Among those who met with the University’s senior staff were Anastasiya Pshenychnykh, our first Ukraine Academic Fellow, who joined the School of Social Sciences and Humanities in September, and Iryna Strutynska, who received a British Academy ‘Researchers At Risk' Fellowship in July and is based at Loughborough University London. Also at the event were the eight undergraduate, Masters and PhD students who began their studies with us in October after being awarded Loughborough’s Ukraine scholarships.
The Ukraine Academic Fellowship scheme enables academic researchers who have been affected by the war, to work in research, teaching and innovation roles at Loughborough. The scheme has been organised in association with Cara, the Council for At Risk Academics, which provides urgently needed expert help to academics who are in danger or have been forced into exile.
Anastasiya Pshenychnykh, the University’s Ukraine Academic Fellow, said: “I believe that in these dark times for Ukraine, it is very important for us to continue doing what we do best – for students to be able to study and for academics to research and publish, and in this way we can make Ukraine visible.
“Thanks to the initiatives and great work of Loughborough University and Cara, it is possible for Ukrainian researchers to be academically active and to contribute to the UK-Ukraine universities’ relations. I felt happy and honoured to be invited to the reception, to meet and express words of gratitude to people welcoming us at Loughborough – the Vice-Chancellor, the Ukraine Response Group, the Fellowship Coordinator and many others helping us on the way.”
The Vice-Chancellor thanked colleagues leading the University’s Ukraine response and said: “I was delighted to meet the staff and students who have joined us from Ukraine and to be able to welcome them formally to the University. I was truly humbled by the stories they shared with us and by the courage they had shown over the last months.”
Further information on the support available for staff and students who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine is available on the University’s website.