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- We value the chance to live, and we don't postpone things, says Kateryna Priazhnikova, deputy director of the Center for International Cooperation (pictured to the right).  

She and senior lecturer Olesia Cherkashchenko from the Department of Translation visited University West as part of the development of the partnership between the two institutions.

Teaching has changed
The situation for students and teachers in Ukraine borders on the bizarre. Russia's shelling is unpredictable and of course not adapted to teaching. Lectures often begin by checking if anyone has been injured or killed during the night.

- The safety of our students is our highest priority. Most of our courses are therefore conducted online, and we work a lot with prepared assignments that the students can do on their own. The university has shelters where we can teach but we mostly use them for practical classes like laboratory work. The students that come to our campus do so in small groups to make it easier to flee to a shelter if we are attacked, Olesia says.

DTU has over 13,000 students, approximately 1,000 employees and 10 faculties. The university was founded in 1899 and for large parts of its existence has focused on education and research within mining. During the 2010s the university expanded into a polytechnic institution and changed its name to Dnipro University of Technology in 2018. 

See the value in strong partnerships
The partnership between DTU and University West is 15 years old. Over the years, the partnership has focused on everything from joint project applications to study visits and conferences. More recently, the partnership has centred more on student mobility and the exchange of experience between both researchers and administrative staff. A new strategic cooperation agreement between the two universities was signed in 2023.

- We have had a very well-planned programme during our days here and we have met many interesting people. We have met your vice-chancellor, the IT department, visited your Active Learning Classrooms and have been to the Production Technology Center. We feel inspired and have many ideas about how our cooperation can develop, which we will take home with us to Ukraine. We want to be both a reliable and contributing partner in this partnership, Kateryna says.

There are no plans to scale back the university's activities in light of the war.

- We know that the war will end at some point and that Ukraine will have to be rebuilt. When that day comes, we will need educated people. Therefore, our goal is not only to maintain our research and education, but to develop it. In that process, we place great value on our international partners, Olesia says.    

Kateryna also highlights the value of partners.

- Something that has really changed for us is that we value those around us, both as individuals and as a university. When the war broke out, many people, including representatives from University West, contacted us and asked us how we were doing and wondered how they could help. In such critical moments, you realize who your true friends are, she says. 

The war is creeping closer
The university is located only 150 kilometres from the front line, and Olesia tells us that the war is creeping ever closer.

- We don't hear the fighting at the front, but the amount of missile and drone attacks has increased. Like yesterday, for example, when there were attacks from morning until late at night.

They can follow alerts about air attacks from their phones, where they receive alarms about probable attacks and notifications when there is no longer a threat. At the university, a communication chain has been set up where colleagues who have been close to an attack must send a text message that they are ok.

They both claim that it is possible to plan everyday life, despite the unpredictability of war. An alert that a fighter jet has taken off from a Russian airbase means that it will have reached the front after about two to three hours. After that it takes another forty to fifty minutes for the launched missiles to reach their targets. Hours and minutes are counted, and alarm clocks are set; they do what needs to be done to get some necessary sleep.   

But they admit it is still strange to go to bed fully aware that fighter jets are on their way and that an attack could be imminent during the morning hours.  

- Sleeping under strange circumstances is a new skill we have developed, Olesia says and laughs. She explains that a dark sense of humour helps you cope in extreme situations.

A brighter future is coming
Do they feel hope? The answer comes without any hesitation.

- Of course! We know that a brighter future is coming. By working, donating, defending at the front and trying to live as normally as possible, all Ukrainians participate in building this future. Each person has a role to play in maintaining our basic societal functions. But we also need to continue to inform people from other countries about what is happening in Ukraine and that the situation at the front has not gotten better but worse, Kateryna says.

Updated