Between 3 and 4 April, together with the University of Gdansk, NAWA has hosted over 300 guests representing academic community worldwide during the 2^nd edition of the Focus on Ukraine conference, devoted to supporting Ukraine in the context of the military aggression of the Russian Federation.

This time, the participants have reflected on the actions taken so far for the benefit of the Ukrainian academic community. The aim of the discussions was to develop a common vision of rebuilding Ukraine from the ravages of war, a strategy for the reconstruction of academic centres and prospects for further development.

The main question around which the subject of the meeting focused on was how to support Ukrainian higher education within the frameworks of European Higher Education Area and European Research Area?

The topics of speeches and panels tackled supporting Ukrainian refugees in 2022, the future of student and scientific mobility in the war context, recognition of refugees' education, and NAWA’s programme Solidarity with Ukraine. This was further supported with discussions on European University Alliances, academic cooperation during and after the war, digitisation of teaching processes and the role of new technologies in the reconstruction of post-war Ukraine, local government and academic initiatives, and the future of scientific cooperation with Ukraine.

The conference was also attended by ACA’s Director Irina Ferencz who had been moderating the discussion panel Institutional and government support for Ukrainian refugees, including several speakers from ACA’s member organisations: Maija Airas, Head of Unit, International Higher Education Cooperation, Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI), Aneta Sergeant, Head of Study in Czechia, Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS), Gerhard Volz, Director for International Cooperation in Higher Education, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) and Karla Zimanova, Deputy Director of Slovak Academic Information Agency (SAIA).

You can watch the recording of the event here.