The digital handbook Enhancing Exchange Students’ Everyday Well-Being and Sense of Belonging in Times of Collective Crisis is the seond project results of Academies4Ukraine
The handbook presents a set of practices, reflections, and methodologies developed by the University of Helsinki team to support students forced to continue their studies under conditions of significant emotional and social instability.
From the very first pages, the handbook reconstructs the dramatic context of the 2022 Russian invasion and its immediate impact on the Ukrainian higher education system, documenting direct testimonies from students who fled besieged cities such as Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson.
Building on these stories, the text illustrates how the University of Helsinki created a support network grounded in hospitality, community, and academic solidarity.
The core of the handbook is dedicated to promoting everyday well-being and sense of belonging, concepts that are thoroughly defined and connected to the psychological challenges of living during wartime. The project focuses on concrete tools: informal meetings, continuous communication through Telegram, bureaucratic support, cultural activities, and communal moments such as coffee meetings, museum visits, excursions, and shared celebrations.
A central section is devoted to the perspective of collective trauma and to the guidelines for creating a trauma-informed academic community, capable of offering safety, attentive listening, and meaningful relationships.
The handbook concludes with a set of best practices intended for European universities wishing to develop support programmes for students coming from crisis contexts.
Overall, this digital handbook represents a valuable contribution to rethinking academic solidarity in times of emergency and to shaping inclusive support models in situations of collective trauma.