“We woke up in a different world today”.

This statement by our Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock describes the situation best. What seemed unimaginable a few days ago has come to pass. A few hours away from us by plane, a war is raging on European soil. A war in which a democratic elected nation is being attacked by a despot.

This is an issue that affects all of Germany, but this is also an issue that specifically affects our university. Several young people from Ukraine are currently studying and working with us at Ansbach University. This group now fears for the health of their families and loved ones.

Two of our partner universities, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman (KNEU) and Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University (KhNAHU), are located in cities that are already fighting Russian aggressors. We have close relations with these two universities, and a delegation visited them as recently as last September.

We are stunned that this is even possible in 2022 after the lessons learned from history, and we hope that this attack on the people of Ukraine, which must be condemned in the strongest terms under international law, will soon come to an end.

There is little we can do at this point to alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to do something for our fellow Ukrainians. We have decided to actively support a fundraising campaign by “Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V.” at www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de to raise money for the people of Ukraine.

Furthermore, we offer to host Ukrainian scientists from the war zone together with their families in Ansbach.

Your Sascha Müller-Feuerstein

President of the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences