HSMW further expands its support for Ukraine

Mittweida University of Applied Sciences (HSMW) remains firmly on Ukraine’s side. “War and terror must never be allowed to gain the upper hand,” says Professor Volker Tolkmitt, referring to Russia’s war of aggression. “More than 250 people have found a temporary home here in Mittweida. Thanks in part to the commitment of our students, partners and sponsors, we are now able to expand our support once again.”

Since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, the HSMW has carried out a wide range of initiatives, both large and small. What began as aid deliveries quickly evolved into the integration of Ukrainians into campus life in Mittweida. Thanks to the support of two foundations, this work is now reaching a new level.

Daryna Karpiuk is sitting at a desk with a laptop in front of a window. She is wearing a blouse and a woollen waistcoat and looks into the camera with a friendly yet determined expression. — Daryna Karpiuk is a Ukrainian student and works on one of the HSMW’s projects to support her compatriots.

The Volkswagen Foundation and the Foundation for University Teaching are supporting initiatives at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences

The Volkswagen Foundation and the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education actively support the HSMW. They enable Ukrainian women who have fled their country to continue their work in Mittweida. Each foundation is funding a project designed to enable these women to continue their academic work for Ukraine whilst in forced exile, despite the war in their homeland.

The Volkswagen Foundation has awarded three scholarships to female researchers currently working in Mittweida. They include two female professors and a PhD student. Among other things, a management-based controlling approach is being modelled to increase businesses’ capacity to invest in energy-efficiency optimisation measures. In her doctoral thesis, the PhD student is examining the financial resources of local governments in the context of decentralisation.

At the same time, the Foundation for University Teaching is supporting the “development of digital skills through the integration of Ukrainian teaching staff into teaching and study programmes” at the HSMW. Two research assistants are working on the prototyping and implementation of innovative digital content within the HSMW’s teaching and study programmes. It makes sense for these to be designed digitally: the vast majority of lectures at Ukrainian universities currently have to be delivered online. At the same time, the two researchers are also benefiting personally: they are gaining teaching experience which they can use upon their return to Ukraine to train the next generation of academics.

Mittweida: Top spot in Saxony for the number of students enrolled

However, it is not only female academics who have come to Mittweida. In terms of student numbers, the HSMW ranks among the very top of Saxony’s higher education institutions – even though several universities have significantly higher student numbers and, consequently, greater resources for student support.

“This low ‘staff-to-student ratio’ has certainly presented us with challenges and continues to do so,” admits Saskia Langhammer, Head of the International Office. “As a university, we have overcome many hurdles together. The Students’ Council, in particular, has led the way with exceptional commitment.”

The students in Mittweida had already taken the initiative back in February 2022, collecting a large number of donations, transporting relief supplies to the border and providing accommodation by furnishing flats for the new arrivals. Even during the first wave following the outbreak of the war, more than 30 students had decided to continue their studies in Mittweida. Others joined them in the summer term of 2022 and the winter term of 2022/2023.

There are currently over 50 students of Ukrainian nationality officially enrolled at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, many of whom are aiming to graduate as early as 2024. In addition, over 50 students are officially undertaking a study period abroad in Mittweida. The majority are also attending intensive language courses. However, these are not the only ones who have found their way to Mittweida: 194 Ukrainians are currently preparing to study in German at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences’ preparatory college.

The Studienkolleg lays the foundations for a successful degree in Germany

The courses at the Studienkolleg are necessary in order to sit the Abitur or the so-called DSH examination. The abbreviation stands for ‘Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang’ (German Language Test for University Admission) and is taken by students from all over the world in order to commence a degree programme in Germany. It serves as proof of the language skills required to study in Germany. After all, Ukrainian students also need to be able to understand, take in and process the material covered in lectures and seminars.

“The Ukrainian students who are already studying in Mittweida feel very much at home here,” says Emelie Jusek, who currently looks after almost exclusively Ukrainian students at the International Office. “Some of them are currently undertaking work placements in Mittweida and the surrounding area. Other students are already working as student assistants or in part-time roles. In February 2024, the first refugees will complete their studies at the HSMW.”

Word is spreading about these positive experiences. More than 30 Ukrainian nationals have already applied to study in Mittweida for the 2023/2024 winter semester. 14 of them are moving on from the preparatory college to study at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. The range of degree programmes chosen reflects the full spectrum of the HSMW’s offering: from A for Applied Computer Science and Audio and Acoustical Engineering, to B for Business Administration, via M for Media Management, Media Informatics and Interactive Entertainment, to W for Business Engineer.

“For us as a university, and particularly for us in the International Office, the situation remains challenging and the workload involved in providing advice is high,” adds Jusek. “Refugees from Ukraine have a different residence status and receive financial support in a different way to refugees of other nationalities. The regulations were only introduced just over a year ago and have been amended several times since then.” This is causing uncertainty for many. “Furthermore, the uncertainty about the future of their home country is taking its toll on the students, who at the same time want to support their families and remain closely connected to them.”

Ukrainian delegation attends the ceremonial inauguration of the new Vice-Chancellor

Just how close the ties between Mittweida and Ukraine have become as a result of their collaboration was also evident at the inauguration ceremony on 3 July 2023. When Rector Tolkmitt was formally inducted into office, the guests included representatives from the HSMW’s partner universities in Ukraine. Despite the war and the air strikes on their home countries, Rector Anatoly Ivanovich Kovalev from Odessa and Oleksii Dzhusov from Dnipro, amongst others, had made the journey to Mittweida.

The Ukrainian partners are also providing Mittweida University of Applied Sciences with more than just symbolic support. Dzhusov, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, has also held the position of honorary professor of international finance and investment at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences since July 2023. As an honorary professor, Dzhusov now teaches regularly at Mittweida’s Faculty of Industrial Engineering, specifically on the English-taught Master’s programme ‘Innovation and Business Expansion’.

Dzhusov had already supported the HSMW’s efforts: He is a member of the project team at Ukraine Digital, a project which, with the support of the German Academic Exchange Service, translates German teaching materials into Ukrainian and facilitates digital examinations, enabling students in Odessa and Dnipro to continue their studies despite the Russian attacks.

Three students are standing on the cleared loading area of a articulated lorry. In the foreground are hospital beds; on the loading area are numerous cardboard boxes on Euro pallets. — The students Bela, Emilia, Philipp and Oliver loaded the first consignment of relief supplies bound for Dnipro, one of the two Ukrainian cities where Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has a partner university.

Crisis management team since the start of the war

It is no secret that the HSMW’s support for Ukraine is ongoing. Close ties have existed for decades. Furthermore, Tolkmitt’s predecessor as Rector, Professor Ludwig Hilmer, had already set up a crisis management team on 24 February 2022 to coordinate the HSMW’s immediate aid to Ukraine.

Together with the organisers of its mobile study programme, HSMW dispatched a articulated lorry full of relief supplies bound for Dnipro in mid-March 2022. A few days later, a further consignment of aid was sent to Odessa, which the head of the preparatory college, Peter Maring, personally delivered to Ukraine. In addition, the facilities management team at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences continuously collected furniture such as tables and chairs, which were transported to Ukraine in several shipments and are now being used in schools.