23 February 2023
The university supports researchers from Ukraine
During the war in Ukraine, Luleå University of Technology has for the first time employed researchers at the request of the Scholars at Risk network. Hosting visiting researchers is a way for the university to show its support for Ukraine and international democracy.
Luleå University of Technology has for several years been a member of Scholars at Risk, SAR
External link, opens in new window., a network that works for academic freedom and helps academics living under threat. By supporting the organization as members, the university has indirectly helped finance the employment of threatened researchers at other universities. In connection with the invasion of Ukraine, requests via SAR to receive researchers for temporary employment increased, and the Vice-Chancellor of Luleå University of Technology set aside SEK five million to make it possible.
“We want to contribute to the survival of the Ukrainian academy and show our support for Ukraine. Luleå University of Technology is part of the international academic community and we represent democratic values. The invasion of Ukraine is an attack on the entire open and free society, of which academia is an important part,” says Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Vice-Chancellor at Luleå University of Technology, and continues:
“The strength of Scholars at Risk is that universities from all over the world come together to protect researchers and secure but also promote academic freedom. One way to do this is to help researchers who can no longer conduct their research in their home country and give them the opportunity to continue their work at another university and country.”
Continue to defend academic freedom
So far, two researchers from Ukraine have come to Luleå University of Technology via SAR, and another researcher has been employed who took a different route. And the requests keep coming.
“We will continue to defend free research; we do this via several forums where SAR is one of them. Another is through SUHF, where we work nationally. Our role is to be involved and continue to guard academic freedom. If the universities don't do it, no one else will,” says Tommy Viklund, Head of Division for Human Resources at Luleå University of Technology.
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