"In addition to its internationally renowned teaching and research activities, Széchenyi István University also attaches great importance to social responsibility. This is particularly important in the humanitarian crisis that has arisen as a result of the worsening war in Ukraine. Our institution has indicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology that it would offer 200 places to refugees from the war-torn country. On Thursday afternoon, the ministries informed us that 121 Indian students who had studied at a Ukrainian university and now sought refuge in our country will be coming to us," said Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice Rector for International Affairs at Széchenyi István University.

The group arrived late on Thursday evening in three buses at the central campus of Széchenyi István University in Győr, where they were welcomed by staff of the University Service Centre and the Centre for International Programmes, as well as by members of the University Students Union.

The moment of arrival: the Indian students and Széchenyi István University staff at the Győr campus.
(Photo by Gábor Pőcze)

"After registration, we provided accommodation for all of them in our K4 Hall of Residence. We would like to thank the University’s Studygast Kft. for providing them with a hot dinner on Thursday evening and breakfast on Friday. Our community also came together immediately, for which we are also very grateful. Our University Service Centre advertised a fundraising campaign on social media platforms, as the Indian students arrived with very few clothes and luggage. The collection is continuing, mainly hygiene products, underwear, coats, other clothes and blankets. We were very pleased to see that already in the morning we received a lot of donations from students and staff," said Dr Lukács, adding that this Indian group is expected to travel on to their home country in a few days.

One of the Indian refugees is Aryan Singh, who studied at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kiev until the outbreak of the war. "We were terrified. There was constant bombing. A kilometre away from us, rockets were destroying buildings. For five days we lived in a small shelter, five hundred of us crammed together. We were not allowed to go up to our rooms, we had hardly any food, and we tried to find a way to ration it," he recalled.

From the Ukrainian capital, they had great difficulty in reaching the Hungarian border via Lviv and Uzhhorod. In Hungary, they went first to Debrecen, then to Budapest and finally to Győr. "We are indescribably grateful to everyone in Hungary and here at Széchenyi István University. Many people have helped and are helping us, so we don't feel like strangers at all. This is the best country I have ever been to," he concluded.

The Indian students staying in a Hall of Residence at Széchenyi István University are extremely grateful for the selfless help of the institution. (Photo by Márton Horváth)

In addition to providing temporary assistance to the 121-member Indian group, Széchenyi István University has offered to join the programme initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, which aims to host international students who are refugees from Ukraine on a permanent basis. The institution will make 200 places available for this purpose and will also provide education for the new arrivals.