Higher Education Initiatives for Refugees in Germany

Higher Education Initiatives for Refugees in Germany

DAAD has been developing various programs in collaboration with universities and partner organisations to promote the integration of refugees at German universities. The overarching goal is to strengthen the potential of academically qualified refugees and provide them with access to higher education in Germany. More than half of the refugees arriving in Germany are younger than 25 – in other words, an age when education is most needed. With funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), DAAD has developed a set of targeted measures to enable universities to offer those who wish to study and possess sufficient academic qualification access to higher education.

Approximately 100 million euros in funding will be available in the coming years, 27 million euros of which is earmarked for projects in 2016. With funding from the BMBF, DAAD has developed an extensive package of long-term measures. This website gives an overview of the measures implemented according to these three pillars.

In addition to the overarching measures developed by the German government, DAAD, and the universities, many individuals on campus – from students to professors – are volunteering their time to assist refugees in navigating higher education in Germany.

NPR/WEMU recently portrayed a German professor as an example of how members of academe in Germany are taking the initiative and doing what they can to help. Listen to the report or read the article summarizing the interview here.

From: DAAD New York Newsletter, Feb 21st, 2017