PTB looks back on three years of aid to Ukraine and accompanies the country into its European future.
Help in times of war can look very different. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has found its own way and set up a task force immediately after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Its goal: to provide colleagues in Ukraine with what they need right now – from help with evacuation to power generators and work equipment to assistance on the institutional path to the EU.
Nightly bomb alerts, destroyed buildings, at times no electricity or heating. “To ensure that something like normal work is still possible, we have supplied our partner institutes with power generators and provided our colleagues with IT equipment that enables them to work from their place of refuge in Ukraine,” explains Moritz Ackermann, who, together with his colleague Wolfgang Schmid, has been coordinating PTB’s Ukraine aid since February 2022. “After all, PTB is part of a global scientific community for accurate measurement, so we naturally help each other!” added Wolfgang Schmid.
PTB as a place of refuge
In order to provide protection and a perspective during the war, the PTB offered Ukrainian colleagues and their families the opportunity to come to Braunschweig and support them here. Eighteen of them accepted the offer, some of them now work at the PTB. One of them is Karyna Romanadze. Before the war, she worked at the Metrology Institute in Kharkiv, a city close to the front that has already suffered numerous Russian attacks. On a Saturday in September 2022, Moritz Ackermann welcomed her, her husband and their one-year-old son to the PTB. “We were allowed to live in the PTB guest house for the first few months,” says the 35-year-old, grateful for the help of her colleagues. “They supported us dealing with authorities and administrative procedures, translated for us and found us a place in a kindergarten. There is a great willingness among the people at PTB to help.” Karyna Romanadze now speaks very good German and works part-time as a graphic designer and project assistant at PTB. She says: “I am happy that I can work here and learn a lot.”
Metrological support means: “We believe in you!”
Meanwhile, the focus has shifted from direct war related aid to technical support. “Every metrological support also means: We believe in you! That’s why we support you in shaping your own future!” says Wolfgang Schmid. He heads the Industrial Metrology Department at PTB and knows how important a functioning quality infrastructure – i.e. measurement technology, quality control and market surveillance – is to be able to participate in international trade. Cornelia Denz, President of PTB, also made this clear at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024: ” Especially in times of crisis, metrology builds reliable bridges and helps to ensure stability. And today, it paves the way for reconstruction and innovation in Ukraine.”
Numerous PTB laboratories have worked hard to support the country in terms of its quality infrastructure, even in times of crisis: “For example, we had 110 measuring instruments, some of them quite large, transported here from Ukraine and calibrated in the PTB laboratories,” reports Moritz Ackermann. “From a logistical point of view alone, this was no small feat, because EU freight forwarders do not travel to the war zone.”
But the work also has a personal component. Wolfgang Schmid still remembers Yurii Kuzmenko, the deputy director of the Metrological Institute (UMTS) in Kyiv, who visited PTB last year. “He said something like: ‘If we didn’t do anything, we would go crazy. Continuing to work helps us to believe in the future’.'”
The future means above all: more Europe and EURAMET
In difficult times, you need reliable partners. As early as 2022, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy applied for membership in the European metrology organization EURAMET. This marked the beginning of Ukraine’s gradual integration into the European metrology landscape.
Under the umbrella of EURAMET, European scientists are working together on new measurement technology for the great challenges of our time: the decarbonization of energy systems, measurement technology for modern personalized medicine and the support of European industry through services for digitalization, artificial intelligence and quantum technology. EURAMET is a strong team that welcomes the Ukrainian metrology institutes with open arms. The first supporting audits are already underway – despite the war.
Consulting on behalf of the EU Commission
The PTB staff members Wolfgang Schmid and Moritz Ackermann are omnipresent when it comes to supporting Ukraine. They coordinate advice for the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, the Standardization Institute, the National Accreditation Body and four Metrology Institutes. They accompany audits to review ISO standards for calibration laboratories, management systems and product certifications. And they have been assigned by the EU Commission to determine whether the country’s quality infrastructure already meets the requirements for concluding an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products. A key to own economic strength.
PTB supports Ukraine: with the personal and often voluntary commitment of its employees, with its own financial resources and through projects of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). In addition, there is support through projects of the European Partnership for Metrology, which enables groundbreaking metrology research for the whole of Europe. Our Ukrainian colleagues are already actively involved!
Contact
- Dr. Wolfgang Schmid, Head of Section 9.1 Industrial Metrology which is also home to PTB’s International Office that coordinates important international activities and looks after guest researchers and international employees. Phone +49 531 592 9100, email: wolfgang.schmid@ptb.de
- Moritz Ackermann, Sub-section 9.13 Institutional Partnerships , Phone +49531 592 8219, email moritz.ackermann@ptb.de
This text was first published on 24 February 2025 as a PTB press release.
Copyright © all pictures: PTB
