Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine, our faculty has accepted more than 40 students from Ukraine. Most of them are “freemovers” – students who still study at Ukrainian universities but cannot continue there with their studies.
The Faculty of Arts has joined Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom and Zimin Foundation. In April 2022, they announced five two-year scholarships for Ukrainian citizens intended for young people under 26 who do not currently study at any other university. In most cases, they were finishing high school during the beginning of the conflict but could not, even with their motivation, continue their studies at any university. Similar to the freemover programme for Ukrainian citizens, Boris Nemtsov Scholarship includes monthly financial aid of 15 thousand Czech Crowns. Therefore, CU FA provides a possibility to broaden their knowledge and skills in associated programmes.
In the middle of June 2022, the management of CU FA – the Vice-Dean for Study Affairs and Student Admissions, Andrea Hudáková, the Vice-Dean for International Relations, Milan Žonca, and the Vice-Dean for External Relations and Lifelong Learning, Michaela Slussareff – met with the Ukrainian freemovers and holders of Boris Nemtsov Scholarship. The entire meeting was held in Czech and, despite their short stay in the Czech Republic, all attendees could understand and speak Czech. The aim of the gathering was not only to meet the new students in person but also to learn if they do not need further assistance. Everyone, who was present, was highly motivated by the possibility of continuing their studies at the faculty and, therefore, the questions concerning the faculty’s supplementary and extraordinary admission procedure, which will take place at the end of this year’s August, were answered.
These students have been intensively studying Czech for almost two months. They enrolled in their studies under extremely complicated living conditions when they had to quickly flee from their country and adapt to a new situation. Svatava Škodová, the Director of the Institute of Czech Studies at CU FA where most of the students study, adds: “If you imagine their circumstances, it is not at all an ideal start of one’s university studies abroad nor even conditions to thoroughly concentrate on their studies; they had 4 hours of intensive work at the seminars and then continued at home. If someone wishes to study at a university, it is necessary to have at least B1 language proficiency – although B2 is more convenient – according to the Common European Framework of Reference. Nevertheless, I have to say that our students have plunged into their studies with a tenacity that we would like to see also in our other courses. After a month, they advanced in their language proficiency so much that they should be able to be prepared for supplementary admission procedure in Czech at the end of August or at the beginning of September. The students have gone through the first phase of their preparation with a teacher who anticipated the peculiarities of interfaces between Ukrainian and Czech and was ready to explain them in Ukrainian if needed. In the next phase of the course, we consider an intensive practice of Czech in a Moodle course and a change of the teacher who will focus on more complicated grammatical and lexical phenomena without being based on Ukrainian. We wish Ukrainian students to persist in their endeavours. While other students will enjoy their summer break, they will be in the same work routine!”
As the representatives of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, we are proud that this way, we may help young and motivated people on their journey to valuable education. We would also like to thank Renata Jamin from the International Relations Office, Ivana Skenderija from Czech Studies, and all other people who assist our Ukrainian students with formal and administrative procedures because these activities are often above and beyond their regular work.
