Ukraine: year one
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an unprecedented attack on Ukraine. It was the beginning of a large invasion that has left 8,000 civilians dead and six million refugees, according to UN figures. To date, there is no real solution to the conflict in sight, suggesting that the end of the war is still far from happening.
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an unprecedented attack on Ukraine. It was the beginning of a large invasion that has left 8,000 civilians dead and six million refugees, according to UN figures. To date, there is no real solution to the conflict in sight, suggesting that the end of the war is still far from happening.
The University of Barcelona launched a support programme for the Ukrainian university community in April 2022. This initiative has made it possible to welcome teaching and research staff and students from Ukraine with the aim of offering them the chance of a new start. One of these people is Olena Nifatova, a lecturer at the Department of Economics and Business at the Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design. The outbreak of war made her look for a safe place for her family. The UB gave her the opportunity to restart her life: “The UB has become a second home; a place where I can continue working on my creativity”, says Nifatova, who is now working at the Barcelona Economic Analysis Team (BEAT) of the UB’s Faculty of Economics and Business.
The lecturer, who describes her year at the UB as “interesting, productive, comfortable and friendly”, has been able to integrate quickly and effectively into the new professional environment: “From the first day, I felt the warmth of my colleagues at the university. This has allowed me to develop activities, such as participating in a course on Global Sustainability at the university, an experience that I was later able to apply in educational programmes at Ukrainian universities”. “Being at the UB means having new opportunities to grow professionally. I am very grateful”, says Nifatova.
Oleksander and Maryna Martynenko arrived at El Prat airport on the evening of 26 March. Xavier Pastor, professor at the UB’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, was waiting for them there. Pastor and Oleksander had worked together in the late nineties and now, when the war broke out, the UB professor did not think twice to tell the Martynenkos to come to the UB. They were the first Ukrainians to join the University. Oleksander has worked this year as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the UB and has also been a member of the Medical Informatics Unit of the Department of Medical and Surgical Specialities of the Hospital Clínic.
Martynenko saysthat he is “fully integrated into the research and academic activities” of the university. He is currently collaborating on several research projects which focus on the analysis of biomedical data with mathematical algorithms. One of them analyses chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and consists, specifically, of constructing strategies to accelerate the detection of the disease thanks to the analysis of patients’ genomes combined with biomarkers and phenotypic data. He also teaches the subjects of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine, which are taught in the degree in Biomedical Engineering; and Management and Organisation of Biomedical Information and Knowledge, given in the master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. “I am committed to offering my knowledge and experience to help advance science in these fields, both in Spain and Ukraine, in an open spirit of international academic collaboration”, notes Oleksander Martynenko.
Maryna Martynenko has joined the University of Barcelona as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business. “I am pleased and honoured to be able to work with Germà Bel on social policy and health issues”, says Martynenko, who adds that “the UB is a democratic and progressive environment for professional communications”. Maryna Martynenko thanks Professor Joan Ramon Borrell for his support in her “integration and adaptation to the new professional environment of the Faculty of Economics and Business”.
“The UB has allowed me to train in innovative areas such as biomedical information, under the guidance of Professor Xavier Pastor, and to participate in the preparation of the economics and marketing module of the master’s degree in Biomedical Data Science”, says Martynenko. “The experience at the University has been very positive. I have only thankful words to the rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia, the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation Policy, Raúl Ramos, and the UB Solidarity team, not only for opening the doors to Ukrainian researchers but also for showing their commitment to global science and democratic principles”, she concludes.
Marta Konovalova was teaching in Kyiv when the war broke out. Konovalova moved to Barcelona to become a visiting professor at CEI International Affairs, an institution linked to the UB that works in the field of diplomacy and international relations. “I have been given many opportunities to continue my research at the UB. I have participated in conferences, learned about organisational management and been able to teach. Also, the welcome from colleagues and students was exceptional: they made me feel like one of them from the very first moment”, says the professor.
Results of the support programme to Ukraine
During this first year of conflict, the results of the support programme set up by the UB have been satisfactory. Raúl Ramos, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation Policy at the UB, says: “During this year we have learned more from our Ukrainian friends than we have been able to give them. Their strength and commitment to our university, but also to their universities of origin, are to be admired”.
In total, fourteen Ukrainian teachers have been hired as part of the temporary welcoming initiative. The UB collaborates with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education’s Ukraine Global Faculty project, which aims to provide online teaching to Ukrainian students. The university has also applied for funding from the Erasmus+ programme under the KA171 call to reactivate the mobility of administrative and service staff, teaching and research staff and students from Ukrainian universities to Barcelona.
Moreover, the UB Solidarity Foundation launched a transition course to university studies aimed only at students from Ukraine who had fled the conflict. The course, which ran from May to September 2022, received fourteen students (thirteen girls and one boy). Most of them have decided to continue their university studies, both at the UB and at other universities.
A bit of hope
All four teachers interviewed share feelings of emotional resilience and confidence in a positive solution for the future of their country. Olena Nifatova says that the “concern for the remaining friends in Ukraine” remains intense. However, she is confident that her country can win the war: “Ukraine has the support of the civilised world that values human rights, democracy and freedom”. Oleksander Martynenko is also hopeful for a “ victory of Ukraine and its allies in these difficult times”. Martyna echoes her colleague’s feelings and calls for “peace to come soon”, while thanking “all the help provided”. “Ukraine has become a tool designed to preserve the world order, to show that imperialism and autocracy will be defeated and Western values will remain”, says Marta Konovalova, adding that they have shown firmness and a “resilient character and therefore I am confident in our victory”.