University group calls for more money, including dedicated fellowships and flexible funding for institutions
The EU has been called on to provide more support for university staff and students fleeing the war in Ukraine, including extra funding for a dedicated fellowship scheme for researchers.
With Russian attacks ongoing, refugees continue to arrive in neighbouring European countries (pictured). Earlier this month the EU activated its Temporary Protection Directive, which grants refugees the right to work immediately, and support has been offered to Ukrainian researchers and students.
For example, on 18 March the European Research Council (ERC) launched an initiative to find jobs for Ukrainian researchers as part of ongoing projects.
But on 21 March the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, representing 21 institutions across Europe, said “more should be done to enable universities to support students and staff from Ukraine on our campuses”, appealing to the European Commission and the French Presidency of the Council of the EU to “demonstrate solidarity”.
The Guild said additional funding was needed for support mechanisms that are “sufficiently rapid and flexible to account for the unplanned and urgent nature of arrivals from Ukraine”.
Push for fellowships
One measure called for by the Guild is the creation of a dedicated EU fellowship scheme for researchers fleeing the conflict, open to both Ukrainian researchers and Russians under threat from speaking out against the war. Similar schemes have already been set up in countries including France, Poland and Switzerland.
A proposal for such an EU-level fellowship is being submitted by the MEP Christian Ehler under the EU’s 2023 budget, but Ehler said on 18 March that the Commission needs to move faster and consider setting up a scheme immediately.
The Guild said an EU fellowship for researchers at risk could be adapted from existing schemes, such as the European Research Area Chairs or postdoctoral fellowships offered through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) mobility programme.
University support funds
In a blogpost, the Guild’s secretary general Jan Palmowski said the “biggest leap” required of the EU is to provide flexible funding to universities, based on trust, to support staff and students fleeing Ukraine.
He said that while universities in Europe have made efforts to support Ukrainian refugees, “the resources of universities are not enough” and they “cannot meet the demand for places on their own”.
Arguing that universities are best placed to judge the needs of the refugees they could assist, Palmowski said: “At this time of crisis, no university will use such funds frivolously.”
The Guild also suggested measures to increase the flexibility of existing EU programmes that could benefit researchers and students fleeing the war.
Suggestions included extending the time period of eligibility for ERC and MSCA grants and the Erasmus+ student mobility programme, and opening up to Ukrainians the ‘hop-on’ programmes designed to increase the participation of researchers from Eastern European member states in European projects.
Third country refugees
The Guild said it was “extremely important” for support to be offered to all displaced university staff and students, no matter what their nationality.
The EU’s Temporary Protection Directive already applies to third-country nationals “benefiting from international protection in Ukraine” who cannot return safely to their country, as well as Ukrainians.
But the Guild said access to visa and residency permits should be given to all students and academics displaced by the war, highlighting that Ukraine had more than 76,000 foreign students.