Researchers around the world band together to help fleeing Ukrainian scientists
Schemes spring up to put refugee scientists in European and North American labs
‘The siren woke us up today,’ says Olena Severynovska, dean of the faculty of biology and ecology at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. ‘The city was bombarded with rockets.’
Until Friday, Dnipro, a city in in central-eastern Ukraine, had been relatively safe. But on 11 March, three Russian rockets struck a densely populated civilian area. ‘We were relatively calm until that morning,’ says Severynovska.
However, even before this first attack on the city, it had been impossible to work, she says. Everyone stays at home, but she has been trying to keep undergraduate courses running. Some overseas academics have even offered online lectures to Ukrainian students.
Severynovska is one of the many scientists and academics whose life has changed dramatically in the past two weeks. Looking on in horror, their colleagues in the scientific community have come together to offer whatever help they can. Now there is a curated list of research groups from around the world who are offering jobs, scholarships and accommodation. Initiated by Ilfa University of Latvia and supported by national organisations such as the German–Ukrainian Academic Society, this list has grown to include more than 600 universities and has been circulated to all universities in Ukraine.