the future of Ukrainian universities.

Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Birmingham, told the university: “We are committed to supporting Ukrainian students during what must be a time of terrifying uncertainty – working together to help to fulfil the potential of the young people of Ukraine and the UK and support the future development of our two nations. I’m delighted that our Ukrainian students are making the most of their time with us.”

“We have also provided support to students from Russia who have been affected by the ongoing conflict – recognising that students and other Russian citizens are not responsible for the actions of their state.”

Read more News articles here:

Dad’s Cosy Coat Project Proves to be a Massive Success

Young Conservative Faces Backlash After Calling Birmingham a ‘Dump’

UK Universities to be Fined Over Student Dropout and Graduate Employment Rates