At its meeting at Budapest University of Economics and Technology on 27 April, the EUA Council approved a set of actions to assist the Ukrainian higher education sector.
EUA recognises the importance of engaging in a reflection on the medium- to long-term post-war recovery of Ukraine and its university sector, and considering, as soon as possible, how EUA and other European partners might actively support such endeavours. Consequently, EUA will establish a dedicated task force. This group will be chaired by EUA Board member Ivanka Popović, from the University of Belgrade, who experienced and participated in reconstruction efforts following the Balkan wars in the 1990s. The task force will be put together in the coming weeks, and further details will be made available in due course.
EUA also agreed on a number of measures to facilitate Ukrainian membership of EUA, in order to help ensure that Ukrainian universities are fully integrated into European activities and have a platform for direct exchange with universities and university associations throughout Europe. These measures include:
- waiving EUA membership fees for all existing and new members during 2022;
- encouraging and expediting new membership applications from eligible Ukrainian institutions and organisations (including the national rectors’ conference);
- giving access to some services and events to non-member Ukrainian universities where appropriate; and
- considering the establishment of a voluntary solidarity fund to support Ukrainian participation in EUA activities.
In its Statement on Ukraine of 2 March, EUA committed to continually engaging with Ukrainian member universities to establish their needs for support, and to providing whatever assistance it can to Ukrainian universities. These new actions are in addition to ongoing efforts to monitor and disseminate information on the situation in Ukraine – for example, through a dedicated webpage and briefing materials – as well as to foster dialogue with Ukrainian institutions and countries engaged in support efforts, particularly those neighbouring Ukraine.
The EUA Annual Conference, on 28 and 29 April, included a special ‘Spotlight on Ukraine’ session, with direct testimony from representatives of the Ukrainian, Hungarian and Polish university systems. The recording of this session is available on the EUA YouTube channel.
This article was first published on 6 May by EUA.
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