Lucky to have them

Efforts to support Ukraine’s academics must mark a new era of help

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last year, Sharif Safi was among the hundreds of thousands desperately trying to escape the country. The scholar, who had been accepted onto the UK government’s prestigious Chevening programme, says that if he could not get out, his education would not have continued. “I had to keep trying, both for my life and my dream,” he says.

Safi, who is now safely at London Metropolitan University, is one of many students and academics who have fled oppression and terror in recent years. He tells his story to Sophie Inge as we look at the efforts the UK academic sector is making to help those escaping conflict pursue their research.