Two Ukrainian refugee researchers join University of Barcelona team

The University of Barcelona (UB) has welcomed its first two Ukrainian refugee researchers, Oleksander and Maryna Martynenko, who will continue their work and teach classes to Catalan students. 

The couple arrived in Barcelona on March 26 and will start working as soon as possible, as they "have had an extremely complicated experience, and they still have to go through all the bureaucracy, so they will join the team during the next month," Raúl Ramos, Deputy Head of Internationalization Policy at the University of Barcelona, said. 

Oleksander and Maryna left Kharkiv, in the eastern Ukrainian region near Donbas, on March 8. After traveling across the country by car and then crossing the Polish border by bus, they reached Kraków, where they flew to Barcelona. 

"We are grateful to the University of Barcelona and our friends and colleagues that helped us come to their country," Maryna Martynenko said to media outlets on her first visit to the University of Barcelona historical building on Tuesday.

Initially, neither of them wanted to leave their city, but on March 6, Kharkiv was heavily attacked, including the main buildings of the university, leaving some of the faculties "fully destroyed," Oleksander explained emotionally. 

As researchers, it was important for them to continue their "research and to be useful to both countries: Ukraine and Spain, and I hope we can find some points of collaboration with the University of Barcelona," Maryna added. 

"Science is international," Oleksander Martynenko said to the media after explaining that his long-time friend Xavier Pastor suggested they come to Barcelona and continue their work. 

"Now, we have a good idea for data mining, for cardiologists and oncologists. We will continue our research and play our part for the human cause, for the people. We continue this for peace," he said. 

Xavier Pastor is a professor at the University of Barcelona. He has known the two Ukrainians since 1997. This is a "story of solidarity, mixed with an academic and personal story," Pastor said, seated next to his two colleagues. 

Oleksander Martynenko will continue working in artificial intelligence and data analytics, and as soon as the faculty of Medicine approves it, he will "teach some classes to masters or undergraduate students that can benefit from his knowledge," Raúl Ramos told Catalan News. 

Meanwhile, Maryna Martynenko with a health and economic background will also continue her work as a researcher. In her case, she will work with a team at the Universitat of Barcelona business school. 

Both arrived in Barcelona with their daughter, who will continue doing her Ukrainian school courses online. 

Universities in Ukraine "continue working and they support their students and professors," Maryna explained. 

As a result, both Ukrainian refugee researchers that arrived in Barcelona want to "continue teaching their classes online at their home universities," the Deputy Head of Internationalization Policy at the University of Barcelona, said.

Science for Ukraine

These two Ukrainian refugee researchers are the first ones to arrive at the University of Barcelona, but they will not be the last ones. 

The UB will welcome other refugees and will hire them as visiting professors until the end of the year. Then, officials at the education center will decide on the next steps depending on the situation in Ukraine and if the war is still ongoing.

Science for Ukraine is a website that allows all researchers fleeing their home country to find positions at other universities and keep working in their field. 

The University of Barcelona already expects three more professors but they cannot set an arrival date "as it is very difficult," Ramos said. 

The website, available to universities worldwide, has also prompted other Ukrainian teachers specializing in engineering to get in touch with the university, however, the UB does not offer any of these such technical masters or degrees.

Ukrainians in Catalonia

13,454 Ukrainian refugees have already been resettled in Catalonia since February 24, when the Russian invasion of their country began – for reference, before the war, there were only around 25,000 residents from Ukraine in the territory.

Of these, Catalan government spokesperson Patrícia Plaja explained in a press conference on Tuesday, 1,710 are children who have been enrolled in schools.

There are also 197 minors who have been placed in group homes across Catalonia.

Many more refugees have traveled through Catalonia, including Barcelona's Sants train station, en route to other destinations. Last week this figure was at some 14,000 people, though this is now likely to be far higher.