Ukraine conflict: the latest on the Institut Pasteur's action in support of the scientists and people of Ukraine

As the Ukrainian people and scientific community continue to grapple with the invasion of their country by Russia, the Institut Pasteur has shown strong support, taking several measures at the very beginning of the conflict to help Ukraine's researchers and wider population. Back in March, it offered to host scientists and organized a collection of essential supplies on campus in conjunction with the mairie (town hall) in Paris' 15th arrondissement.

 

1/ Hosting Ukrainian scientists

The call for applications launched by the Institut Pasteur on March 22 led to an outpouring of solidarity on campus, with more than 60 research units offering to host a Ukrainian scientist. The call was then widely publicized thanks to the https://scienceforukraine.eu/ website and the #ScienceForUkraine hashtag, two initiatives that boosted the international visibility of the scheme and helped match requests with offers to host scientists.

To date, a dozen applications have already been approved and five students/scientists have arrived on campus and begun their research with the Institut Pasteur's teams. The other applicants who will soon be welcomed on campus are either en route from Ukraine or Poland or already in France. They will each be hosted for a period ranging from 6 to 12 months.

Under the Institut Pasteur's scheme, each candidate contacts the PI directly by email, and the PI exchanges messages with the scientist to assess the relevance of the application and whether the laboratory is in a position to work with him/her. The PI then submits the application and the proposal to the management team for approval.

The newsletter team will continue to give you regular updates on the latest news regarding the hosting program.

Here are some useful websites for the exiled Ukrainian scientific community*:

The website of the international "Science in Exile" initiative
The #ScienceForUkraine website
The dedicated platform run by the "Femmes & Sciences" association to host exiled female scientists from Ukraine who arrive in France
The Acc&ss FnAK website

* source: French Academy of Sciences

 

2/ Participation in the international solidarity effort – collection still ongoing on campus

Since mid-March, a collection of goods has been held on campus from Monday to Friday, 12 noon to 2pm, on the ground floor of the CIS building.

The collection is organized in conjunction with the mairie (town hall) in Paris' 15th arrondissement. Thanks to your daily contributions, a large number of food products, personal and general hygiene items and cleaning products have been collected. Since the collection was first launched, no fewer than 18 boxes (more than 250kg) of goods have been collected and already sent to Ukraine.

We would remind you that the collection is ongoing and you can still come and donate goods on the ground floor of the CIS building, in hall 2, from 12 noon to 2pm – including on days when there are conferences and seminars, in which case the organizers move the collection point to the alcove in hall 2, as illustrated in the photo here:

The organizers would particularly encourage you to donate general hygiene and cleaning products if possible (sponges, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, gloves, tissues, toilet paper, etc.).

Click on the link below for a full list of items that the mairie wishes to collect (in French)