Refugee Education Initiatives
The Refugee Education Initiatives project helped refugees and asylum seekers overcome barriers to higher education, employment and participation in public life. By combining academic preparation, language learning and advocacy training, the project created new opportunities for refugees to build skills, confidence and influence.
| Countries | UK, Belgium, Austria and Hungary |
|---|---|
| Period | 2016-19 |
| Funding | €440,000 |
| Type | Support for policy reform |
Background
For many refugees and asylum seekers, arriving in a new country is only the beginning of a much longer journey towards integration. Access to higher education can be particularly challenging, with barriers including language, unfamiliar education systems, financial pressures and a lack of recognised qualifications or opportunities.
The Refugee Education Initiatives (REI) project was developed in response to these challenges in Hungary, the UK and Austria—three countries that had received significant numbers of refugees. It brought together three higher education institutions, alongside civil society and associated partners, to create a shared approach to refugee education.
The project built on the experience of the Central European University’s (CEU) Open Learning Initiative (OLIve), which had been providing educational opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers in Hungary since 2015. REI took this existing model and aimed to make it more intensive, structured and accessible in other countries.
What the project set out to achieve
The central aim was to help refugees access higher education and become more active participants in society and the labour market.
Rather than simply offering individual courses, the project developed a more comprehensive education programme covering academic subjects, academic skills, language learning and advocacy. The intention was to prepare refugee students for entry to university at undergraduate or postgraduate level while also giving them the skills to speak up and participate in public discussions about refugees and migration.
A key ambition was to create a new generation of refugee advocates. By developing research, communication, leadership and advocacy skills alongside academic knowledge, participants could move from being the subjects of public debate to actively contributing to it.
The project also aimed to create a lasting network connecting educational institutions, civil society organisations and refugee advocates across Europe.
How it was achieved
REI used OLIve as its starting point. The original programme offered weekend courses for refugees and asylum seekers, focusing on integration into education, employment and wider society. The project partners adapted this approach and planned to replicate it in two partner higher education institutions.
The model was also scaled up through the creation of the Refugee Access Initiative (RAI)—a 10-month university preparatory programme designed to provide more intensive and systematic support. In this way, the universities could address in a more sustained way the problem of marginalisation within higher education that many refugees face.
Participants were able to develop academic knowledge and practical study skills while also strengthening their language abilities. Advocacy training added another important dimension, helping students understand how they could use research, communication and leadership to contribute to public debates and influence discussions around refugee and migrant issues.
Working across three countries also allowed partners to exchange experience and approaches. This helped turn an established local initiative into a model that could be shared and adapted in different higher education settings.
Results and impact
The project created a collection of practical and reusable resources for practitioners, providing useful materials that can support others working in refugee education and help extend the project's approach beyond the original partner institutions.
It also generated research materials that encouraged wider reflection and discussion within the sector. These resources helped capture learning from the project and contribute to conversations about how higher education can become more accessible and inclusive for refugees.
An important part of sharing these experiences was the development of conference materials, including videos, student-led podcasts and a student-led film. Giving students a role in creating and communicating these materials reflected one of the project's central ideas: refugees should have opportunities not only to access education, but also to shape conversations about their own experiences and futures.
For participants, the impact was both practical and personal. They gained academic and language skills to help them progress towards higher education, alongside advocacy and leadership skills that could support their participation in society and the labour market. Just as importantly, the project created opportunities for refugee students to develop their voices, share their perspectives and become active contributors to public debate.
By building on an established model and creating partnerships across Hungary, the UK and Austria, REI helped lay the foundations for a wider European community focused on improving educational opportunities, participation and representation for refugees.