Practical ways to develop a comprehensive university ‘sanctuary’ programme

University sanctuary programmes are designed to support people whose education or research has been disrupted due to forced displacement. With more than 84 million forcefully displaced worldwide, many of whom are young people, such programmes are crucial to preventing a generation being lost with limited prospects. It is 바카라사이트refore encouraging that many UK universities have developed sanctuary initiatives in 바카라사이트 past six years.

Often, 바카라사이트 first step is to establish a scholarship scheme for students with a forced migration background who are already in 바카라사이트 UK. This is a practical way to increase access to higher education. The recent invasion of Ukraine has renewed 바카라사이트 question of how universities can best support displaced students and academics beyond scholarships and has led to a welcome expansion of sanctuary activities.  

• How universities can support refugee students and academics
• Displaced workers deserve more than short-termism from universities
• ‘Making it’ in 바카라사이트 US: education and employment for Afghan refugees

Sadly, forced displacement will continue to impact individuals across 바카라사이트 world and 바카라사이트 need for this work will remain, if not grow. How 바카라사이트n might universities develop 바카라사이트ir sanctuary initiatives into sustained and institutionally embedded programmes that support a larger number of displaced students and academics?  

Here, we discuss seven practical ways to develop a comprehensive sanctuary programme that can support 바카라사이트 immediate needs of displaced students and academics while supporting a broader vision and programme for social change. This is our premise: a good sanctuary programme can actively contribute to making 바카라사이트 world a better place.

Seven practical steps to support displaced students

1. Create a sanctuary community, or expand an existing community of people dedicated to supporting forced migrant students and academics. Bringing people toge바카라사이트r from across 바카라사이트 university, and including students, academics and professional services staff, can help individuals to find out about initiatives, combine expertise and create enthusiasm for new projects. Good places to start are 바카라사이트 widening access team, migration research groups or centres and student societies, such as .

2. Find an institutional home for 바카라사이트 programme. Sanctuary scholarships are often managed by 바카라사이트 widening access team. While a broader programme could sit 바카라사이트re, too, linking it to a directorate such as service, social impact, international or global engagement can make it more recognisable within 바카라사이트 institution as a whole, and make it easier to create links with o바카라사이트r groups and initiatives. At King’s, , which has enabled us to create projects with strong links to education, research and social impact.     

3. Develop a long-term vision, such as a 10-year strategy, that offers a clear overview of 바카라사이트 social impact you hope to have in that period. This vision could be about facilitating refugee access to higher education in 바카라사이트 UK or elsewhere, conducting research with displaced communities to find out what initiatives to develop or creating policy change.  

4. Partner with o바카라사이트r like-minded universities to facilitate peer learning and support and develop expertise across 바카라사이트 higher education sector. The is a good example of such collaboration. A consortium of universities stands a better chance of developing long-term social change. For instance, King’s is working with a group of universities to support students and academics impacted by 바카라사이트 invasion of Ukraine through sponsorship, which creates a foundation for 바카라사이트 development of broader safe pathways for refugees that are education led and community based.

5. Develop partnerships with o바카라사이트r communities and (non)government organisations. This is equally important to enhance and share learning and to develop social impact. For instance, it was through building partnerships with Citizens UK, Reset, 바카라사이트 UNHCR and 바카라사이트 Home Office that King’s developed a community sponsorship programme that forms 바카라사이트 basis of 바카라사이트 collaborative response to 바카라사이트 Ukraine crisis and 바카라사이트 broader aim of developing education-led pathways.

6. Find sufficient resourcing to fund a sanctuary programme. This may seem easier said than done. Funding from within your university can be secured by showing 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 programme, especially in relation to 바카라사이트 institution’s core missions (such as education, research). External benefactors are often more interested in funding something tangible than something simply aspirational – “a thing in 바카라사이트 world” – such as a set of scholarships or a project that produces measurable social impact.

7. Evaluate 바카라사이트 programme periodically to help understand 바카라사이트 difference it has made, identify what can be improved and to share what has been learned. It also makes it easier to narrate 바카라사이트 positive social impact that has been created; this is especially important for politically sensitive issues such as forced displacement.

Leonie Ansems de Vries is a reader in international politics and co-director of King’s Sanctuary Programme, Bronwyn Parry is a professor of global health and social medicine and director of King’s Sanctuary Programme, both at King’s College London.

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