Education in times of war - German-Ukrainian university cooperation between emergency aid and shaping the future

Prof. Oksana Makovoz and Constantin Scharf attended the conference "Education in Times of War" on 27 and 28 September in Berlin and, as representatives of IHI Zittau, discussed new ideas to advance the reconstruction of the country and Ukrainian research institutions together with the 170 participants. Building on the experiences of the ongoing DAAD project "Ukraine-Digital", the event at the AXICA Congress Centre in Berlin focused on networking with other higher education institutions and the strategic further development of the Ukraine funding programmes.

Education in Times of War

The Ukraine digital programme line, in which IHI Zittau has been involved with TU Dresden since 2022, will only run until December 2023, and the Future Ukraine programme ends in 2024. Both emergency programmes have achieved very good results and have been able to help maintain university operations in Ukraine.

At the conference "Education in Times of War - German-Ukrainian Higher Education Cooperation between Emergency Aid and Shaping the Future", which was also attended by members of the Bundestag and representatives of the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the DAAD therefore also presented ideas for new funding programmes.

Reconstruction in focus of new programme lines

In the reconstruction of the infrastructure and the rapprochement of Ukraine with the European Union, science will play a decisive role in the coming years. During the two-day conference, the DAAD emphasised the relevance of interdisciplinary higher education in many subjects, from engineering to European law: "Highly qualified specialists are needed to treat physical and psychological injuries, to reconstruct destroyed buildings and infrastructure, and to draft laws that will bring the country closer to the EU," Dr. Kai Sicks, Secretary General of the DAAD.

German-Ukrainian university cooperation, especially the projects already underway (Ukraine Digital, Future Ukraine), can make an important contribution by deepening existing partnerships and integrating the experience gained during the project periods to date into the further development of DAAD programmes.

Prof. Oksana Makovoz and Constantin Scharf used the event, especially the workshops on the second day, to exchange experiences of ongoing projects with other universities and to find synergy effects for the announced DAAD reconstruction programme line in the coming year. IHI Zittau will continue to demonstrate its solidarity with Ukraine in the future and is therefore seeking a continuation of the DAAD project in a new form to support the reconstruction of Ukraine.