Refugee welcome programme to launch new initiatives

The welcome programme for refugees and asylum seekers run by the UOC's Globalization and Cooperation department has become a benchmark for access to university for people in these situations. The programme was launched in 2016, in the midst of the Mediterranean humanitarian crisis, to address the inequality in higher education access suffered by refugees and migrants. In its infancy, the programme offered scholarships to study languages and postgraduate specializations. In the six years for which the programme has been running, the UOC has awarded a total of 186 scholarships to refugees. The programme has been extended over time by strengthening and adding new lines of action.

Among the latest initiatives is the incorporation of the Government of Catalonia's Catalan Refugee Programme into the support programme for refugee students. The students who volunteer their support to the newly arrived students during the academic year will be offered specific training in mentoring on employment and social guidance for refugees.

The alliance between the Catalan Refugee Programme and the UOC has spurred the university community to become involved in the reception programmes taking place across Catalonia, run by partner social organizations such as the Germà Tomàs Canet Foundation and the Catalan Commission for Refugees. 

Internships and employability

The UOC's Refugee Welcome Programme has developed a new line of cooperation with the Maingate non-profit project that supports and guides sub-Saharan refugees in validating their studies in Spain, complementing them with higher education and, ultimately, gaining access to skilled jobs. The agreement centres mainly on promoting the UOC's scholarships for refugees among the users of the entity and fostering the inclusion and diversity of the sub-Saharan community at internship centres and on employability programmes.

Training of trainers

To multiply the impact of the Reception Program, the UOC has launched the COEDUTIC project, which aims to train trainers in social organizations in digital skills and e-learning methodology so that they can adapt their courses aimed at virtuality to the refugee community in Spain. The UOC has begun this collaboration with Abrazo Cultural, and it is planned to add other organizations working with the refugee population.

Outreach in the UOC community

In partnership with the Catalan Committee of the UNHCR, over the coming months the Welcome Programme will launch a series of campaigns and training actions to raise awareness of asylum and the 2030 Agenda within the university community. The UOC is hoping to mobilize and raise awareness of the situation of refugees and the causes of forced displacement.

Access to university for vulnerable groups 

With the institutional goal of streamlining university admissions for more vulnerable groups and fostering the development of more global and diverse classrooms, the UOC actively participates in a number of working groups across university networks and with government institutions to bring about changes to improve access to the Catalan and Spanish university system. Thus, the UOC works alongside the University and Refuge sub-working group of Crue, which rolls out actions across Spain with the refugee population. It is also part of the Universitats Refugi group of the Catalan Association of Public Universities and is active in the 2030 Agenda Commission of the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia.