The Senate of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) has declared this academic year Ukraine’s Freedom Year as MRU's community continues to lend support to Ukraine and its people as students from Ukraine flock to study in MRU Bachelor's and Master's Degree programmes.

“We hope that events this spring celebrating the birthday of Mykolas Romeris will cap this year (of Ukraine),” said MRU Senate Chairman Prof. Romas Prakapas.

Since the start of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, MRU has collected food, clothing and goods for Ukrainian troops fighting on the frontline, helped a whole host of women and their children who fled Ukraine to begin life anew in the MRU dormitory and allowed establishment of a Ukrainian school for pupils to attend on campus.

There are a total of about 450 pupils who study at the war refugee Ukrainian "Gravitas Schola" school and live in various Vilnius locations. About 130 older pupils study in the “Gravitas” Ukrainian school, which uses MRU facilities on campus. The pupils are in 8th-11th grade, according to MRU Deputy Rector's Adviser for Sustainable Development Dr. Nomeda Gudelienė. 

Ukrainian students have also taken advantage of completing their studies at MRU or beginning Bachelor’s and/or Master’s Degree studies on campus and remotely.

According to Anželika Vėžienė, Head of MRU’s Staff Activities Dept., after the War started last year, there were 144 Ukrainian Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree students that were admitted to study at MRU. Of the 144 Ukrainian students, about 50 study in Bachelor’s Degree programmes. Many of them study in the “English for Specific Purposes and the Second Foreign Language” programme. About 61 of the 144 Ukrainian students receive scholarships or monthly stipends of about 300 Euros per month.

An interview with one of the Ukrainian students, MRU Psychology student Tetiana Moskalenko, is here.

On Dec. 15th, 2022, the “MRU Caravan for Ukraine” departed to Ukraine with loads of food, canned goods, water, other non-perishable items and wooden socks for Ukrainian troops fighting on the frontlines there. MRU's community came together to collect the items and then donate them before the holiday season began in Ukraine.

MRU Rector Prof. Dr. Inga Žalėnienė and MRU Law School researcher and Baltic-Ukrainian Fund coordinator Olha Bodnar-Petrovska participated in the "MRU Caravan for Ukraine" event watching as it departed for Ukraine.