People in the UK who have housed or are working with Ukrainian refugees have been offered a free online course on the country’s culture and language by the Open University (OU).

The OU has designed the course – which includes information on Ukrainian foods, culture, housing and healthcare – for UK residents who have hosted refugees as part of the government’s resettlement scheme and for service providers who work with people who have arrived from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

Mirjam Hauck, director of the OU’s Open Centre for Languages and Cultures, said the course supported people in learning some basic Ukrainian and to “find out about what Ukraine was like before the invasion, its geography, healthcare and education systems, history, and ethnic and religious diversity”.

“So many people in the UK have reached out and opened their homes to people fleeing from the war in Ukraine. We hope this free course will be invaluable in helping them support their guests and understand Ukrainian culture, heritage and language,” she said.

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Alongside the new course, the OU has also translated into Ukrainian a package of free online resources for refugees in the UK including English language courses and tips on how to write a CV.

The latest package of support builds on previous initiatives at the OU including the offer of tuition fee waivers for existing students from Ukraine in the 2021-22 academic year and 12 scholarships worth £240,000.

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English universities have also offered Ukrainian refugees the same fee status as home students and have joined forces to provide “wrap-around” scholarships including support for both fees and living costs. There have been calls to extend such initiatives to cover all refugees fleeing conflicts around the world.

Dmytro Zavgorodniy, director general for the directorate for digital transformation in the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, said he “applauded” efforts “to equip externally displaced Ukrainian people with skills and knowledge that would make their stay in the UK easier”.

“Delivery of targeted courses for the UK hosts should likewise allow them to be better aware about Ukrainian culture and language,” he added.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com