Rector in Ukraine: Life is lived in the midst of chaos and war

By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photos: Per Michael Johansen and Danish Embassy in Ukraine

He was escorted around by security guards from the armed forces, saw smashed buildings in several cities and twice had to take cover underground due to air raid alerts. At the same time, Rector Per Michael Johansen also gained insight into everyday life and the lives that are lived – as normally as possible – even though the country is under attack from Russia.

So says AAU's rector, Per Michael Johansen, who was recently part of a delegation on a trip to Ukraine that included Christina Egelund (M), Minister for Higher Education and Science, and Jens Ringsmose, Rector, University of Southern Denmark. 

The purpose of the visit was to strengthen Danish-Ukrainian cooperation on education, research, innovation and technology development. As part of the visit, Per Michael Johansen signed letters of intent to strengthen cooperation with Kyiv School of Economics and the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. In addition, he also initiated a dialogue with Mykolaiv National Agrarian University, to be continued by the faculty managements of the Faculty of Engineering and Science and the Technical Faculty of IT and Design.

See photos from the trip below:

At the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), Rector Per Michael Johansen gave a presentation on AAU as a mission-oriented university. 

The rector signed a letter of intent for cooperation with the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). Pictured (from left) are Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science; Rector Per Michael Johansen; Tymofii Brik, Rector of KSE; and Oksen Lisovyi, Ukrainian Minister for Higher Education and Science.

The Danish delegation also visited a destroyed residential area of Kyiv. Local rescue workers talk about the attack by a Russian missile.

The Russian attack hit a residential building in the middle of the night. Only one person in the building survived, rescue workers said.

A memorial for the deceased now stands at the site of the completely destroyed building. Flowers, plush toys and pictures of families and children filled the space.

Per Michael Johansen also participated in an official meeting between Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science Denmark and her Ukrainian counterpart Oksen Lisovyi, Minister for Higher Education and Science Ukraine. 

The rector and the rest of the delegation also visited the Shipbuilding University in Mykolaiv, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding (NUoS), that AAU already collaborates with. Per Michael Johansen receives a painting as a gift from the university's rector, Eugeniy Trushliakov. 

The delegation laid flowers at The Wall Of Remembrance in Kyiv along with the Oksen Lisovyi, Ukrainian Minister for Higher Education and Science. When the war broke out, he volunteered and spent two years at the front, the rector says. 

Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science at a car wreck in the middle of the street in Kyiv. The Ukrainians gather up deployed Russian equipment from the front and place it in the cities as visible proof that they are taking up the fight against the Russians. 

Destroyed Russian equipment was also on display in Mykolaiv that since the spring of 2023 has been twinned with Aalborg.

Ukrainians are holding on to everyday life. At first glance, Mykolaiv may look like any other European city. The fountain in Mykolaiv’s central square is bubbling, but on the buildings in the background are wooden boards in place of windows that were blown out by air strikes.

The Danish delegation also visited the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. During the visit, the air raid siren went off and they ended up in a bomb shelter with some students. 

The room was furnished with desks so that the students could work during the attacks or receive digital lessons. The university does not have shelters for all students, so they have to take turns being on campus and studying remotely. 

The rector had a good talk with the students about their education system and their dreams: They have faith in the future. A belief that education moves them – both personally and as a society, the rector says.

The second time the air raid siren went off during their stay in Ukraine, the group had to seek cover in a shelter at a metro station. Here they met some young women who were on their way to party in the city. 

When the group asked them if they shouldn’t stay in the shelter until the alarm was sounded, the answer was: "We do have a neighbour who has chosen to disturb our night's sleep, but we are young and we have something to do. We don't have time to be disturbed. We're going out to meet others."  

The women had learned to tell the difference between the sound of drones and missiles, and they ignored the drones. Because as one said to the rector, the chance of being killed in traffic is far greater than being killed by a drone.