Networking meeting regarding Ukrainian students/researchers

29. March 2022 Higher EducationStudies
Flag Ukraine
In cooperation with the project Uni-Freunde the OeAD organised an online networking meeting on the situation of Ukrainian students and researchers on 25 March. 87 representatives of Austrian higher education institutions and also of the UNHCR, aid organisations, students and experts attended the meeting.

The aim of the event was to provide information about the current legal framework conditions and the measures taken by the OeAD and the university preparation programmes and to enable an exchange to find synergies that can benefit the support of students and researchers from Ukraine.

After the welcome address by the organisers, Gerhard Volz, Head of the Department of International Cooperation in Higher Education at the OeAD, provided information on the measures taken at the OeAD. After that, the legal framework conditions were presented in three inputs. Marie-Claire Sowinetz, UNHCR, gave an insight into the EU Directive and provided an overview of the overall situation by means of updated statistics, maps & charts, links and “flash updates”. Aleksandra Panek, AST/Migrant.at, focused on the practical implications of the asylum law change in her input: ID card for displaced persons, residence regulations for displaced persons, basic care, labour market access. Tanja Raab, OeAD, provided an insight into the legal interpretation and situation for refugee students and researchers from Ukraine in Austria in her input. Then Sonja Winklbauer, director of the University Preparation Programme of the Vienna Universities (VWU), presented the university preparation programme’s measures. The last input was dedicated to the information platform https://scienceforukraine.eu, which Irena Remestwenski, coordinator of the platform for Austria, presented. Numerous higher education institutions already use the platform. It is intended to provide support in presenting an overview of all measures and initiatives that is as comprehensive as possible.

Following the inputs breakout sessions were held to discuss the higher education institutions’ individual measures and to address open questions. 

Further information:
studyinaustria.at/ukraine
Uni Freunde - Fremde werden Freunde
scienceforukraine.eu
AST - Anlaufstellen
https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine