Lectures in the basement, online classes during air raids – in Kiev, a private university has invested in its infrastructure so that students feel safe. About everyday university life in times of war.
The metal door slams shut behind Myroslava Savisko. She walks down the gray concrete stairs. Downstairs the walls are bare. Otherwise, they hardly differ from usual seminar rooms. There are chairs with folding tables and whiteboards hanging on the walls. Savisko explains: “When there is an air alarm, the students go into the basement rooms. These are shelters and lecture halls at the same time. There are also screens everywhere if presentations are being given.”
Savisko is a researcher at the Kyiv School of Economics, a private university in the Ukrainian capital. The expert on local self-government has experienced almost all of Russia’s previous major invasion of Kiev. Although everyday work gives her support, the war continues to bother her. “Stress is omnipresent. Although you may seem calm on the outside, things are often different on the inside,” she says. “A friend of mine is fighting in the Donetsk region. After my work, I try to collect donations for his unit.”
Air alarm checks
There is a calm atmosphere at the university on this day. Students and staff come and go in the foyer. The espresso machine at the university’s own café is roaring in the background. Sophia, a first-semester business student, spends the time between lectures on a cushion. This is how she experiences everyday university life in times of war: “The other day we had an exam, during which there was an air raid alarm. We took our things, went into the shelter and continued writing five to seven minutes later. That wasn’t a problem.”
Sophia is one of about 700 people studying at the Kyiv School of Economics. Before the invasion began there were only 150. The university has invested in its infrastructure and expanded its range of courses. Financially needy students receive grants. For Sophia, the protection concept was an important reason for enrolling at the university: “I think it’s very well organized. I missed a lot of material at school because we spent a lot of time in shelters when there was an air raid. There were but no tables and no internet.”
“Without the war I would have pursued a different career path”
Yudrin, who is studying social psychology for a master’s degree, also likes the learning conditions: “Before a seminar starts, we know which shelter we have to go to in the event of an air alarm. If the air alarm sounds an hour before the seminar starts, it takes place online.”
But the university also impressed him professionally. The 27-year-old already has a degree in cybersecurity. But, as he says, he now wants to further his education in order to be able to help his country: “Without the war, I would have pursued a completely different career path. Now I have a stronger civic consciousness. For me, social psychology is a direction with which I can can help shape the development of society.”
For business administration first-year student Sophia, the course is not just a higher education, but a mission for Ukraine: “I want to help strengthen our economy, but also realize my own business idea. I think business administration is well suited to combining the two .”
Specialists for reconstruction
Such statements should please Timofii Brik. The rector of the Kyiv School of Economics knows that his university, as a private institution, has better financial resources than state universities. But he sees the investments made as being well spent – especially now: “Education is of central importance for Ukraine. Highly qualified people can develop new technologies during the war that will help us survive. Afterwards we will need skilled workers for reconstruction – engineers, Doctors, psychologists.”
Meanwhile, scientist Savisko also longs for an end to the war. She admits that she is sometimes plagued by self-doubt: “I often ask myself whether I’m doing enough to end the war. I think that’s how many people in civilian jobs feel. But we have no choice but to move on to defend ourselves and to contribute in our area.”