Saving science in war-torn Ukraine

The Bakala Family Foundation has been a proud supporter of the Czexpats for Ukraine program since May. The program is backed by an association of Czech scientists with international experience Czexpats in Science, including many alumni of the Bakala Scholarship Program.

Thanks to the cooperation with the Foundation, a project was created to help Ukrainian scientists continue their work in these difficult times and enable them to work either in the Czech Republic or remotely abroad. At the same time, Czech science gains the opportunity to collaborate with leading scientists from Ukraine.

“We are currently in contact with about a hundred Ukrainian scientists,” says Matouš Glanc, project coordinator from Czexpats in Science. Since launching the project shortly after the outbreak of the war, more than thirty of them have managed to secure jobs either directly in the Czech Republic, or in other countries. Among the domestic institutions where Ukrainian scientists have thus far been placed are universities in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc, public research institutes, and private companies active in research and development. In addition, institutions in Germany, Austria, Spain, and other countries have also sought out scientists.

The project’s next phase focuses on activities that will facilitate the integration of Ukrainian colleagues into the Czech scientific environment. Two networking meetings of Czech and Ukrainian scientists have already occurred at the Student Hub of Bakala Foundation. Both meetings were of great interest, and thanks to them, the “buddy” program is gradually being built up.

Connecting with Czech “buddies” when a foreign scientist is assigned a Czech colleague helps to ensure that they always have someone to turn to for help with orientation in the Czech environment, with practical matters, or simply with whom to have a coffee or a beer…