Useful Information. List of universities and platforms that provide free internships abroad for Ukrainians

Many universities in the USA, Canada, Australia and European countries offer programs for international students, which may include subsidized internships or scholarships for refugees from Ukraine.

Useful links to find free education abroad:

  1. The easiest way to start your search is with the help of an educational Telegram bot EducationUaBot— this project was created in the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine with the support of Switzerland and the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project. The bot will help to find not only a university, but also a kindergarten or school abroad. To start the search, you need to enter your name and choose one of 31 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Japan and others.
  2. The German-Ukrainian Academic Society—is  a huge database where you can find many useful links about training and support of Ukrainians in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Great Britain, Israel and North America. In total, the platform contains information on 749 organizations in 66 countries.
  3. You can also use the list of universities that help Ukrainian students and scientists on the English-language educational search platform Erudera. The platform has 70 offers from universities around the world, including the US, Australia and Canada. In addition to the country and the name of the university, the table indicates the type of aid and a link to the website of the higher education institution.
  4. #ScienceForUkraine— it is a public group of volunteer researchers and students from academic institutions in Europe and the whole world who help Ukrainians. You can apply for help through the website, and you can view the entire list of institutions that agree to cooperate with Ukrainian scientists. Applications are accepted from April to June.

State educational initiatives of partner countries of Ukraine

It is worth knowing that assistance to Ukrainian students can be offered not only by educational institutions, but also at the state level.

Latvia

Latvian universities continue to support Ukrainian students. The Government of Latvia allocated 688,000 euros to provide scholarships to Ukrainians for study and research until December 31, 2023. As reported by the Study in Latvia resource, during the current semester (from January to June 2023), Ukrainians received 92 educational scholarships and 20 scientific scholarships in the amount of 259,880 euros. Applications for the next academic year will end on September 15, 2023. Ukrainian students of Latvian public and private higher education institutions can receive a scholarship in the amount of 140 euros per month. Universities can also offer Ukrainian scientists internships without remuneration, while the state can provide a research scholarship in the amount of 900 euros per month.

Czech Republic

Study in Czechia is  platform very similar in content. On a separate tab for Ukrainians, you can find information about scholarships for students at various universities, offers for scientists and educators, as well as simply useful links for the life of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic. To decide on a university, you need to click on the tab with the city in which you would like to study.

Finland

The project to support Ukraine of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland HERE Ukraine! offers free tuition at three universities of applied sciences: Haaga-Helia, Laurea and Metropolia. These are two-month online courses, upon completion of which you can receive a certificate and use it to obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree at Ukrainian universities or other universities in Finland. They offer educational courses in physiotherapy, social services, real estate and construction, tourism, as well as nursing courses. Some of these classes have been running since March, and some will start in May or Fall 2023. To study for free, you need to be in Finland under temporary protection. Under the description of each course there is a link to the registration form.

Slovakia

FreeStudent is a program which provides for free education of Ukrainian students in the Slovak Republic for free. The project has been working for 8 years with the assistance of the Slovak-Ukrainian cultural and educational society. The program has a Ukrainian-language website where you can immediately apply for admission. Nine universities are participating in the program, including the University of Pavlo Jozef Šafarik in Košice, the University of Musical Arts in Bratislava and the Košice State Technical University.

Poland

Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange Issues NAWA offers Ukrainians to continue obtaining higher education in universities in Polish or English. So far, the website has published data on free education during the 2022-2023 academic year, but you can find general information with contacts and necessary documents for admission.

Free education from UNICEF Ukraine

The Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine reported that UNICEF Ukraine offers 5 European grants for students, postgraduates and teachers in universities of different countries. These are annual grants offered to all countries of the world and have very high selection criteria.

  1. Program of international scholarships Chevening, which is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs for Commonwealth Affairs and Development of Great Britain, has already completed accepting applications for the academic year 2023/2024, but will open applications for scholarships for the year 2024-2025 in August. The study lasts one year, upon completion of which students obtain a master’s degree. All Chevening applicants must provide education documents, references and one offer of admission to a UK university for the scholarship period. Also, to participate in the selection, it is desirable to have at least two years of work or volunteer experience, and most importantly, a clear vision of career development after training. You can monitor the selection and status of your application online.
  2. Fulbright is  a United States academic exchange program sponsored by the Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education. Since 1992, more than 1,100 Ukrainians have studied in the United States, while more than 750 Americans have taught in Ukrainian universities and engaged in scientific work. Applicants for admission to the program must have a sufficient command of the English language for professional communication in an English-speaking academic environment, have a bachelor’s degree at the time of the award of the scholarship, i.e. in August 2024, and must also return to Ukraine for two years after the end of the grant period. Applications can be submitted until May 16.
  3. French program Eiffel Excellence Scholarship, or the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship encourages international students to study at a master’s degree or a postgraduate degree at a French institution of higher education. Master’s students under the age of 25 and doctoral students under the age of 30 can participate.
  4.  Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships is another program  for masters and doctoral students. Recruitment begins in early August.
  5. Holland Scholarship is a scholarship funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands as well as several Dutch universities. Students can earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree. In order to enter the competition, the candidate’s nationality does not have to belong to the European Economic Area, the candidate must apply for a full-time bachelor’s or master’s program at one of the participating Dutch higher education institutions. Also, the prospective student must not have a degree from an educational institution in the Netherlands. The application deadline is May 1 and June 1, 2023.