European Centre for Refugee Integration in Higher Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Centre for Refugee Integration in Higher Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Integration of refugees; Recognition, transparency, certification

Project Summary

The need for a coherent policy on how to deal with refugee students is shared by all partners. For example, at KU Leuven refugee students are enrolled but there is neither a plan on how to take care of them nor there exists interaction between faculties on how to better serve refugees. Indeed, departments have separate rules on how they accept those students: some faculties have preparatory programs, others have entrance tests. Refugees have very different educational backgrounds and their academic biographies often show long periods of inactivity caused by conflict, flight, relocation, adjustment to a new country and its legislations and regulations. This situation is shared by displaced students across Europe and while administrations and different stakeholders have worked ceaselessly, in the past two years not enough has been made to harmonize practices and bring together all involved actors to seek solutions to speed up document recognition and ease processes of admission.

The consortium partners have recognized the necessity and urgency to develop special training to instruct HEI staff. At various level of involvement (based on the number of refugees seeking admission in the respective universities), each partner has gathered experience in specific areas: we seek to use this experience and transfer it into models that not only participating partners but also external stakeholders will be able to use. Five of the six partners belong to the CLUSTER network where they will be able to share experience with a much broader group of HEIs. We will store and disseminate models and tool-kits through a project website, a wiki, two training workshops and two open conferences. We are supported by a diverse and rich group of associated partners each possessing unique qualifications and each able to reach wider and diverse audiences in order to disseminate as broadly as possible our final products and conclusions.

All participating partners are HEIs in the field of science and technology: indeed, the numbers of student refugees seeking further education in MINT disciplines is particularly high. Unfortunately, and this due to a lack of coordinated policies, it is hard to quantify precisely the number of refugees seeking admissions in technical universities across Europe. Indeed, one of the ancillary objectives of the consortiums will be that of painting a clear picture of the situation of refugee students.
The measures, models, and recommendations produced by the consortium are designed to be transferable to other groups of disadvantaged students (pioneer students, minorities, third country nationals) as to ensure the sustainability and further exploitation of the project and its results.

As the UNHCR, the returns on investing in education are immense and far reaching and benefit the society in general, fostering inclusion and integration: indeed, the 2016 Education Strategy sets at one of its goals that of developing higher education programmes leading to diplomas, certificate and skill developments. Equally firmly, the European Union promotes education and social inclusion as fundamental objectives for its future. The creation of a European Center for Refugee Integration in Higher Education seeks to answer the call of the EU by providing qualified knowledge based on real life cases and expertise modelled on training workshops and multiplier events. Most materials currently available focus on the refugee as immediate beneficiary of the training and not on supporting the staff in the background, the consortium will in turn focus on staff training as the first step in harmonize practices and facilitate admission. In particular, the consortium will offer two types of products: the creation of a training package and a tool-kit to facilitate credential recognition and accreditation of previous studies. These outputs will have an impact on the further inclusion of refugees in the HEI system. Well-trained and sensitized staff will enhance the experience of refugees in the HEI community and also alleviate the level of anxiety on both parts.

Project Website

http://www.eucrite.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 249425 Eur

Project Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT DARMSTADT & Country: DE

Project Partners

• KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
• INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE DE GRENOBLE
• AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET GRAZ
• POLITECNICO DI TORINO