«We will support you in everything»: German Minister of Education visits MSU
A German delegation led by Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger visited Mariupol State University as part of a working trip to Ukraine. Together with the foreign guests, representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, the German Embassy in Ukraine and representatives of Ukrainian universities visited the university.
The modern space of Mariupol State University became a place for discussion about the activities of universities in the conditions of a full-scale invasion and co-operation between two friendly countries in the field of education and science.
Rector Mykola Trofymenko welcomed the guests of honour from the invincible academic community. The Rector met the Minister for the first time last year in Berlin on the occasion of the anniversary of the partnership between Germany and Ukraine.
During the visit to the University of Mariupol, Mykola Trofymenko gave the German delegation a tour of the educational building, which has undergone significant changes in a short period of time.
The minister saw with her own eyes the cybersecurity and inclusive education laboratories, a museum with exhibits of MSU's recent history. The guests also had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the visual solutions for the future student campus as part of the large-scale reconstruction project «Invincible Campus of the Invincible University».
The people who fled the horrors of war in Mariupol have settled here in an old Soviet-era building, which is now being restored step by step. The university, which lost everything, has done everything in its power to continue the educational process. The New York Times called MSU a source of steadfastness, and so it became known throughout the world. The Invincible University is the spirit that their community possesses.
You create prospects based on your hard work, international support and a clear view of the future. And we will support you to the best of our ability,
– says the German Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger.
The communication between the German and Ukrainian representatives took place in a shelter. This space was not chosen by chance because it most vividly conveys the reality of Ukrainian education - despite the daily threat to continue studying to build a new, better country.
The praesidium of the panel discussion included the Minister of Education and Research of Germany, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Finance and Science of the Saarland Jakob von Weizsäcker, President of the German Rectors' Conference Walter Rosenthal, the Rector of Mariupol University Mykola Trofymenko.
At the beginning of the event, the head of the Ministry of Education and Culture presented the rectors of Kyiv and Kharkiv universities to the German party. The communities of each of these institutions demonstrate incredible resilience and dedication to their work and country. Educators shared their experience of working in war conditions, preserving scientific potential, and rebuilding destroyed infrastructure. For its part, the German delegation expressed its admiration for the Ukrainian academic community and assured further development of cooperation between the countries in education and science.
