Waterloo's response: Ukraine

Further details on Waterloo’s response in the wake of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine

(Please note: This webpage is updated as new information becomes available. It was last updated on: Friday, November 25th at 9:30 am. To provide comments, input, etc., please contact waterloo.international@uwaterloo.ca)

Support for Waterloo students directly affected: financial support

The Ukraine crisis is having an impact on many in our community. Financial impacts may arise as a result of, for instance, devaluation of currency, restrictions on international financial transfers, loss of income-generating activities, and/or additional personal expenses.  The University of Waterloo has established channels for receiving and evaluating such requests for emergency financial assistance:

Additionally, two specific applications for financial assistance were recently announced (see the article in the Daily Bulletin Page):

  • Ontario-Ukraine Solidarity Scholarship: The purpose of these funds is to provide support to undergraduate and graduate students directly or indirectly impacted by the Ukrainian conflict or other conflicts. Four scholarships will be awarded to students registered at Waterloo in the 2022/2023 academic year. Full details and instructions on how to apply can be found in the application. Applications and required supporting documentation (as outlined on the form) must be submitted by January 16, 2023.
  • Students-at-Risk Bursary: This program is available to students who have had their program of study disrupted by conflict, war or changing political environments in their country of origin or where they were last registered prior to relocating to Waterloo to continue their program. Full details, including application instructions, can be found on the graduate and undergraduate databases (graduate) and (undergraduate). Applications and required supporting documentation (as outlined on the application form) must be submitted by January 16, 2023. 

Support for Waterloo students directly affected: visa support and broader support

International students at Waterloo who were scheduled to return to Ukraine and surrounding countries may have found their travel plans affected by the invasion and/or the sanctions (including travel restrictions) imposed.  They may also be on a time-limited visa to remain in Canada.  The University of Waterloo has a team of immigration consultants who can advise, interpret new measures, are in contact with our peers across the country as we provide insight into students’ experiences and as we monitor developments at the federal level.

Support, in a broader sense, is available to all members of our community, and we are particularly cognizant of those who are being affected by the crisis. Within their particular Faculty, undergraduate students can consult their academic advisor; graduate students can consult their supervisor(s), graduate officer, departmental coordinator, or Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs: link to access an email; and all students can consult the Student Success Office: a link to access an email. Moreover, resources available to all students include:

Support for Waterloo staff and faculty directly affected

Waterloo employees can contact Homewood Health for a range of health and wellness services under the Employee and Family Assistance Program. Contact Homewood Health directly by telephone or through their website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days of the year.

And as a reminder to employees who are travelling out of the country, accessing the health benefit carrier for those who are covered is as follows: Plan #: 57130; 1-800-957-9777; Canada Life Page

Support for students and universities in Ukraine and surrounding areas

At Waterloo, we are also members of regional, provincial, national, and global communities.

We are working with our sector associations – receiving information from them, providing them with our perspectives and experiences, and standing together in solidarity. See their statements:

We are engaging internationally in two primary ways.

First, we recognize that university communities in Ukraine and surrounding countries have been devastated by the invasion. In addition to the trauma in their personal lives, many current students, staff, and faculty (and those scheduled to enter university in September 2022) have had their professional lives shattered.  We are working to see how we can help, and at present are developing assistance in three key ways:

  • We will engage multilaterally with those associations that are building collective responses – including CBIE and UnivCan.  We will also continue our work with World University Service of Canada and Academics Without Borders. Additionally, we acted upon our commitment to expand these kinds of engagement with other international associations by joining Scholars At Risk. Please see our recent news item for more information. Moreover, when relevant opportunities arise, we will publicize them here:
    • The Government of Canada announced on 28 March that they will offer support in the form of supplements to existing research grants. This will provide relief and assistance to research trainees from Ukraine. More information from each of the Tri-Council funding agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) is available. Questions or requests for more information on the agency response fund can also be directed to the Office of Research at: uwcihr@uwaterloo.ca, uwnserc@uwaterloo.ca, or uwsshrc@uwaterloo.ca.

    • The Government of Ontario announced on 6 April a suite of services and supports for Ukrainians arriving to the province, including an “Ontario-Ukraine Solidarity Scholarship”. We will pass on further details as we learn more.

  • For students who were studying in Ukraine (or were scheduled to study in Ukraine), irrespective of their nationality, and who would like to explore admission to Waterloo, we have instituted the following change:
    • Even though applications are now closed for September 2022 studies, we are willing to consider late applications on a case-by-case basis.
  • For students who were studying in a university in Ukraine, irrespective of their nationality, and who would like to explore ways in which they might be able to continue to make academic progress on their current course of study, we offer the following:
    • We will continue to support Academics Without Borders, which has a history of engagement with institutions of higher education in Ukraine.
    • We invite expressions of interest from any who think that Waterloo faculty and/or staff may be able to help them continue to make academic progress on their Ukrainian-based degree studies. This may be, for instance, graduate students looking to maintain their research momentum by getting supervisory support for a term through, for example, the International Visiting Graduate Student program.  Please email with such inquiries.
    • A cross-campus initiative was launched to welcome a total of 34 Ukrainian students whose studies were interrupted by the ongoing war in their country. Further details can be found in this news item.

Second, we have reached out to some of our key partners in Europe, as they are on the front-line of a sector response, offering our assistance. Partners in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom expressed appreciation to be contacted in this way. As they develop their own response strategies, they have promised to be in touch should an appropriate way to collaborate arise, such as guest lecturing or thesis consultation for instance.

We are open to collecting offers of assistance from members of the Waterloo community, and exploring how to match with the needs that we discover. We are accepting offers of interest from those University of Waterloo faculty and staff who are interested in volunteering their services in this way. Please email with such offers.

Support for Learning About the Situation

Waterloo members are contributing to learning about the situation in Ukraine. The Library has prepared a 2022 Russia-Ukraine War reading list, which highlights books from the Library’s collection that cover political, historical, social, economic, and biographical background information.

Waterloo experts are contributing their perspectives as well:

Following President Goel’s statement on Friday, 4 March 2022, we continue to be unwavering in our solidarity with the innocent victims of this invasion, and we stand in support of those who are calling for an end to the invasion. And we will continue to support our Waterloo community and our global colleagues.