In response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the University of Helsinki launched a support fund and a campaign for researchers and students affected by the invasion in March 2022.
The first scholarships for 19 Ukrainian students studying non-degree studies at the University of Helsinki could be awarded from the fund already in May 2022.
More students and researchers are arriving all the time and the work to support them continues.
Direct support to researchers
The donation of the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation will be used to support Ukrainian researchers who are unable to continue their work in Ukraine due to the war and have arrived to the University of Helsinki.
– Our foundation thinks that this is an excellent initiative and thanks the University of Helsinki for responding constructively in this way to the crisis that has affected our entire continent, states the foundation's chairman Henrik Meinander.
– We have had a long-term collaboration with the University of Helsinki and this was a natural way for the foundation to help the research community affected by the war, the foundation's ombudsman Sebastian Lindberg continues.
The Chancellor of the University of Helsinki, Kaarle Hämeri, warmly thanks the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation.
– As a university, we support students and researchers who are fleeing the war in many different ways. In this work, the support from our partners and donors is extremely valuable, says Hämeri.
– Together we have the opportunity to help the academic community in Ukraine affected by the war and defend freedom of expression and truth. Researchers often feel a very strong connection with their academic communities, often stronger than with their home universities. It is extremely important that we support and take responsibility for each other in crisis situations, Hämeri continues.
Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation promotes scientific research and literary activities by awarding over EUR 2 million annually in scholarships and grants.