In Search of Stability and Purpose: Ukrainian (Displaced) Researchers in Germany

By Lidia Kuzemska

This article was simultaneously published by L.I.S.A. – Wissenschaftsportal Gerda Henkel Stiftung.

Given the opportunity and resources, displaced Ukrainian scholars aim to contribute to academia and science in both home and host countries, and to play their part in the Ukrainian reconstruction.

In April 2024, major German foundations organised a networking event for their Ukrainian fellows.[1] Two days of discussions and exchange served not only to give the scholars from different fields space to mingle, but also to brainstorm about how they see their current role and future in academia (be it in Ukraine, in Germany or elsewhere). This text provides an overview of what Ukrainian researchers in Germany currently consider to be the most important challenges and how they perceive their prospects. It also situates the support measures for Ukrainian scholars (especially in Germany) within the previous initiatives for displaced scholars and their unprecedented scale and scope are outlined. The blog concludes with a brief outlook on the future of Ukrainian studies in Germany that seems to finally be gaining momentum if the current institutionalisation efforts will be sustained.

Cooperation, Visibility and Deeper Knowledge about Ukraine

Throughout the networking event for the Ukrainian scholars in Germany, three topics repeatedly emerged during the discussions: a) the need for more effective networking among Ukrainian scholars (abroad and at home) and with the fellow foreign researchers (what Nikolaiev et al. (2023) called “communication bridges”), b) promotion of deeper knowledge about Ukraine and the benefits of German-Ukrainian cooperation in research, business and tackling common issues (e.g. cybersecurity, IT, green economy, adaptation to polycrisis, tackling social polarisation and disinformation), c) greater visibility of researchers in the public sphere to inform the citizenry.

These topics reflect a strong desire of Ukrainian scholars to contribute both domestically and abroad, as well as their search for purpose and application of expertise. “I don’t want to hear the word ‘help,’” – said one of the event participants – “A lot of things were done on humanitarian ground, but we need to think further.” Participants were encouraged to think about constructive, realistic areas of growth, long-term strategic partnership, and mutual benefits of German-Ukrainian scientific cooperation. In brief, as summarised one of the participants: “Why should Germany pay to get Ukrainian scholars here?”

Certainly, humanities and natural sciences would answer this question differently. According to Rose et al.’s (2024) calculations of #ScienceForUkraine database of opportunities for displaced scholars, the distribution of offers varies greatly by discipline with a clear domination of natural , medical and health sciences, engineering and technology that together make up two-thirds of all offers. Social sciences and humanities remain apparently less attractive for funders of displaced scholars and their impact is considered less immediately tangible or convertible into “products”.

However, it is not the lack of technologies or profitable “solutions” that led to a huge underestimation of the looming threats to the European countries and societies, but the (later acknowledged) lack of specific expertise and public awareness about their immediate Eastern neighbourhood. Such ignorance regarding Eastern Europe beyond Russia resulted in a later ‘surprise’ of the war and displacement reaching not only the German borders, but also having a direct impact on its politics and economy. As historian Timothy Snyder recently argued, humanities and social sciences are essential if we want to understand how we ended up in the current situation of “new paganism” with the rise of politics based not on reason and best interests, but on emotions and blind beliefs in extraction of natural resources, use of brutal force and trusting the “reality” created by the algorithms (IWMVienna, 2024). Without humanities and the social sciences our information literacy – critical thinking, ability to evaluate sources and content, search for nuanced and deeper answers to complex questions – is truncated to the first page of Google Search (Brabazon, 2024).  

Getting back to the networking event: The discussion did not shy away from bringing up the challenges for the displaced scholars in Germany, used to the realities of Ukrainian academia. Apart from more practical challenges such as the search for accommodation, schooling for children, arranging the necessary bureaucracy and insurances, all presenters reflected on the uncertainty about their and their families’ future exacerbated by the lack of clear communication from both Ukrainian and German ministries of education about what will come next after the temporary scholarships and positions will end. Scholars expressed the willingness to be part of such consultations and having a say in the future of (currently being reformed) Ukrainian academia. Representatives of all disciplines emphasised common challenges for the displaced scholars: time-limited funding, difficulties with the recognition of diplomas, limited academic mobility and teaching opportunities abroad. Interestingly, they also acknowledged that they need to retrain to become more competitive in the EU labour market for academics, which is largely based on fixed-term employment contracts, fundraising and the researchers’ marketing skills – all vastly different from the realities of Ukrainian academia with lifetime tenures and (modest) state funding for universities.

In terms of practice, the representatives of social sciences and humanities mentioned that the Ukrainian researchers lack critical skills to seek external funding – the pillar for research activity in the EU. How to write funding applications that will be considered of high research excellence, competitive and based on a solid network of research partners; what are the requirements for research ethics and standards, publishing practices and language proficiency of the applicants; “open science” principles, how Ukrainian scholars can participate in these schemes remotely – were among the questions discussed. Regarding their potential impact, scholars of the social sciences and humanities proposed to use their knowledge in fighting Russian disinformation and polarisation strategies, on studying resilience and the multi-faceted impact of war on Ukraine (of which Germany is the biggest humanitarian donor), and on researching the impact of 1 million displaced Ukrainians on German society.  

STEM colleagues discussed the lack of pitching skills to “sell” their projects to potential funders and investors. The STEM academics are aware that it is easier for them to stay abroad than for their less market-oriented colleagues, and they also want to maintain links with their (Ukrainian) home academia.  For instance, they advocate for training in capitalising research that would be beneficial for the reconstruction of Ukraine and also profitable, especially in areas of tech solutions to the environmental impact of war, demining, detoxification, recycling and trash management, IT, cybersecurity, or war medicine. The proposals mentioned joint science projects with businesses, start-ups with companies in Ukraine and Germany, funding opportunities, remote affiliations and access to databases and libraries for scholars in Ukraine, who don’t have the possibility to travel abroad (e.g. male scholars of conscription age, scholars with disabilities or caring responsibilities, see a list of concrete recommendations (Wolfsberger et al., 2022)).

All presenters agreed that for Ukrainian academia to survive, it needs to show what Ukraine has to offer, including to the displaced researchers. Recently launched by the Scientist Support Office at the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine the “Ukrainian Science Diaspora” is yet to prove being more than just another online network of individuals with a catchy name, but a hollow long-term strategy of engagement with the diverse and multi-wave Ukrainian research community abroad. According to a survey conducted in 2022, Ukrainian scholars consider the reform of the higher education system and science management in Ukraine with a greater autonomy for the universities, reformed funding schemes, de-bureaucratisation and fight against corruption as important for the country’s future and conducive to their own return participation in the reconstruction process (Maryl et al., 2022).

Good Practices in Support of Displaced Scholars

In 2021, there were 60,000 researchers and 35,000 support staff in Ukraine (Nikolaiev et al., 2023). According to the UNESCO (2024) report, 12% of Ukrainian scientists and university teachers had been forced to emigrate or relocate internally. About 30% of all Ukrainian scientists have been forced to work remotely. Another 1,518 scientists have volunteered for combat.

Apart from the ongoing massive destruction of educational and research facilities (almost 3800 to date) by the Russian aggression and displacement of its staff and students, Ukrainian academia was already significantly weakened by the lack of much-needed reforms of its management, funding, brain drain of (especially young) researchers to other sectors of economy due to low salaries, lack of career prospects and corruption (Nikolaiev et al., 2023; Yevstiunina et al., 2023).

Similar networking events for the displaced scholars took place over the last two years and produced a range of recommendations on how to improve their situation, for instance, how to tackle the issue of brain circulation, integration of Ukraine into the European Research Area or how to create the conditions that would induce the eventual return of displaced researchers or establish a viable and impactful academic diaspora (Alexander for Humboldt Stiftung, 2023; Skorokhod, 2024; Smahina, 2022; Wolfsberger et al., 2022).

A consistent approach among the previously brainstormed ideas is to centre solutions around the needs, expectations and aspirations of scholars, who want to be contributors, not charity beneficiaries (Buisse & Bubbers, 2023). Among other, it entails the recognition of previous academic credentials and achievements, openness of science through lowering or dismantling the costs of access to data and literature, participation in events, professional associations, and publications. Scholars are also individuals with many factors playing out during their dislocated careers: gender, age, (dis)ability, family status, language, economic and cultural background, political views, and psychological wellbeing all intersect and play a role in how well (or not) they are able to handle the situation of permanent uncertainty – almost inevitable in todays’ academic realities amplified by displacement, loss and trauma (Martsenyuk & Kostiuchenko, 2024). That is why you would often find calls for simultaneously more flexible and more predictable options for the displaced scholars as “no-size-fits-all” and individuals might anticipate and probe different solutions that will fit their individual circumstances (Buisse & Bubbers, 2023).

However, tailored academic support – even combined with the social, financial and practical help – is in itself not enough, if the structural barriers for the displaced scholars in academic systems are not addressed (Kuzemska, 2024). As my colleagues documented, the current state of precarity for migrant (but also local) academics is over encompassing: from the lack of permanent positions to competition-based working culture, from the domination of fundraising skills over teaching and research to the survival of the mentally fittest to keep pedalling the never-stopping academic will (Burlyuk & Rahbari, 2023; Vatansever, 2020). Considering power imbalances between refugee scholars and their hosts, there is also a danger of tokenism and extractivist approach when their contribution is not properly acknowledged in terms of payment, authorship, and/or citation (Albtran et al., 2024).

Support for Ukrainian Scholars in Germany

Germany is arguably the country with one of the highest numbers of displaced Ukrainian scholars. Even before the Russian full scale invasion in February 2024, there were 257 partnerships involving 113 German and 89 Ukrainian higher education institutions [German rectors’ conference, 2022 quoted in (Brooks and Rensimer 2024: 11)]. The German-Ukraine Academic Society exists since 2016 and focuses on fostering academic cooperation between the two countries.  

It is safe to say that the response from the academic sector in support of displaced scholars from Ukraine was unprecedented. Previously existing initiatives dedicated to displaced scholars, such as Scholars At Risk network, the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF), Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) or Universities of Sanctuary in the UK, Humboldt Foundation Philipp Schwarz Initiative scaled up their activities to include Ukrainian researchers. Foundations such as the VolkswagenStiftung, the Gerda Henkel Foundation or the Zeit Stiftung allocate substantial funds to the support or Ukrainian scholars. Compared to previous programmes for scholars at risk (Katsiaficas et al., 2023), the number and variety of programmes for Ukrainian scholars demonstrated the underexplored potential of academia in peer-to-peer support of the displaced colleagues.

European higher education organisations not only expressed their solidarity with the Ukrainian colleagues and condemned the Russian aggression (Brooks & Rensimer, 2024), both EU-wide and national-level institutions responded with a wide range of different emergency measures to support displaced Ukrainian scholars. Horizon4Ukraine, ERC for Ukraine,  Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Ukraine, ERA4Ukraine, Science4Refugees and EURAXESS, EURIZON Fellowship program. The European Commission published recommendations for recognition of academic and professional qualifications (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/554 of 5 April 2022 on the Recognition of Qualifications for People Fleeing Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, 2022), the Council of Europe European Qualifications Passport for Refugees that should fulfil the same purpose of fast recognition of home country qualifications is also available instrument for Ukrainians. However, the results of diploma and qualifications recognition are still far from being fast, efficient and widespread (European Union, 2023).

Many new initiatives were also created targeting Ukrainian scholars and students specifically, such as the Invisible University for Ukraine, Ukrainian Global University, Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Studies (VUIAS), “Ukraine digital” programme, “Future Ukraine” and of courseScience For Ukraine network. Emerged only two days after the full-scale invasion through online collaboration of hundreds of volunteer researchers, #ScienceForUkraine continues to operate as an online “central database of international opportunities available to Ukrainian researchers (Wolfsberger et al., 2022). Numerous smaller initiatives from universities, research foundations, professional associations, but also industry, business, individual philanthropists, and alumni associations created a variety of ad hoc scholarships, temporary positions, and residencies to support people from their existing professional networks, someone they had known professionally or collaborated before. Our own project PRISMA UKRAЇNA: War, Migration, Memory at the Forum Transregionale Studien is a continuation of an initiative existing since 2015 and gaining a new impetus after the full-scale invasion and the need to understand the war effect on Ukrainian and European societies. It has been initiated by a Ukrainian scholar and is peer-to-peer orientated.

The Future of Ukrainian studies in Germany

“Knowledge and empathy will help us to support Ukraine” – said Susan Worschech, an academic coordinator of the newly established Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin (KIU) during its opening ceremony on July 11^th at Viadrina University (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), 2024). The four-year DAAF funded project aims “to strengthen Ukraine-related research, teaching, networking and transfer activities” in Germany and beyond.  It is a collaboration between a range of German and Ukrainian universities and research centres. Worschech cantered the core activity of the new network around the question “What is Ukraine a case of?” Certainly, Ukraine is now considered having a unique experience of resilience, civil activism, and resourcefulness in the face of the Russian military aggression, terrorist acts towards civilians, relentless propaganda, and disinformation campaigns, yet it is also crucial to ask how generalizable is this experience? What can be learned from it? Interdisciplinary Ukrainian studies with a broader perspective on other areas and contexts might be a fruitful ground to explore previously under-researched phenomena.

KIU is not alone in the efforts to institutionalise Ukrainian studies in Germany. Another major DAAD funded project is the centre Think Space Ukraine (TSU) or Denkraum Ukraine (DU) at the University of Regensburg. These two centres will expand the existing clusters of expertise on Ukraine and Ukrainian studies in Germany. “Support of Ukraine will remain of highest importance” stressed DAAD’s Secretary General Kai Sicks (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), 2024), announcing their plan to launch a “German-Ukrainian University Network” for the systematic expansion of academic cooperation, training of experts for the reconstruction of Ukraine and support for the EU integration of its science sector (DAAD, 2024). Such support stems from the need to have a nuanced and competent analysis of all German Eastern neighbours, not only Russia. An analysis that will help to change the narrative about Ukraine and amplify the voices of Ukrainians. 

As Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykhailo Vynnytskyi noted, any cooperation should be based on mutuality and thinking about Ukrainian scholars as possible providers, not only receivers. “Ukraine has a lot to offer” (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), 2024), and so do Ukrainian scholars. Given the opportunity and resources, they aim contributing to academia and science in both home and host countries, and to playing their part in the Ukrainian reconstruction.

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References

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Footnotes

[1] This text is written based on author’s observations and conversations during the “Ukrainian Researchers in Germany: Networking and Cooperation Event 2024”, that took place on 17 – 18 April 2024 in Berlin. The event was jointly convened by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, DAAD – German Academic Exchange Service, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Gerda Henkel Foundation, Leopoldina – German National Academy of Sciences, and VolkswagenStiftung. The recording of the event is available online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_p63Mo4vRw&list=WL&index=42 (Day 1) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo4-7mdfRas (Day 2). I am grateful to the Gerda Henkel Foundation for inviting me to join this event.

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About the Author

Lidia Kuzemska is a sociologist with an interdisciplinary interest in forced migration, internal displacement, borders, and citizenship. She is a 2024-25 Prisma Ukraïna fellow of the Gerda Henkel Foundation at the Forum Transregionale Studien and academic coordinator of the research group War, Migration, Memory. In 2022, she received her Ph.D. from Lancaster University (UK). Her dissertation was entitled “‘Don’t Be Afraid of Our Citizens’: Internally Displaced People Encounter Bordering and Othering in Ukraine” and it focused on the counter-hegemonic citizenship practices of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2014–2016. Lidia also holds an MA in Economy and Society from Lancaster University (UK), an MA in European Studies from the College of Europe (Belgium and Poland), and an MA in Sociology from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine). She is also a research affiliate at the Internal Displacement Research Programme (SOAS University of London) and a peer-reviewer for the Knowledge Platform and Connection Hub (UN Network on Migration).

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Citation: Lidia Kuzemska, In Search of Stability and Purpose: Ukrainian (Displaced) Researchers in Germany, in: TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research, 27.07.2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/123sy

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