Anniversary of the Russian invasion on Ukraine
On February 24 one year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. Like numerous universities and organizations in Switzerland and abroad, the University of Basel marked this day with a special program. For the past year, our university has become a place of refuge for around one hundred students and thirty researchers from Ukraine, one-third of whom are supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) as “Scholars at Risk.” Since then, these Ukrainian students, PhD students, and postdocs have made important contributions to research and internationalization at the University of Basel. It is hardly known that thousands of students from countries in the Global South who were studying in Ukraine thanks to scholarships have also become academics in need but have hardly been accepted at other European universities. The extent of this “collateral damage” can hardly be estimated.
Conference: Consequences of the Russian War of Aggression for Science and Research in Ukraine
On February 24, a public conference with the title “Consequences of the Russian War of Aggression for Science and Research in Ukraine” was held in the Kollegienhaus under the leadership of the initiative Ukrainian Research in Switzerland (URIS) and supported by National and International Cooperation. About half of our Ukrainian researchers and doctoral students from a total of five faculties presented at the event. In sixteen talks, they offered impressive and unique insights from their respective fields and regions of origin on topics such as “The Psychological Consequences of War,” “The Humanities in War,” “The Situation of Students and Doctoral Students,” “Peace Building, Law, and Toxicology,” and “Consequences for Archives and Cultural Institutions.” A large, broad audience learned first-hand about how Ukrainian universities have been trying to maintain teaching operations despite dangers and great difficulties (especially online) and how studying and research have been carried out in this country while families, friends, fellow students, and colleagues are on duty in the military or in civilian services.
Public Panel Discussion
A well-attended public panel discussion in the aula on sources of resistance and visions for the future after the war rounded off the program in the evening.
One year ago, few experts foresaw that Ukraine would still be at war on the first anniversary of the invasion. Instead of being overrun by Russia's presumed military superiority, Ukraine not only withstood the attack, but even liberated large parts of the country from Russian occupation again. The military and politics, but also Ukrainian civil society and the cultural scene, mobilized what many observers considered surprising capacities of resilience and optimism - both on the front lines and in everyday life, as well as in art and culture.
But from what does Ukrainian society draw its remarkable resilience? And what prospects and designs are already emerging for the country's post-war reconstruction and future? The Ukrainian writer Natalka Sniadanko, human rights activist Oleksandra Bienert and Gretta Fenner, director of the Basel Institute on Governance, discussed these topics in this panel discussion. The conversation, conducted in German, was moderated by Judith Huber, journalist and Eastern Europe expert for SRF.
Future prospects for Ukraine and Switzerland
The question of reconstruction and the future was a topic that was returned to throughout the day. A great deal of commitment and investment will be needed to ensure that Ukrainian universities survive this caesura, to reconstruct destroyed infrastructures as quickly as possible, to respond to the brain drain of academics who have fled, died, or become disabled, and to develop the country’s education and research system further. How can we at the University of Basel contribute to this as part of the international scientific community and also continue our support and networks for the long term?
Among the many needs, the most important are information, exchange, digitization, and funding. The SNSF and the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU) already signed an agreement in June 2022 to enable closer cooperation between researchers in Switzerland and Ukraine. This includes an SNSF website that informs researchers in and from Ukraine about SNSF measures and funding and that facilitates international collaborations. Potential future initiatives include bi- and multilateral projects, research stays, and networking activities, as well as conferences and other jointly coordinated events.
This report was written by Dr. Tanja Popović (tanja.popovic@unibas.ch) from "National and International Cooperation". Tanja Popović is head of Welcome/Euraxess Center & Dual Career Advice.
Links:
- SNSF measures and recommendations
- Detailed report on the situation at Swiss universities (Swissuniversities 10/2022)
- Recommendation: SRF science podcast Kopf voran on “Flucht in die Wissenschaft: Wie drei ukrainische Forscherinnen in der Schweiz überleben” (30 min., 2 March 2023),
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