Situation in Ukraine: ‘We aim to offer our students and staff a safe haven’
The invasion in Ukraine started at the end of February and our Ukrainian and Russian students and staff are still reeling from the major impact this has had. Kim Venema from the International Office (OSS) explains what Saxion is doing. ‘We are there for all students and staff.’
Hi Kim. What is the International Office’s role in this situation?
‘We have an international crisis team at Saxion. This is managed from the OSS International office and it takes action if something happens somewhere in the world that could impact our students or staff. Following the outbreak of the war, we immediately contacted the schools and our HRM department to find out how these students and staff were doing, whether they were safe and how we could help. The schools and HRM are maintaining direct contact with them.’
How does Saxion support students and staff affected by this war?
‘OSS immediately organised meetings for students and staff that felt affected by the war in Ukraine. The aim of these meetings was to offer both support as well as identify needs and determine what Saxion could offer. It soon became clear that it was important for students to get to know their fellow students and share each other’s stories and emotions. They also shared practical support needs, such as emerging financial problems when families in Ukraine could no longer rely on their jobs and Russian banking systems no longer permitted European transactions. In consultation with the schools, the OSS crisis team outlined the necessary actions and acted quickly to provide much needed financial support to students in immediate financial difficulties. This included establishing an emergency fund and, with municipality and Rotary support, we have been able to offer shopping vouchers to cover initial urgent living expenses.’
What is the long-term situation for Ukrainian students?
‘Students are, of course, concerned about their study progress, partly because the war has resulted in many parents losing their source of income. They will need to re-enrol soon and students from outside the EU pay institutional tuition fees. We are currently waiting for the ministry to decide on Ukrainian students’ residence status and whether there will be options for them to pay a different tuition fee rate. The lack of clarity about this makes things uncertain for these students. We are aware of these financial concerns and are trying to determine what we can offer as well as exerting pressure on the Ministry. We are doing this via The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH, Vereniging Hogescholen) but also had direct contact with Minister Dijkgraaf during his visit. The urgency of the situation is clear and we are pressing the government to clarify the national approach so that we can also offer the students more clarity and support.’
We are also offering support to students via the Connect Forward programme.
‘Our international students indicated that it is difficult for them to find a part-time job, one of the reasons being that they do not speak Dutch. The Executive Board addressed this immediately and President of the Board Anka Mulder has appealed via the Twente Board and SME Deventer for potential support. This initiative made quick connections with all involved parties and developed a spin-off of the existing Connect Forward programme. This enables us to offer Ukrainian as well as Russian students the opportunity to register for a part-time job in the region. Both students and companies are enthusiastic about this initiative and Connect Forward colleagues are currently matching the companies with Saxion and University of Twente students.
The most important thing is that students know that our door is always open.
How much psychological support are the students receiving?
‘Saxion student counsellors and student psychologists have discussed how this support could be offered. Students did not express much need for psychological support during the information meetings but we will continue to highlight the availability of such support. The counsellors are also in direct contact with these students and are well placed to ascertain this group’s needs. We can also offer customised services where necessary, such as a webinar on concentration problems or establishing a buddy scheme. These talks are ongoing.
Students and staff are also offering support.
‘All kinds of initiatives have been established recently. It’s wonderful to see. The Ukrainian student community quickly launched a campaign in partnership with ‘Twente for Ukraine’. This collection campaign is coordinated by students in both Enschede and Deventer and is supported by Saxion. But many more campaigns were established, including ‘Make Bags Not War’, which is being organised this Friday, 29 April, in partnership with the School of Creative Technology (ACT). Although we have asked people to register all their campaigns via a form, we’ve got a long way to go before we know about all of them.’
If any students or colleagues read this and want to do something, what can they do?
‘Of course, we’re delighted with any offers of support and we refer them to existing initiatives, where possible. These can be found on MySaxion.nl/ukraine.’
Finally, is there anything you’d like to add?
‘As Saxion, we aim to offer our students and staff a safe haven and to guide and support them as best we can during their study and work at Saxion. Although we are currently in a terrible crisis situation and we want to help as much as we can, we are also there for students and staff who have previously been in a war situation or are experiencing other problems. Those students and staff are certainly not forgotten.’
Student counsellor Peter Hofste: ‘The most important thing is that students know that our door is always open’
Meetings attended by student counsellors and student psychologies were held soon after the outbreak of the war. ‘This was an opportunity for us to see how everyone was doing and gauge the students’ needs,’ explains student counsellor Peter Hofste. Alongside talking to them about practical things like finances and their study progress, we also monitor their mental health. We noticed that the group initially experienced a lot of stress and that students really focused on their study as a means of distracting themselves from the war. We truly have a lot of admiration for that.’
‘Our main goal is to offer the students the best possible assistance and support them where possible,’ continues Peter. ‘We listen to what people are saying, where their needs lie and then see how we can respond to them. To facilitate this, we stay in touch with the student communities that have been established. The webinar on concentration issues, which is likely to be arranged soon, is a product of those communities. They help us to come up with ideas.’
Students can also contact student psychologists for psychological support. ‘Some students have already got into contact with us. Obviously, nobody is being forced to sign up. The most important thing is that students know that our door is always open.