Ukraine war: University visits Swansea to share experiences

Marharyta Lymar said part of the support for students is to ensure that the campus is safe and has shelter in case of attack

Until 18 months ago, university lecturer Marharyta Lymar had a "really normal" life in Ukraine.

Then Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded her country on 24 February 2022.

She was determined to keep teaching her students and so she and her colleagues found ways for Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, (PMBSNU) to continue.

PMBSNU has since signed a partnership agreement with Swansea University and Ms Lymar and a delegation from Ukraine have come to Wales to share their experiences.

Swansea and Mykolaiv share many similarities, both have universities and are industrial port cities, with PMBSNU sitting in Mykolaiv near the Black Sea.

Ms Lymar, a translation expert with a background in foreign affairs, told a conference how they adapted their teaching methods, offered additional mental health support to staff and students, and helped foster a survival spirit.

"We've come here with a message of hope to everyone," she said.

"The news is all terrible, but somehow we've found a way to survive, and keep our country as a progressive, outward-thinking nation."

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Ms Lymar said things were so terrifying at first that lecturers could not see a way forward.

"From February until April we had nothing but shells, all we could think about was staying alive," she said.

"But then we realised we'd done that, so our attention turned to how we kept our country alive as well."

For the first few months of the war, staff and students lived in underground bunkers as Russian missiles rained down on them each day.

But, as they eased themselves back into normal life, some hope emerged.

"Looking back on it now, as terrible as Covid was, it had given us the blueprint for how to get back on our feet," Ms Lymar said.

"We'd already been using online teaching, so when it was safe for our students to leave campus and return home, we carried on lectures in the way we had the previous two years."

PMBSNU Ukrainian students have visited Swansea University as part of the partnership

However, Ms Lymar explained some additional refinements were necessary.

"Electricity was sometimes just a few hours in the morning and evening, so often we'd have to hold short-notice lectures on mobile phones, whenever the power kicked in.

"We also had to get rid of deadlines. Every student was working under such different conditions that it was impossible to treat each of them by the same standards."

Additional student support was also put in place, ranging from formal counselling to regular phone calls just to check everyone was OK.

Yet Ms Lymar said one of the biggest coping mechanisms was Ukraine's national spirit.

"I suppose we're all in this together, so when everyone is going through the same thing, it's easier for one person to cope with what they're experiencing."

She said the university treated the students as though they are part of their family.

Life in war-stricken Mykolaiv has even created new traditions.

"The pipes have been bombed so much that water from the taps is so yellow and polluted that now Ukrainians take bottled water around to each others' homes as a gift for dinner, in the same way we would have taken a bottle of wine before the war."

Mariia Hryhorian says she wants to take everything she has learned back to Ukraine to help rebuild the country

Mariia Hryhorian is a medical student at PMBSNU specialising in gynaecology, and spent last year studying in Swansea to help with her learning.

"I felt instantly at home. Swansea is a lot like Mykolaiv, they are both by the sea, but we can't get to our beaches anymore as it's all fenced off. They're too dangerous to visit," she said.

"Everyone is so friendly here, I feel very welcome, and I'm so impressed with the equipment and training.

"I need to take everything I've learned home, so when we win this war I can be part of rebuilding our country."

Ms Lymar said many of her students have remained at home.

"Some on my course are fighting on the front lines right now. One in particular promised to stay safe and come home alive, but I think about him every day.

"When he sends in his assignments and apologises for them being late, I don't know what to say, it just makes me cry."

Swansea University is also keen to emphasise how the conference and wider partnership agreement can help them learn resilience skills from PMBSNU's experiences.

Emma Frearson Emmanuel, associate director at Swansea University, said: "We are very pleased to welcome our Ukrainian partners to campus, as we were with their students who recently visited for a semester.

"This is a two-way partnership. We are learning from our PMBSNU colleagues, for example about adapting teaching methods and supporting students in the most difficult of times."