This year, several German universities will make their premises and infrastructure available to refugees from Ukraine who are interested in studying in order to conduct standardised examinations for admission and continued studies at Ukrainian universities. The online examinations will take place between 22 July and 3 October 2022 in uniformly defined periods at six locations in Germany: in Berlin, coordinated by the Humboldt-Universität, as well as at Goethe University Frankfurt, the Universität Hamburg, the University of Cologne and Leipzig University. In Munich, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science has arranged to use the “Gorod” cultural centre. It is expected that about 5,500 people will take part in the tests in Germany. The exams will be conducted simultaneously in Ukraine and in the European countries where war refugees have found protection.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science approached the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a request for support. In consultation with the BMBF and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK), the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) took on the task of coordination and quickly brought on board universities with the necessary logistical and technical prerequisites to ensure that the examinations are conducted in a legally secure manner. In addition to a sufficient number of computer workstations with internet access, linguistically competent personnel are needed to verify the identity of the examinees and to supervise them during the tests. Geographically distributed locations were chosen to avoid excessively long journeys.
“We are very pleased that we, as the German higher education system, can make a contribution to supporting Ukraine,” said HRK President Professor Dr Peter-André Alt in Berlin today. “My thanks go in particular to the participating universities, their leaders and all employees, whose dedication has made it possible to conduct the tests and thus help people who have had to flee from the Russian war of aggression to pursue their education despite the difficult conditions. The fact that we could have gained even more universities if necessary is a strong sign of solidarity from the German higher education system.”
The Federal Minister of Education, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, commented: “The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has brought unimaginable suffering to the country and its people. It is all the more impressive how many young Ukrainians are preparing to study in their home country and thus for their future. With the six locations for university entrance tests in Germany, we want to support them in this and thus ensure the continuity of their education. It was especially important to me to help make this happen. My thanks go to all those involved.”
Karin Prien, President of the KMK and Minister for Education, Science and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, said: “By offering the Ukrainian university entrance tests in Germany, we are helping young Ukrainians to avoid breaks in their educational biography and to prepare for studying in Ukraine. I would like to thank the participating universities and the HRK for their special commitment. Together with the many support measures for Ukrainian students in the federal states, we will thus help to mitigate the consequences of the war, at least in the field of education.”
