Head of the International Office Lucie Koutková explains in an interview how the HSZG coordinates its activities in connection with Ukrainian students and refugees.
Lucie Koutková is Head of the International Office at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. In this interview, she reports on how the HSZG manages and coordinates its activities in connection with Ukrainian students and refugees.
Ms. Koutková, what is the current status of how Ukrainian students are currently being dealt with at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences?
At the end of March 2022, a Ukraine Task Force was set up at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the Rector. This group, consisting of administrative staff, members of the faculties and institutes and members of the StuRa, maintains the Ukraine information portal and manages the e-mail address Ukraine(at)hszg.de, which was set up specifically for the topic of Ukraine. This is also where most of the HSZG's activities in connection with Ukrainian students and refugees from Ukraine are coordinated.
Our priority is, of course, to support Ukrainian full-time students who have lost all or part of their livelihood due to the war in Ukraine and are at risk of not being able to continue their studies in Germany. In this area, we work closely with the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences support association.
There are also many inquiries from students from Ukraine who have either already arrived in our region or are still in Ukraine and are looking for a place to study in Germany. Incidentally, these are not only Ukrainians, but often also young people of Asian or African origin who have studied in English in Ukraine.
Lecturers from Ukraine or university staff also repeatedly approach the university directly or through their hosts in Germany and look for points of contact. The biggest challenge for both groups is the lack of knowledge of the German language. The vast majority of our degree programs are not offered in English. Where possible, we integrate prospective students into our German courses for exchange students or into the Studienkolleg with the aim of later enrolling them as guest students or full-time students.
So far, the job shadowing model based on the Erasmus+ project has proved successful for lecturers from Ukraine. For example, Prof. Oksana Makovoz from the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute was integrated into the Faculty of Economics and Industrial Engineering in this way. At the moment, we do not employ any Ukrainian lecturers or academics who have fled.
Since the beginning of the war, the HSZG has been acting in close coordination with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which represents German universities in matters of international cooperation. At the same time, coordination also takes place at state level. Under the guidance of the State Rectors' Conference, structures are currently being created to coordinate activities at Saxon universities. In addition, the task force is in constant contact with the local contact points for refugees. Even though the situation is constantly evolving, we are trying to have a stabilizing effect for our students from Ukraine and Russia.
What is the situation with Russian students?
As far as students from Russia are concerned, the situation here is very complex. Due to its strategic international orientation, the HSZG has long-standing active partnerships with universities in Russia, e.g. ITMO and UNECON in St. Petersburg. In order to secure these partnerships financially, we have successfully acquired projects in the past via the exchange programs Erasmus+ Worldwide and DAAD Eastern Partnerships. The Faculty of Natural Sciences runs a successful double degree program with the ITMO. These partnerships are partially at risk due to the political developments of recent weeks. Although stays by Russian students and staff at the HSZG can continue to be funded - meaning that no one has to return early - our projects will expire either at the end of 2022 or by mid-2023 at the latest. It is currently uncertain whether we will be able to acquire new funding and how partnerships with Russian higher education institutions will continue to be funded.
How many Ukrainian students are currently studying at the HSZG? What assistance and support is provided by the HSZG?
There are currently 11 Ukrainian students enrolled on our degree courses and in the Studienkolleg (preparatory college). Shortly after the war began, we asked them to contact the International Office if they needed support. Some of them took advantage of this opportunity and the university staff are in close contact with them. The Rector has also invited them to a personal exchange on April 1, 2022. Students therefore know that all doors are open to them at our university. Some students are involved in refugee aid, some look after refugee family members. All in all, they are very independent and proud people.
As the head of the International Office, you are used to organizing foreign students at the university and the exchange of teaching staff. How challenging have the past few weeks been for you?
This topic has dominated my everyday work since the beginning of the war. It is a great challenge, but this was to be expected in the context of such a crisis. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Rectorate and, above all, the members of the task force and the employees who are working in their free time for their commitment and excellent cooperation! It is a logical decision to locate the coordination in the Department of Studies and International Affairs, especially because there is already experience here from the time around 2015, when flight and migration already played a major role for the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. However, if coordination develops into a longer-term task, the distribution of tasks will have to be rethought. The question of funding must also be brought into play here. In order to be able to offer language courses on a larger scale or hire Ukrainian employees, we need to acquire funding. At the moment, we are waiting for new funding programs to be announced.
All in all, I can say that my work in the International Office has never been as political as it has been in the last few weeks. This event will certainly steer the international orientation of the HSZG in new directions. Above all, I see this as an opportunity for the HSZG and am curious to see the results.
What about German students who are currently taking part in an exchange program in Ukraine or Russia?
Due to its strategic focus on Eastern Europe and the CIS states, the HSZG has a very active cooperation with Ukrainian and Russian universities, e.g. with the Ternopil Pedagogical University in Ukraine and the universities ITMO and UNECON in Russia. Fortunately, when the war broke out, we only had one double degree student from the Faculty of Natural Sciences in St. Petersburg. We asked him to return quite soon, as we considered the security risk to be too high. He returned to Zittau by a detour via Helsinki, as there were no more direct flights available at the time. The other students did not even leave the country. At the moment, student, lecturer and staff mobility to Russia is not eligible for funding.
How is communication and cooperation with the partner universities? Are you in contact?
Communication with the partner universities usually takes place via the faculty coordinators. Some time ago, the Ukrainian partners signaled that they were safe. Of course, this may have changed in the meantime. According to the DAAD, over 50 percent of Ukrainian universities have had to suspend their work and others are still teaching online. We have informed our Russian partner universities that we have to "freeze" our cooperation for the time being, except for the Incomer mobilities. It is currently difficult to make a realistic assessment of further developments. We have to remain flexible.
