Dear CEMS Students, 

We condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its use of military aggression. The invasion is a serious violation of international law.  We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It is our fervent hope that the Russian troops will be withdrawn and that the attacks will end soon.

From its foundation, the ambition of the CEMS alliance has been to promote unity and peace. Central to what we do is to provide opportunities to practise and engage in meaningful dialogue between countries and cultures and to exercise respect and empathy.

The invasion is a brutal contradiction of the values that bind the CEMS alliance.

In the current circumstances, it is all the more important that we are guided by those values. Our focus must continue to be that of harnessing the power of dialogue and mutual respect. We must continue to make every possible effort to educate responsible leaders who can contribute to an open, inclusive and sustainable world. It is our conviction that international collaboration between universities is a strong vehicle for achieving and restoring peace and that education has the power to build a bridge between even the greatest of divides.

 We are all the hostages of the war. We deplore the devastating impact of this conflict on our Ukrainian students and faculty at CEMS schools globally and will ensure that over the coming days they are given the necessary support from all members of our community.  We are working with our colleagues at the Graduate School of Management in St Petersburg to ensure the safety of CEMS students currently on an exchange there. Finally, we deplore the negative impact of the conflict on the CEMS Russian students who should not be held responsible for the current unacceptable attack of Ukraine. We have had exchanges with GSOM who is truly committed to the CEMS values as a long-standing international school. However, given the current circumstances, we have agreed to suspend CEMS MIM student exchanges with GSOM for the coming academic year.

Finally, we thank you for our strong CEMS family spirit and shared values which give hope in a world that is now darkening.