{"id":136702,"date":"2022-02-25T12:11:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T11:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=136702"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:08","slug":"war-in-ukraine-shocks-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/02\/25\/war-in-ukraine-shocks-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"War in Ukraine shocks higher education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Higher education has reacted with horror to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. In brief initial reactions, higher education institutions and representatives of the academic world are preparing their position.<\/p>\n

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Students are in The Hague for a demonstration against the war on Thursday 24 February.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlisa Mahaletska<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cWe are seeing appalling pictures from Ukraine\u201d, says Maurice Limmen, chair of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. \u201cWhat is happening there is horrendous.\u201d The universities are anxious as well, says umbrella organisation Universities of the Netherlands (UNL).<\/p>\n

There is only a limited number of exchange programmes with Ukraine. \u201cWe have checked in recent weeks whether there were any university staff or students in Ukraine by virtue of their job or study programme\u201d, says a spokesperson for the association. \u201cTo the best of our knowledge, this was not the case at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government action<\/h2>

What can they do? Universities of applied sciences are leaving it up to the politicians. \u201cWith regard to the consequences for our international collaboration in education and research, we will be looking at the action the government takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like this hasn\u2019t happened on such a scale in our part of the world since 1945\u201d, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this morning at a press conference. He thinks that the entire western world must condemn the invasion in the strongest terms. \u201cIf it were to become normal to invade another country, the long-term security of the Netherlands would be at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

In consultation with other countries, he wants to impose maximum sanctions on Putin and his government. He was unwilling to give any further details. So it is not yet clear what effect this will have on higher education and research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe universities will stay in close contact with their counterparts in Ukraine\u201d, says UNL. \u201cWe cannot yet say what consequences these geopolitical developments will have on existing partnerships.\u201d The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the European University Association were not yet able to comment.<\/p>\n

To the front<\/h2>

Various higher education media are devoting attention to the threatening situation. A Ukrainian PHD student in Groningen is afraid that he will soon be conscripted to the front<\/a>; a Russian student and a Ukrainian student at the University of Amsterdam both hope<\/a> for peace; and here<\/a> and there<\/a> lectures have been set up on the current situation in Ukraine. EUR student Alisa explained that she experienced anxiety attacks in the past couple of weeks.<\/p>\n\n\t

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