The conflict in Ukraine (Ed. – Russia’s heinous full-scale invasion of Ukraine) has led to over eight million Ukrainians leaving the country to seek refuge in other countries across Europe since February 2022. In the months following the outbreak of the war, host countries faced challenges in meeting the immediate basic needs of large numbers of displaced people, such as accommodation and access to healthcare.
Just over a year on, there is a need for a focus on integration, and supporting refugees to access education and the labour market. There are many measures that can be implemented by policy-makers, universities, recognition centres and professional bodies to remove barriers to the integration of refugees.
Many refugees have partially complete qualifications due to disrupted studies. An understanding of students’ prior learning is needed to enable them to transfer to a different institution to complete their studies, as well as language and pastoral support to help them integrate into a new country and different education system.
Universities across Europe and North America, including Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland), Tallinn University in Estonia, Riga Technical University in Latvia, the University of Bologna in Italy, the Technical University of Munich in Germany and many others, have created programmes to enable Ukrainian students to continue their studies, including support with accommodation and scholarships.
Initiatives like the Ukrainian Global University and Science for Ukraine aim to provide opportunities for Ukrainian students and scholars to help “ensure the continuity of Ukraine’s science and strengthen its presence in the international science arena”.
A survey of Ukrainian migrants conducted by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that 74% of Ukrainian refugees in the European Union hold a bachelor or masters degree and 76% had been employed in Ukraine.
Rapid integration of fully trained professionals is another crucial strand in current recognition work. An example of a policy to support access to regulated professions is the temporary registration scheme introduced in Latvia.
Special legislation was passed to enable Ukrainian professionals to provide temporary services in some professions. Under this legislation, they are able to work under the supervision of local professionals and employers are responsible for ensuring that communication is effective, for example, by providing interpreters as needed. By November 2022, this scheme had enabled around 200 professionals to enter employment as doctors, dentists, pharmacists and teachers.
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