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International university cooperation
Partnership between HHU and Chernivtsi University in Ukraine

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) is strengthening its links with Ukraine. Professor Dr Roman Petryschyn, President of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, and Professor Dr Anja Steinbeck, President of HHU, have signed a memorandum of understanding on an official, long-term partnership.

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Video conference at HHU: The presidents of the two universities, Professor Dr Roman Petryschyn and Professor Dr Anja Steinbeck, sign a memorandum of understanding on a Ukrainian/German university partnership. (Photo: HHU/Paul Schwaderer)

There will be exchanges at multiple levels, with the cooperation including joint research activities, as well as the exchange of students and staff. The twinning agreement concluded by Chernivtsi and Düsseldorf in the spring was the catalyst for this cooperation between the two universities.

A partnership at university level will facilitate encounters between researchers and students from both locations. As a concrete first step, HHU is offering students from Chernivtsi exchange scholarships and language courses, which they should be able to take up soon after conclusion of the partnership.

“With this partnership we are sending a further signal of our enduring solidarity with Ukraine,” says HHU President, Professor Steinbeck. “I strongly believe it is important to support those who are courageously standing up for education and the freedom of science in Ukraine despite the current difficulties. We will continue to support this commitment to the best of our ability. I am therefore delighted that HHU is entering into a partnership with the renowned and long-established university in Chernivtsi.”

“The 24 February 2022 fundamentally changed the course of history – not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe and throughout the world,” says Professor Petryschyn, President of Chernivtsi University. “Russia’s unwarranted, brutal and cynical invasion of our country has proven a great challenge for all humankind. This war has had a devastating impact on the Ukrainian education system. Thousands of school teachers and university lecturers, school pupils and university students have left Ukraine to seek safety, while hundreds of school and university buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed. In this situation, all forms of support are very important for us. Many partner universities, with which we have long-term collaborations, are standing by us and the fact that we have now also gained a new partner is invaluable. Signing the agreement with Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is a further important signal of solidarity for us. We greatly appreciate it and look forward to a long-term, active and fruitful cooperation. Stand with Ukraine!”

The public university, where German was the language of instruction, was founded in 1875 when the region was under Austrian rule. In 2020, it had almost 17,000 students in 16 faculties studying subjects such as philosophy, mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, history, political science, international law, philology and physics – all disciplines which are also offered at HHU, providing extensive potential for collaboration.

“This university partnership is of great importance to us,” says Professor Dr Stefan Marschall, Vice President for International Relations and Science Communication at HHU. “Since the Russian invasion began, HHU Düsseldorf has stood side by side in solidarity with Ukraine. The partnership we have now agreed gives us the opportunity to provide more concrete assistance and establish direct scientific relations.” 

Various aid programmes have been established since spring 2022, which are helping numerous students and researchers who have fled Ukraine. You can find information on existing aid programmes for Ukrainian students and researchers on the HHU website, together with information on how you can help: www.hhu.de/ukraine

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