Ukraine, director of Kharkiv university: “the losses are significant, but we are not giving up”

Karazin National University in Kharkiv, a leading Ukrainian educational and research institution with a 215-year history, has managed to survive Russian missiles, if only in strength of spirit. “Let’s say that it was not completely destroyed – reports the rector of the University, Tetiana Kahanovska with optimism – The buildings razed to the ground are the faculty of economics and physical-technical he entire sports complex, the university clinic, two of the 9 student dormitories. The university library where old prints are kept and the natural museum with its unique specimens have been damaged “. In fact, still standing are the two main offices of the university which “are located in Freedom Square in the center of Kharkiv where over 400 windows shattered due to the explosions, the heating system was damaged by the frosts in March and As a result, the classrooms were flooded and we had to restore the electricity and the internet connection “. Of course – admits the rector – the losses are significant. We need the support of the state, donors, patrons and foundations for the reconstruction. But let’s keep working. We maintain, preserve and rebuild what we can. Deans and professors collect broken glass, preserve the laboratory instruments, books and sometimes precious objects such as, for example, the herbarium considered national heritage from freezing and flooding. It’s difficult! -she exclaims-But the university community demonstrates unity and character. I am proud of our university, of its people who in a difficult moment demonstrate their humanity and devotion to the University “. Even if face-to-face teaching is at a standstill” the university works, lives. Distance learning for 70% of students officially restarted on 28 March. But we all worked 24/7. Everyone did what they could: evacuating students, helping foreign students leave the city to go to safer places, managing humanitarian aid logistics at the sorting center that he is at the university, activating the search for students or professors with whom we had lost the connection “. Without ever losing heart despite even tragic cases such as that of the” ecology student Vadym Pavlenko, fleeing from Izuym with his father. They were killed in their car during the evacuation of civilians. It happened on March 7 “.” Before the war – he recalls – we had 23,000 students, 4,000 of whom were foreigners, all of whom returned to their countries; more than 5,000 students lived on campus. Currently there are 56 left, but during the video lessons we have no fewer students than before the conflict. We hope they will come back as soon as possible so Kharkiv will continue to be a student city, young and creative “.” In March, in one of the interviews, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the destruction that the University of Karazin suffered and underlined the need for support. for reconstruction – recalls the Rector – This situation has spurred us to expand the alternatives. In Poltava, a city two hours by car from Kharkiv, in relative safety we installed the servers necessary to manage the documentation and teaching, including the server with the teaching material on the Moodle platform. So the university continued its activity! “. Finally, help also from the international community, from other universities and from the state that” gave a quick response by restoring the single electronic system of education, which allowed us to work with the data base. The services necessary for internal communication worked stably, which allowed us to keep in touch, deny fake news, avoid the spread of disinformation or panic. And it was during the war that we launched the new website of the karazin.ua university. We had been preparing for the planned launch for some time – he concludes – but the war has accelerated everything “. (By Roberta Lanzara)