Hamburg establishes "science bridge" for Ukraine

3 March 2022

Ukrainian academics and students to get accommodation and work opportunities in Hamburg

The Ministry of Science and Research has announced plans to put EUR 100,000 towards the "Scholars at Risk" project especially for students and academics fleeing the Ukraine. The project campaigns worldwide for academic freedom and the human rights of scientists and academics. As part of the "Hamburg Science Bridge Germany-Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees will receive unbureaucratic access to study and work in Hamburg, as well as urgently needed accommodation, according to Andreas Timm-Giel, Chairman of the State University Conference.

Ministry shoulder to shoulder with universities and others

"It is already clear that the scientific community has also been severely affected. Many academics and students are on the run and in fear of their lives," said Katharina Fegebank, Senator for Science, Research and Equality. The ministry will provide swift, unbureaucratic assistance in close co-operation with Hamburg's universities and non-university research institutions. "Those who come forward will be ensured admission as uncomplicatedly as possible," Fegebank added. The DESY research centre will make its guest houses available to Ukrainians who have fled.

The Ukraine had around 282 public and private higher education institutions with about 1.4 million enrolled students in 2019, according to ministry. The Ukraine has been a fully-fledged member of the Bologna Process, a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications, since 2005.

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Sources and further information

hamburg.de

Scholars at Risk

Founded in New York in 1999, the international "Scholars at Risk" network comprises around 500 universities in 38 countries. In 2016, the German section of the network was founded under the leadership of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn. As a founding member, the University of Hamburg has been involved from the very start.