Universities Launch Global Coalition to Support Refugee Education at Scale
16 universities from across the globe come together to improve and increase access to higher education for refugees and their communities.
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In response to the urgent need for improved higher education programs and support services for refugees and their communities, several leading universities from three continents recently launched the Global University Academy to develop a universal higher education model.
“Higher education is a key element to build resilient and sustainable societies. Refugees around the world already have various forms of education as well as formal and informal competences but they should have the opportunity to take part in higher education during their time of displacement. UiB is proud to be part in the endeavors of establishing the Global University Academy”, Margareth Hagen, Rector at the University of Bergen, says.
Universities based in Africa, Europe, and North America formed the Global University Academy following a workshop hosted by the University of Oslo in June 2024. The GUA secretariat is at the University of Oslo.
“Education is a human right, and we all need to do more to respond to the education needs of 120 million refugees and displaced individuals globally. With the Global University Academy, we are joining forces to give more people the opportunity to study and fulfil their ambitions”, Svein Stølen, Rector of the University of Oslo, says.
Increasing refugee access to higher education
With just over 7% of the world’s fast-growing refugee population having some access to higher education resources, the Global University Academy was created to help support the UNHCR’s (UN Refugee Agency) goal of increasing refugee access to higher education to 15% by 2030.
The Global University Academy will act as a network of mutual support in response to immediate refugee crises, while developing long-term resources for refugees and individuals affected by displacement in multiple contexts, to support their right to self-fulfilment.
Over the next 18 months, partners will develop a robust framework for foundation and bachelor’s degree level programs that are co-developed and locally embedded. The work will focus on mutual recognition of courses, assuring courses are relevant and of high standards, collaborating with local partners, securing long-term financial support, and evaluating the impact of the initiative.
To develop its long-term response, the Global University Academy will seek out potential university partners whose local communities have been impacted by large numbers of refugees to ensure a truly robust model can be co-created from the start. The Global University Academy will also build on the input of potential learners in refugee communities, refugee-led organizations, and other global voices.
Local and global support is also pledged through the Norwegian Refugee Council, which already supports over 1 million refugee learners in primary and secondary education in over 40 countries, and UNHCR, which is the global leader on refugee higher education response and coordination. The Grieg Foundation has provided initial support for the development of the GUA.
“In all the war-zones I visit there are young refugees telling me, with desperation, that all their hopes were crushed when their university studies were interrupted by violence and displacement. “Can you help”, they ask. It has been heartbreaking to turn them all away. Now, with the Global University Academy, I can say: “Yes, perhaps your dreams can be realized after all”, says Jan Egeland, Secretary General, Norwegian Refugee Council, in a press release.