Austrian Student Ombuds Reports Peak in COVID-Related Cases and Work With Ukrainian Refugees

The Austrian Student Ombudsman (Ombudsstelle für Studierende), Josef Leidenfrost, recently presented his eighth annual report to the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Science. Leidenfrost reported that the pandemic had a noticeable impact on student operations in the past two years, especially in the areas of online exams, study abroad, and student housing. In the 2020-21 academic year, the Ombuds once again recorded an increase in the number of concerns , with a total of 837.

Asked about the most recent developments in Ukraine, Leidenfrost said that his office is a permanent member of a special task force within the ministry in looking into daily issues with refugees and their families. The office earlier had endorsed a trilangual declaration on supporting Ukrainian Students and Professors in Austria. Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research, Martin F. Polaschek, took the opportunity to thank Leidenfrost, who will be leaving his post at the end of March, for his many years of commitment to student concerns. (Austrian Student Ombuds.)

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