Despite the ongoing war, numerous international students have chosen to remain in Ukraine, actively contributing to the community and offering assistance

Recently, the Ukrainian State Center for International Education conducted a study on «Foreign Students in Ukraine during the War (2022-2023)».

On Hromadske Radio, Olena Shapovalova, Director of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education, discussed the results of this study and more. The study, involving over 3,500 foreign students, was conducted from May to September 2023.

«The full-scale invasion has affected the development of internationalisation of higher education institutions in Ukraine. The universities were forced to work as actively as possible with their partners, and secondly, they found new partners who also learned more about Ukraine and, represented by large organisations, provided Ukrainian universities with the opportunity to become members of such organisations free of charge. For example, the European Association for International Education. This is the largest European association of international education, which brings together all the leading European universities, and they provided free participation for all our Ukrainian universities in their association. This allowed delegations from Ukrainian universities to participate in the international exhibition and forum of this association in 2022-23. This approach enabled over 40 universities to venture abroad, showcasing their programs and opportunities to foreign colleagues, establishing cooperation agreements—especially within the Erasmus+ framework—and engaging in various novel initiatives previously unexplored».

Speaking about international students, internationalisation and full-scale invasion has given them the opportunity to take some of their modules and study abroad, says Shapovalova:

«In other words, they actually started participating in academic mobility programmes. So far, only Ukrainian students have participated in these programmes. Foreign students usually participated very little in international programmes, exchanges, and usually stayed to study exclusively in Ukraine. The full-scale invasion led to the fact that foreign students also had the opportunity to go to partner universities abroad and study there for one semester or more, and there are students who are studying even for the third semester at foreign universities, but again, this study is not a transfer of a student abroad – they remain a student of a Ukrainian educational institution, but within the framework of academic mobility, they are studying at foreign universities».

45% of international students say they would recommend studying in Ukraine despite martial law

Furthermore, over 80% of surveyed international students expressed a genuine liking for studying in Ukraine.

«Of course, with the onset of the full-scale invasion, a majority of foreign students left for their home countries. However, by the end of 2022, some began to return, with a number opting to continue their studies online».

Olena Shapovalova mentioned that the highest concentration of students in Ukraine is found in cities such as Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy. Additionally, she noted that foreign students have been actively assisting Ukrainians across various sectors since the onset of the full-scale invasion:

«We observe instances of foreign students, some choosing to stay in places like Ternopil, contributing to hospitals and clinics—particularly medical students who, feeling reasonably secure, decided against returning home and were willing to lend a helping hand. Many international students expressed their deep affection for Ukraine, emphasizing the gratitude they feel for the country. They find it inconceivable to leave during times of trouble without extending support. Notably, students from Israel, having experienced persistent conflict, expressed readiness to assist in the future. They cited Odesa National Medical University as an inspiring example, where foreign students have been actively raising funds, collecting aid, and aiding residents not only in Odesa but also in other regions affected by the war. From delivering water to Kherson during critical times, these actions truly reflect the commitment we observe».

«It’s noteworthy that on 24 February 2022, Ukrainian universities were providing education to over 84,000 young people from 158 countries across all continents. As of January 1, 2023, more than 50,000 foreign students were studying in our country.