The Financial Aid Award for Ukrainians, established shortly after the invasion, provided funds earmarked for prospective students from Ukraine. For 10 new students commencing their studies in August 2022, the programme supported them with a tuition waiver and a stipend for living expenses in Norway.
“For a country at war, this is the least we can contribute with to support young and talented people who, in other circumstances, would have had the opportunity to be educated in their own homeland. For BI, this has been a concrete step to show our solidarity and support for Ukrainians, in addition to already having donated funds towards humanitarian aid for the local population,” says Karen Spens, President of BI Norwegian Business School.
Providing support for individuals fleeing a war zone required a high level of responsiveness to individual needs and a willingness to find good solutions to a range of bureaucratic challenges, according to Spens.
The Ukrainian students are currently enrolled at both bachelor and master level.
“We greatly appreciate the high level of cross-departmental cooperation in responding to this crisis, from both faculty and staff. Our teams rallied to provide the necessary support to that these students were able to start their studies at BI as early as in August,” says Marius Eriksen, Executive Vice President for BI’s full-time programmes.