Networking and Career Event »Berlin4Ukraine« at Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Four months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the event »Berlin4Ukraine: Meet & Learn – A networking event for exile researchers» took place on June 30, 2022 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). It was organized by Berlin Research 50, the Berlin University Alliance, the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Clusters of Excellence SCRIPTS, NeuroCure, UniSysCat, Science of Intelligence and Temporal Communities, the Dahlem Humanities Center as well as the German-Ukrainian Academic Society.

The stated goals of the event were to provide information on funding possibilities for refugee scientists in particular and German science funding in general, as well as networking opportunities for researchers from Ukraine and Berlin. Participants included academics, PhD students, researchers and science managers from Ukraine, but also researchers and professionals from research institutes in Berlin. The event was kicked off with opening words from Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Christoph Markschies (BBAW), Prof. Dr. Christoph Schneider (BUA) and Dr. Gregor Hofmann (BR50). Dr. Oskana Seumenicht (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and German-Ukrainian Academic Society) provided an overv­­­iew of the German science and innovation landscape and pointed out important differences to the Ukrainian system for the largely Ukrainian-speaking audience. She also outlined the relevant funding lines existing in Germany, such as the European Fund for displaced scientists, the DAAD’s National Academic Contact Point Ukraine, support from the German-Ukrainian Academic Society, and the DFG, who expanded its Walter Benjamin Program while continuing to offer additional grants for personnel, scientific equipment, and travel. Berlin universities and research institutions have also provided resources and funding opportunities for refugee scholars and researchers at risk, not least through scholarships and the reallocation of funds: While the Humboldt Network supports scientific cooperation between German and Foreign researchers from postdoc levels, the Philipp Schwartz Initiative enables universities and research institutions in Germany to host researchers at risk on the basis of a full fellowship (its 12th call is expected to be announced in July 2022).

At the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«, funds were reallocated to create four fellowships for displaced scholars from and in Ukraine, including students from Egypt and Namibia, at both junior and senior levels, covering a range of disciplines, including theoretical and practical computer sciences and environmental technology studies. Two PhD students, Jessica Upani and Mostafa Alaa, and two Master students, Seth Ekow Abaidoo and Seid Mayo Abdul Aziz Sepa, have been integrated at the HTW on Campus Wilhelminenhof in Treptow-Köpenick, Berlin, since March 2022, while Oleh Basystiuk is currently prohibited from leaving Ukraine and therefore remains at LPNU in Lviv while holding an online-fellowship.

Prof. Dr. Natalya Shakhovska holds a professorship and chair at LPNU in Lviv, where, as a senior fellow, she is currently working on expanding cooperations with partner universities and coordinating online events with students from the German International University of Ukraine and HTW as well as on EU project levels. The duration of the fellowships ranges from 7 to 9 months, with the option of stays being extended as long as the fellows continue to be at risk. Hosting and integration support was organized and carried out by Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. mult. Jürgen Sieck, professor for Computer Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) and Principal Investigator of the project »Filtering« at »Matters of Activity«, with the help of a number of employees, researchers and students from HTW. Needless to say, the fellows had to undergo and are still subject to various bureaucratic and other hurdles leading up to and since their arrival in Berlin, including language barriers, accommodation, immigration, missing registration documents and degree certificates, which often had to be left behind or could not be reissued by their home institutions under the circumstances.

At BBAW, thursday’s »Berlin4Ukraine« event continued with insights by Ukrainian researchers integrated in German academic institutions, who were invited to speak about their thoughts and experiences as displaced researchers. During the break, participants of the conference were able to take part in parallel moderated info sessions with coffee, or visit information desks set up to provide assistance and to answer questions about various institutions such as HU Berlin, Charité, BUA, and others. The afternoon closed with a panel discussion moderated by Katharina Blum from the Institute for Eastern European Studies (FU Berlin). Panel guests consisted of Prof. Dr. Heribert Hofer (IZW), Rozaliia Tarnovetckaia (TU Berlin), Dr. Judith Wellen (Phillip Schwartz Initiative, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung), and Prof. Dr. Leonid Yatsenko (former head of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine). The panel tackled perspectives on mid- to long-term strategies in supporting Ukraine and advancing international research cooperations. In addition, panelists highlighted the importance of in-country support for future reconstruction efforts in the areas of fundamental science and higher education infrastructure researchers in Ukraine. The discussion also touched on the potential of remote work and sustaining meaningful work relations digitally, especially amongst Ukrainian research groups whose members might be scattered across Europe as a result of the war.

As professor of Computer Science at Namibia University of Science and Technology in Windhoek and honorary doctorate from Ternopil National Economic University and Odessa National Polytevhnic University, Jürgen Sieck has supported and initiated a number of efforts to increase international exchange at the Cluster and HTW. One of these projects is a part of a German-African university exchange for Women in STEM, in partnership with the German University of Kairo, the Namibia University of Science and Technology, HTW and the HU. With a funding duration of 3,5 years (2022 to 2025) and the help of internal as well as external sources, HTW funds for women as well as funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be used to create research positions at HU for female PhD candidates, with the goal of strengthening international relationships through research networks. Another project is funded by the DAAD program »Ostpartnerschaften«, which aims to promote partnership relations between German universities and universities in Central Eastern, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Its goal is to contribute to rebuilding efforts by combining IT and civil society organization. Here, staff mobility funds were reallocated to create student assistant positions at HTW, Lviv and Odessa National Polytechnical University, and to create a platform for information exchange and community service through a server currently located at HTW. In future, this infrastructure might be enhanced by setting up multiple servers run by Ukrainian students from Ukraine’s major university cities, including Odessa, Lviv, Ternopil and Kiew. The project is also part of students’ education in local management and municipal administration. Connected to the idea of reconstruction efforts and civil society organizations, HTW will also continue to donate discarded technical and laboratory equipment to Ukraine.

An additional summer school for German and Ukrainian students is planned for 2023 at HTW, in which the focus will lie on IT applications, e.g. augmented and virtual reality, mobile applications and information systems, all of which can help in the reconstruction of Ukraine.