On 23rd of April, 2024, the opening of the “Unissued Diplomas” exhibition took place at St Mary’s University College Belfast. The event was opened by:

  • the head of the Ukrainian community in Northern Ireland, Oleg Shenkaruk,
  • Associate Professor of the Institute of Innovative Education of the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, and the visiting professor of St Mary’s University College Belfast Natalia Tikhonova,
  • Professor Gerard McCann, Principal Lecturer St Mary’s University College Belfast,
  • Head of the Cardinal Newman Library Elaine Mulholland.

We, with the help of our friends, try to constantly remind that the war in Ukraine is not over. That Ukrainian soldiers stand as a human shield, protecting the world from the invasion of prehistoric evil. That the Ukrainian people pay a terrible price for their freedom, but we were born to be free and we will not surrender!

During the speech, Oleg Shenkaruk briefly talked about how the education system in Ukraine works today. About educators and students who were living a happy life. They were not going to become heroes. They were just living, working, loving, traveling, dreaming. But war came to their homeland and they joined the Ukraine’s Military forces, protecting the most precious thing, or remained in their places to continue providing the country with the necessary things, including education! Today, all Ukrainians are is doing everything he can for Victory, wherever they are.

A student card entitles students to continue studying, but many of them have decided that they are needed in the army. They write dissertations on cardboard boxes, listen to seminars and lectures in the trenches between battles, and take exams to the sound of explosions.

Ukrainian teachers and professors hope that all their students will return home alive. However, unfortunately, many Ukrainian students will not return to study and will never receive their diploma. The exhibition called “Unissued Diplomas” is dedicated to them, the young Ukrainians who were killed by russia. The exhibition was held on 22-26 April at St Mary’s University College Belfast, a College of Queens University Belfast.

Special thanks to St Mary’s University College Belfast and its Principal Lecturer Professor Gerard McCann, who made this exhibition possible.