2022 marked the 30th Anniversary of the DAFI scholarship programme. Since its inception in 1992, the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) scholarship programme has reached over 24,000 students worldwide. It is one of the most renowned and long-standing higher education programmes specifically for refugees. The programme, funded primarily by the German Government with additional support from the Danish Government and other private partners and foundations, was active in 56 countries in 2022.
In honour of the 30th Anniversary, the 2022 report is composed entirely of reflections written by 30+ DAFI scholarship recipients. They focus on the specific moment that inspired them to pursue their chosen field of study, their work leading projects in the arts, sciences and community development, and the organisations and initiatives that they have founded or plan to pursue. One of the selected student for DAFI scholarship in Slovakia is Liudmyla, a refugee from Ukraine. The below is an extract of her story in DAFI Annual Report 2022.
“Leaving [Ukraine], I made a promise that I would do everything to acquire certain knowledge and skills that would help me and my country in the post-war period.“
The first step to my choice of field of study was the example of my grandfather, who was a Doctor of Economic Sciences and taught at the university. One day I happened to see him at a lecture he was giving to his students. After I listened to his report, I realized that I listened to him without taking my eyes off and without losing attention, because I was so interested that I wanted to learn more and more. And that’s when I realized that I’m not interested in just one area, but many. These include certain moments from logistics, how it will be more profitable to deliver cargo to another country. From marketing, certain moments in advertising that make you want to buy right now a certain [product]. From economics, because sometimes it is interesting why the exchange rate rises and falls or why two countries with the same size, population and territorial location have radically different standards of living. And I was incredibly interested in the rules and traditions of different countries, for example in etiquette of diplomatic relations. Therefore, I needed a profession and a field of study that would combine all my interests and provide opportunities for growth. Thus, I chose the field of study “Business Management,” which includes all my interests.
After starting my studies in this specialty, an incredible tragedy happened in my country, because the war started. There was no opportunity to stay in Ukraine, so I had to leave my homeland. But leaving there, I made a promise that I would do everything to acquire certain knowledge and skills that would help me and my country in the post-war period. Thanks to this promise, I searched for and took part in many projects. This included the DAAD program, which provided a parallel study program for an online semester, thanks to which I received detailed knowledge in the field of planning and creating various projects. And of course, I took part in the DAFI program, which helped me develop in the directions in which I was interested. For example, it was an opportunity to improve [my knowledge of] Slovak and English languages, which I am sure I will need in the future. Thanks to the DAFI program, I got the opportunity to visit some countries and learn more about their culture and traditions, exactly what you will not learn on the internet.
At the moment, a bloody war is still going on in my country, and every Ukrainian is suffering from this. Therefore, as a Ukrainian living abroad, I would like to found a charitable organization to help countries suffering from war. And this can give help, for example, to Ukrainians who cannot leave Ukraine, but need certain specific medicines that are in short supply in my country.
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