Campus France Keynote: reception of refugees in higher education

Many initiatives to support refugees were developed in France and Europe, especially since the start of the Syrian conflict. Higher education mobilised to foster the education and integration of young refugees, but also to allow them to consider job opportunities in their host country.

The latest keynote published by Campus France describes the main arrangements implemented to welcome refugees and allow them to continue their studies in their host country on refugees, which shows the commitment of France and its higher education institutions in favour of refugees’ reception.

Refugees first go to neighbour countries 

In 2019, the world counted 26 million refugees, including 6 million from Syria. The vast majority fled in neighbour countries (80%); Turkey alone currently hosts 3.7 million refugees. In Lebanon, about one person out of six is a refugee. Only a fraction of displaced people have access to higher education. In the case of Syrian refugees, for example, about 40,000 are registered in higher education diploma course in a neighbour country.

Initiatives are implemented to allow for the integration of refugees in higher education in their country of origin, and to support local communities weakened by the reception of many displaced people. The European Union works in this way through its “Madad Fund” in response to the Syrian crisis. Campus France participates in EU projects, such as HOPES, which 2nd phase had just been released in April 2020 for a 44 months duration.

Coordination of actions at European level

Various European countries are presented as host countries for refugees. And so, in late 2016 Germany had welcomed 1.3 million refugees and asylum seekers, and France 400,000. In 2017, 3.5% of the Swedish population was made of refugees. Germany welcomes over 25,000 refugee students through various programmes, including a majority of Syrians. The UE oversees actions at European scale and multiplies initiatives to help refugee students on its territory, such as the inHERE and Uni(d)iversity programmes.

Welcoming refugees in France

Such arrangements are also implemented in France: 1,500 refugee students had the opportunity to study in France in 2018-2019, thanks to the AIMES programme overseen by the Francophone University Agency. This led to the creation of 19 “Passerelle – étudiants en exil” (Bridge – students in exile) university diplomas. They give access to scholarship grants provided by the French government and prepare students to join a university course.

A scholarship programme designed for refugees of Syrian citizenship funded by the ministry of Europe and foreign affairs and managed by Campus France also provided 265 students with the opportunity to benefit from a scholarship grant. The programme was renewed.

In addition, associations, local players and private entities helped thousands of refugees attend an education cycle.