Ted Rogers School steps up to help displaced Ukrainian students
When the call went out to help displaced Ukrainian high school students take their university entrance exam, the Ted Rogers School of Management was there to answer it.
Earlier this summer, the Council of Ministers of Education (external link, opens in new window) in Canada reached out to universities across Canada to assist Ukrainian officials with hosting test centres to facilitate these exams for displaced Ukrainian students currently residing in Canada. In Ontario, this call for help was sent out to Ontario universities by the Ontario Ministry of Education (EDU) and the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). Toronto Metropolitan University swiftly responded to the call and was subsequently selected as one of the two Canadian sites to host this test (the other one was in Edmonton).
Ted Rogers School’s Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd (Director of Research, Social Media Lab), who is Canadian-Ukrainian with family living in the war zone, was asked to lead this initiative by the school’s Dean, Dr. Daphne Taras, and Interim Vice-Provost, Academic, Dr. Cynthia Holmes. “I was eager to do what I could to help,” says Dr. Gruzd.
“It was an amazingly humbling experience to see the resiliency of these Ukrainian students,” he explains. “I and my Ted Rogers School colleagues were glad to help these students take their university entrance exam and hopefully give them a chance at returning to some sense of normalcy in the midst of such a tragic event.”
Test Centre set-up
In total, there were 26 Ukrainian high school students who came from all across eastern Canada to take the exam at a computer lab at the Ted Rogers School on August 17, 2022.
Due to the fluidity of the situation and security concerns, Dr. Gruzd and his team only had about a month to arrange the test site. To prepare, Ted Rogers School Technology Support Administrator Hong Ki Lee and Dr. Gruzd booked a computer lab at the school to use as an in-person testing centre. They also attended a couple of training sessions to learn how to use the online testing software and how to properly administer the test.
In addition to Dr. Gruzd and Lee, there were two volunteers from the Social Media Lab, Philip Mai (Co-Director) and Felipe Bonow Soares, who helped to set up and handle the on-site registration.
Immense gratitude
The staff of the testing center in Ukraine sent their gratitude to everyone at Toronto Met who stepped up to help. The school received a thank you letter from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment and the Donetsk Regional Center for Educational Quality Assessment, which said, in part:
“From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to express our gratitude to the coordinators for their assistance and support in a difficult period for our country, and for creating ideal conditions for the participants. We couldn't have done it without you.”
The letter adds, “We also thank the IT specialists for their help, quick response and immediate resolution of non-standard situations. It is nice to know that there are so many awesome people willing to help!”