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Author: Caspar Bienek

Preparation year: A small initiative with a big impact

Preparation year: A small initiative with a big impact

Image: Tetyana Fedorchuk

The preparation year allows school leavers who had to flee the war in Ukraine to prepare them for their university studies. The year is packed with language courses and introductory classes to study methods, transferable skills and much more. Martina Carolus, head of exchange programmes, and Jana Müller, project manager of the preparation year, explain how the preparation year differs from other ways how the University of Bern is helping Ukrainian refugees.

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Two Ukrainian doctors: Sisters and soulmates

Two Ukrainian doctors: Sisters and soulmates

Image: Antonina & Kateryna Antonenko

Antonina and Kateryna Antonenko came to Bern fleeing the war in Ukraine. The two medical professionals received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to work and research at the Inselspital for one year. In this interview, the two sisters talk about the differences between working as doctors in Bern and Kyiv.

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Israeli academic leadership delegation visits Bern

Israeli academic leadership delegation visits Bern

Image: Manu Friedrich

At the beginning of July, the executive board of the University of Bern welcomed a leadership delegation from several universities in Israel. The aim of their visit was to discuss topics at the interface between research and management.

Universities face common cross-border challenges, such as climate change and disruptive technologies. Read more “Israeli academic leadership delegation visits Bern”

Editorial by Virginia Richter, Vice Rector for Development at the University of Bern

Editorial by Virginia Richter, Vice Rector for Development at the University of Bern

At the time of writing, Russia’s war on Ukraine has been going on for three months. The blatant aggression on 24 February 2022 against a sovereign country was experienced as a shock, described by many as a turning point in history. Initially, the war was also expected to be short, and a Russian victory seemed a foregone conclusion: when President Zelensky gave his first stirring speeches, their poignancy was reinforced by the fact that a dead man was speaking to us on behalf of a doomed nation, or so we (in western Europe) thought.

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“You should see their faces”: Advising Ukrainian students at the University of Bern

“You should see their faces”: Advising Ukrainian students at the University of Bern

Tetyana Fedorchuk prefers to be called Tania. She works as an intern at UniBE International. Her job is to advise students who fled to Switzerland and are interested in continuing their studies at the University of Bern. As Ukrainian, she can greet the newcomers in their mother tongue.

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A conversation about the new Ukrainian Society at the University of Bern

A conversation about the new Ukrainian Society at the University of Bern

A group of dedicated volunteers established the Ukrainian Society at the University of Bern. What does it stand for, what are their plans and how can others join them? UniBE International spoke to two of its founding members: Oksana Iamshanova, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and Ruslan Hlushchuk, lecturer at the Institute of Anatomy.

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A Zoom call to Kyiv

A Zoom call to Kyiv

Igor Tokarchuk was an MD-PhD student at the University of Bern. When he and his family returned home to Ukraine and Igor started a job at a biotech company, the future looked bright. Then the war changed everything. He talks to Lenka Fehrenbach, international program manager at UniBE International, about coping with the strains of war and how setting up the refugee camp led to reviving an old bread factory.

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Fatalism and silent opposition: Impressions of Russia at war

Fatalism and silent opposition: Impressions of Russia at war

Trying to understand what people think and why they have formed a certain opinion. This is one of the reasons why Michèle Häfliger, a master’s student in Eastern European Studies, wanted to spend a semester at Kazan State University. For the first time, she applied in January 2020.

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Young biologist from Iran won post-doc scholarship

Young biologist from Iran won post-doc scholarship

Zahra is a medical parasitologist from Iran. She came to Bern on a Global Connections fellowship in summer 2021. The fellowship funds short stays for early-career researchers. During her PhD studies, Zahra attended the Middle Eastern Biology of Parasitism (MeBoP) summer school, where she met Isabel Roditi, co-director of the Institute of Cell Biology at the University of Bern.

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