When FEB students and staff sat together with members of the FEB Faculty Council and Faculty Board to discuss the impact of the invasion of Ukraine, this led to two conclusions. First of all, we want to do something now to help Ukrainian refugee students and staff, and secondly, we want to see how in the future FEB could provide some support for students and staff that are victims of other crises. For the former we have started the FEB for Ukraine crowdfunding action, and to facilitate the latter we have installed the FEB Academic Support Fund, a structural fund for the support of students and staff of higher education in times of crisis. 

The FEB for Ukraine crowdfunding action
Amongst various general support and fund-raising initiatives, the FEB for Ukraine crowdfunding action is "by academia, for academia". It is aiming to help with providing support for the Ukrainian academic community, specifically, for refugee students and (both academic and support) staff from Ukraine in the Netherlands. 

An estimated 10 million people have fled the Ukraine to get away from the violence and find safety. Currently close to 50.000 refugees from Ukraine are hosted in the Netherlands, and the expectation is that many more are to follow! Often, they have had to leave everything and everyone behind and arrive with not much more than the shirts on their back. Beyond the first aid of food, shelter, and a safe haven, they are in dire need of some perspective for their further stay with us.

The Foundation for Refugee Students UAF has been providing support to refugee students and professionals in their studies and in finding suitable employment in the Netherlands since 1948. As an independent professional organization and officially recognized charity, they rely on donations, volunteers, and cooperation with education institutions, companies, municipalities, and the Dutch national government. UAF is already receiving many requests from students and staff from Ukrainian higher education, looking for ways to in some way continue their studies or work in the Netherlands. They expect the number of requests to increase rapidly in the coming months and need help to accommodate them! 

With this crowdfunding action we ask the FEB community for a donation to support the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF in its effort to provide perspective for Ukrainian academic refugees in the Netherlands. 
You can make your donation through the crowdfunding website FEB for Ukraine. Any amount will do, all help is very much appreciated! The total amount of your gifts will be matched by FEB, and the result will be donated to the UAF! 

The FEB Academic Support Fund
FEB's mission is to empower and connect students, academics and external stakeholders to have a joint positive impact on regional, national and global economic and business challenges in science and society. As a higher education institution, our main impact will be through teaching and research, but we also aim to have an impact in society beyond this.  
As mentioned, the question what FEB can do for the people of the Ukraine, led to the realization that we also want to see how we can more structurally provide some support for students and staff of higher education institutions in/from crisis areas. To facilitate this, FEB has installed the FEB Academic Support Fund, a dedicated fund that resides under the Groningen University Fund (GUF), with the aim to provide support to fellow students and staff of higher education institutions in times of crisis. This support can take different shapes, for example providing scholarships for study, facilitating short stays, or financially supporting relevant charities or aid initiatives. Exactly how the fund will be used in the future is to be further explored. The FEB for Ukraine crowdfunding action is the first initiative facilitated by the FEB Academic Support Fund.