War is raging in their country, their university has been destroyed, and yet the students at Kharkiv State University of Biotechnology must somehow continue their studies. Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences is supporting them by offering Summer School placements. In July, four lecturers and eight students spent two weeks as guests at the Faculty of Life Sciences.
War is raging in their country, their university has been destroyed, and yet, somehow, life as a student at Kharkiv State University of Biotechnology must go on. Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences is supporting this through its Summer School placements. In July, four professors and eight students spent two weeks as guests at the Faculty of Life Sciences. The aim was to give the students the opportunity to complete the full range of practical placements required for their degree programme, according to the initiative’s organiser, Prof. Dr Joachim Fensterle. For many of the students who travelled with the group, this was their first practical laboratory work in the fields of microbiology, biochemistry and biotechnology. As not all students were able to travel due to the war, the experiments were streamed live on YouTube and the students carrying out the work were equipped with special smart glasses, enabling those who had stayed at home to follow and record the experiments in real time.
Fensterle is particularly pleased with the commitment shown by his own students on the Bachelor’s programme in Bioengineering, who, despite being in the exam period and during the semester break, volunteered as mentors and provided support to the students during the laboratory work.
In addition to the work placement, various leisure activities took place in the region. The project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) under the programme ‘Ukraine digital: Ensuring Academic Success in Times of Crisis’ as part of the HSRW ‘Capacity Building’ project, led by Prof. Dr Tatiana Zimenkova, Prof. Dr Philipp Schorn and Prof. Dr Joachim Fensterle. A further placement will take place in October at the Faculty of Society and Economics.
