Information Portal: Consequences of the War in Ukraine and Offers of Help

• At a joint information and networking event for refugee researchers from Ukraine on June 30 in Berlin, Ukrainian scientists will be familiarized with the structures and key players in the German and Berlin science systems. In addition, the event will serve as a networking platform for the researchers - among themselves and with Berlin institutions.
• Via the platform #ScienceForUkraine, institutions can offer research stays to students and researchers affected by the current crisis. Please note that this platform is not coordinated or hosted by KIT.
• The Helmholtz Initiative for Refugees, among others, funds scholars who had to leave Ukraine due to the current situation and/or are in danger due to political persecution. Use this application form.
• The Philipp Schwartz Initiative offers support and protection for international researchers fleeing war and persecution.
• With its initiative ERA4Ukraine the European Commission wants to support researchers of Ukraine by providing them with an overview of all existing actions at European and national levels.

• Other current European Union initiatives in support of Ukraine include:

  • Access to Science4Refugees an existing EURAXESS initiative that provides internships, part-time and full-time jobs to refugees, access to an European Research Community, as well as a complete range of information and support services on working and living in Europe

  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Guidelines for the Inclusion of Researchers at Risk;

  • EU solidarity with Ukraine

Please contact the institution funding your project to agree on the further proceeding. If you need support, contact the team of the International Cooperation and Projects Department (ICoP) of INTL.

New publications together with Russian and Belarusian research institutions are suspended at the moment (cf. circular mail by the Executive Board of March 04, 2022).

Cooperation with Ukrainian partner institutions in research and exchange of students will be continued to the extent possible. Existing relations to Russian institutions will be suspended until further notice and no new cooperation projects will be initiated (cf. circular mail by the Executive Board of February 28, 2022).

Members of Russian and Belarusian institutions will no longer be invited until further notice. Visits of already invited guests will be postponed indefinitely. Guests who are already staying at KIT may remain here for the duration of their funded stay (cf. circular mail by the Executive Board of March 04, 2022).

• The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has set up a task force to head the initiated change of policy in cooperation with Russia and Belarus. The task force categorizes the wide-ranging forms of cooperation governed by widely divergent legal bases. Each individual measure will first undergo review and evaluation in the responsible BMBF divisions. In addition, the BMBF has set up a task force to organize and coordinate with partners the best possible support for refugees from Ukraine. German-Ukrainian cooperation in research will be continued with great resolve in a spirit of solidarity and partnership.
  The developed guidelines and goals are meant to enable consideration of various individual cases and serve as input for information communicated to the press and to answer external enquiries. These lines to take have been approved by the BMBF’s Minister and State Secretaries and agreed across government departments.
• Memberships of staff of Russian and Belarusian institutions in bodies of KIT are suspended, new memberships will not be offered until further notice. Together with its partners, KIT will agree on how (associated) memberships of Russian and Belarusian institutions may be suspended in networks and consortiums in which KIT is a member (cf. circular mail by the Executive Board of March 04, 2022). This affects, among others, the CLUSTER and CESAER networks.

Via the platform #ScienceForUkraine, institutions can offer research stays to students and researchers affected by the current crisis. Please note that this platform is not coordinated or hosted by KIT.

In close cooperation with Flüchtlingshilfe Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe refugee aid) and the Deutsch-Ukrainischer Verein (German-Ukrainian Association), the city of Karlsruhe has established an office to coordinate offers of help. Citizens who wish to offer support can do so via ukrainehilfe∂karlsruhe.de. At the moment (March 03), support is needed in the form of accommodation or help when going to authorities. Monetary and in-kind donations are not needed at the moment.

Compulsory schooling ("Schulpflicht") in Baden-Württemberg begins six months after the arrival in Germany and applies from age 6 to 16 at general schools and from ages 16 to 18 at vocational schools. The right to attend school applies from the first day after immigration and does not depend on residence status. For students without any knowledge of the German language preparatory classes are offered. Registration at a school is also possible without a certificate of registration at the following places:

• for elementary schools ("Grundschule") through the responsible Grundschule in the school district
• for secondary schools through the managing principals of the "Werkrealschulen"
  Western part of the city: Gutenbergschule, Tel. +49 721/1334674
  Eastern part of the city: Pestalozzischule, Tel. +49 721/1334707
• for vocational schools via the central registration at VABO

Further information for parents about school attendance in Germany can be found in the corresponding flyer of the city of Karlsruhe or on the website "Migration und Bildung" of the Bildungsregion Karlsruhe.

Crisis situations may cause many persons to have worries, concerns, and fears and, hence, lead to high stress. KIT staff may contact the Conflict Management and Psychosocial Counseling Staff Unit (KMB). In addition, the following counseling offices provide advice:

• Psychotherapeutic Counseling Office (PBS) of Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe (for students of the universities of Karlsruhe and Pforzheim) 

• Telephone counseling service  

  • in German: 0800 / 111 0 111, 0800 / 111 0 222, or 116 123 

  • by mail and chat at online.telefonseelsorge.de 

  • information on services in other countries/languages 

Various volunteer initiatives and aid services exist. Please note that these offers are not coordinated or supported by KIT, which is why we will not assume any liability.

• Caritas-Verband Bruchsal offers positions for Ukrainian refugees who have experience working in nursing homes and hospitals. The information letter exists in German and Ukrainian language.
• As of June 1 Ukrainian refugees no longer travel free of charge on local public transport (ÖPNV). Instead, they can purchase the 9-euro ticket.

• Sto Foundation announces special funding for support projects for refugees. This support can take place in Ukraine itself, in neighbouring countries or in other countries or places of arrival for refugees who have been directly or indirectly affected by the crisis.

• The Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe offers the possibility to donate an amount of 0,50 €, 1 €, 2 € or 5 € for Ukraine at the cash registers in all its dining halls and cafeterias. The donation supports Aktion Deutschland Hilft.
• Ukraine Support Karlsruhe is bundling information and offers of help for the refugees from Ukraine in and around Karlsruhe on its website. In particular, concrete aid projects are to be supported with donations in monthly rotation. The first aid project "ESCAPE! – Escape as a creative challenge” is a crossover project of literature, art, performance and music, with a focus on spontaneous escape from repression, violence, war and annihilation. Fleeing for the sake of mere survival, leaving everything behind: origin and homeland, relatives, loved ones, all kinds of possessions. Specifically, the donations are intended to support cultural workers who have fled in order to give them job prospects in Karlsruhe.
• Call for donations via betterplace.me to provide charging cables and power banks. #helpUkraine arranges transportation and distribution.
• The Rosinen-Initiative (raisin initative) transports humanitarian goods to the Polish-Ukrainian border and asks for support.
• The Network AniKA - Arriving in Karlsruhe is working on integration policy in the city of Karlsruhe. On their website they offer important information for Ukrainian refugees.
• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, which is part of EPICUR, asks for support for its numerous and diverse actions.