Study Opportunities for Refugees

How can refugees gain access to an academic education or pick up their disrupted studies? The United Nations want to achieve that fifteen percent of refugees will be granted access to universities within the next ten years. Currently, only three percent accomplish that goal. A funding program in Bremen raises hope that the situation can improve here.

As part of the series Diversity @ Uni Bremen, an internationally constituted audience held a discussion on the topic on January 20, 2021, among the panelists was human rights expert Professor Geoff Gilbert (University of Essex). His topic: International Rights for Refugees. The universities in Bremen attempt to extend these rights by means of the preparation study programs of the HERE AHEAD academy, which was presented by managing director Dr. Christina von Behr. Two former participants described what it looks like in practice: Saliha Kadifeci from Turkey, who now studies Social Work at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences, and psychology student Rouhollah Ghodsi from Iran. Thanks to the preparation study programs in Bremen, both were able to pick up their academic careers again – a goal they had to give up when fleeing their home countries. These two examples allow a hopeful glance into the future.

Yet, there are currently eighty million refugees in the world. Among the countries in the global North, Germany has taken in one of the largest numbers of refugees. Most refugees in total, however, are given refuge by countries such as Pakistan, Uganda, and Turkey. The discussion covered topics from political questions on the commitment of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR to concrete questions of what can be done on-site. The preparation study program in Bremen seeks to do its bit in providing refugees with a path to a better future. Over the past five years, 160 people have completed the program successfully and are now predominantly enrolled in the universities in Bremen.