Supporting refugees to access higher education - A rich resource from the European Resettlement Network

News

Refugees can face many barriers to accessing higher education, including a lack of information, advice and individual guidance sensitive to their specific needs, inadequate provision of intensive language courses for academic purposes, and restricted access to government student finance schemes.

This article [Source: European Resettlement Network(link is external)] provides examples of current projects and initiatives that respond to these and other kinds of barriers by offering support to widen and facilitate refugee access to higher education in the following four areas:

ADVICE, GUIDANCE & INFORMATION

Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit(link is external) (RAGU), part of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the London Metropolitan University, supports refugees with high level education or professional qualifications into employment and education http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ragu/ragu-home-page.cfm(link is external)
The Foundation for Refugee Students UAF(link is external) provides advice, support and financial assistance to refugees and asylum seekers wishing to study in the Netherlands. Since 2009, the UAF has been running a project specifically for higher educated refugees resettled in the Netherlands http://www.uaf.nl/over_het_uaf/wat_wij_doen/hervestiging_van_vluchtelingstudenten/resettlement_of_refugee_students(link is external)
Report of the Flemish Refugee Council(link is external) on the findings and experience of refugees and new comers in Flemish higher education - Zes jaar studiebegeleiding van Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen Analyses, bevindingen en ervaringen van vluchtelingen en nieuwkomers in het Vlaams hoger onderwijs http://www.vluchtelingenwerk.be/bestanden/publicaties/rapport-studiebegeleiding-web.pdf(link is external)

(Focus on refugee children and youth):

London based charity Refugee Support Network(link is external) supports young people affected by displacement and crisis to access and progress in education. They also run the ‘Higher Education Programme’, a specialist support service for young refugees and asylum seekers who are having problems accessing higher education http://www.refugeesupportnetwork.org/access-university(link is external). A report on the programme can be downloaded at http://refugeesupportnetwork.org/sites/all/sites/default/files/files/I%20just%20want%20to%20study.pdf(link is external)
Partnership for the Advancement & Immersion of Refugees(link is external), (PAIR) a non-profit agency in Houston, provides an integrated series of programmes that aim to support youth from the time they arrive through to their high school graduation and beyond. Programmes include ‘Global Explorers’, ‘Global Learners’, and ‘Global Leaders & College Orientation Day’ http://pairhouston.org/programs.shtml(link is external)

SPONSORSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS

Windle Trust International(link is external) offers scholarships to youths and refugees in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia to study in Africa or UK. The Trust’s work is funded by a wide range of donors and supported by universities and colleges in Britain and Africa http://www.windle.org.uk/WhatWeDo.aspx(link is external)
The Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) is a scholarship assistance program for refugees funded by the German Government and implemented worldwide by UNHCR. The programme grants scholarships to refugees at universities, colleges and polytechnics in their host countries. In 2008, the programme also started offering education opportunities in their countries of origin to refugees considering repatriation http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e4a2dd6.html(link is external)
Otto Benecke Foundation(link is external) is a non-profit organisation launched in 1965 by the German students’ associations. The foundation runs educational programmes with the aim of integrating immigrants and refugees into German society http://www.obs-ev.de/(link is external)
The Hegg Hoffet Fund for Displaced Women Graduates of the Geneva-based International Federation of University Women(link is external) assists graduate women who have been displaced as a result of war, political upheaval or other serious emergencies. The Fund provides short term grants for refresher courses for re-entry into the candidates’ professional field, and for language training and other courses to assist with integration into their new countries. In addition to financial assistance, IFUW’s national and local groups also provide the graduate refugees with moral support to help them to adjust to life in a different country http://www.ifuw.org/what/hegg-hoffet/(link is external)
Entraide Universitaire (the French University Student Services Association) is an association offering financial help to refugee students in France who are not eligible for a regular scholarship http://entraide-universitaire.fr/(link is external)
The Academic Relations between Asia and Europe(link is external) (AREAS) provides scholarships for students and researchers from the Third Countries targeted by the project (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam) in order to study, do research, training or teaching at one of the European Partner Universities (link is external)(Host Universities). Scholarships are also open to candidates with refugee status http://www.areas.polito.it/scholarships/types_of_mobility_andeligibility(link is external)
The ‘Refugee Education Post Secondary Education’ (RAPSE) project of the Norwegian Refugee Alliance (link is external) provides scholarships for young camp refugees wishing to access college or university education http://www.refugeealliance.com/rapse/index.html(link is external)
The ‘Student Refugee Programme’ of the World University Service Canada(link is external) (WUSC), through Local Committees across Canada, sponsors over 65 student refugees every year, enabling them to enter the country as permanent residents and pursue their education at Canadian universities and colleges http://wusc.ca/en/srp(link is external)
The ‘Maytree Scholarship Program’ of the Canadian private foundation Maytree(link is external) offers scholarships to protected persons (Convention refugees) and permanent residents who were protected persons entering first year of undergraduate programs at university or community college in Toronto. The programme is an intensive, participatory programme providing peer and financial support http://maytree.com/grants/maytree-scholarship-program(link is external). The 10-year anniversary report on the programme can be downloaded at www.maytree.com/wp content/uploads/2009/10/MakingTheirMark.pdf(link is external)
The University of Canberra (UC) has a number of different scholarships available to refugee students, including the Mary Davidson Scholarships for women refugee students and the UC Foundation Refugee Scholarships http://www.canberra.edu.au/scholarships/international(link is external)

THREATENED ACADEMICS

The Council for Assisting Refugee Academics(link is external)’ (CARA) UK Programme has 80 years’ experience of supporting refugee academics to access training and employment in higher education. The UK Programme can provide education, training and employment advice, financial grants, and support with extra costs such as travel and child care. Over seventy UK universities(link is external) collaborate with CARA to promote and defend academic freedom and provide practical support, such as fellowships and assistance through work placements or mentoring programmes, to academics in need http://www.academic-refugees.org/(link is external)
The Scholars at Risk(link is external) (SAR) project is a joint initiative of the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF(link is external) and the Scholars at Risk Network(link is external) (SAR) to support academic freedom and defend the human rights of the scholars by providing temporary academic positions at Dutch universities for professors, researchers and other academics who suffer threats in their home countries http://www.uaf.nl/over_het_uaf/wat_wij_doen/vervolgde_wetenschappers/uaf_scholars_at_risk_project(link is external). By providing temporary academic positions to professors, lecturers, researchers and other intellectuals who suffer threats in their home country, SAR members help scholars to escape dangerous conditions and to continue their work http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/(link is external)
The ‘Scholar Rescue Fund’ of the Institute of International Education(link is external) provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries http://www.scholarrescuefund.org/pages/for-hosts.php(link is external)
The Network for Education and Academic Rights(link is external) (NEAR) is a UK based non-governmental organisation, which works to promote and protect academic freedom and academic rights by facilitating international collaboration between organisations and individuals active in issues of academic freedom and education rights, and increasing awareness and response through its emergency action alert system, bulletins and media outreach http://www.nearinternational.org/(link is external)
The Network of Concerned Historians(link is external), established at the History Department of the University of Groningen in 1965, serves as a link between concerned historians and human rights organizations. The NCH disseminates urgent action appeals for persecuted and censored historians, gathers news and information about history and human rights, and engages in research on persecuted and censored historians http://www.concernedhistorians.org/content/home.html(link is external)
The Group 9 of Universities(link is external) is a Spanish university network founded to promote collaboration between the universities belonging to the Group. The network is also active in the promotion of academic freedom and is a member of the Scholars at Risk network https://www.uni-g9.net/portal/index.jsp(link is external)