Refugee student mentoring programme
We launched the Refugee Welcome Programme in the 2016/2017 academic year to help provide access to university for people whose academic and professional careers have been disrupted by their need to seek refuge from armed conflicts, humanitarian crises, persecution on the basis of their religious, ideological or cultural beliefs, and any similar difficulties.
Since then, numerous volunteers from our university community (students, alumni, teaching staff and administrative staff) have supported the asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons who have obtained a scholarship from the UOC, making it easier for them to adapt to the university world and the UOC's online educational model.
For the recipients of the scholarships, participation in the university mentoring refugee welcome programme is voluntary.
Aims
For the students receiving the scholarships, it helps to:
- Ease the transition to university life by providing personalized support and useful information for dealing with different moments in the semester.
- Achieve autonomy and a sense of belonging to the UOC's university community.
- Get optional support that supplements the specific attention provided for refugee students with scholarships.
The programme enables mentors to:
- Raise awareness in the UOC community of the social problems and challenges related to asylum issues.
- Foster exchanges between nationalities, cultures, perspectives, circumstances, etc.
- Foster the development of global values and skills such as empathy, active listening and cross-cultural communication.
How does it work?
During the semester, a volunteer from the UOC's university community provides support for a scholarship recipient who has requested it. The time spent on mentoring amounts to between two and three hours per week, depending on availability.
The tasks of the mentors are to:
- Welcome and support the student during their time at the UOC.
- Assist the student with their integration into the university community.
- Advise the student on the appropriate channels for dealing with the university about processes and procedures.
- Encourage students to be autonomous when using the Virtual Campus.
- Establish communication times and channels with the student.
- Look out for any signs of a decline in the student's motivation, and notify the university of this.
- Take part in the programme's online sessions and meetings.
- Maintain regular contact with the university to report on the support given and to provide any relevant information.
How can you take part?
Would you like to be a mentor in our refugee mentoring programme? Email us at socialglobal@uoc.edu.
For more information on the scholarships call, see the following section or the E-Services Portal.
Xerra que Xerra: UOC's language and culture volunteering
Xerra que Xerra is the UOC's language and culture volunteering programme. It has been developed in collaboration with the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (CPNL), which seeks to help people speak Catalan. It's an initiative that connects people learning Catalan with volunteers who are fluent speakers. The language partnerships meet up once a week for an hour, lasting ten weeks. The project is open to the whole UOC community, and participants can meet up in person, online or a combination of both.
What is Xerra que Xerra?
Xerra que Xerra is the UOC's language and culture volunteering programme. It has been developed in collaboration with the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (CPNL) and is open to students, faculty, researchers, administrative staff and people with past ties to the university.
There's a twofold objective: to encourage use of Catalan between people at the UOC, promoting inclusion, and to generate connections within the university community.
It's based on language partnerships: a volunteer who speaks Catalan fluently teams up with a learner who has a basic level of Catalan and is interested in improving their speaking skills.
How does it work?
Participants complete a form saying if they'll be a volunteer or a learner. The CPNL team running the programme will form the partnerships, taking into account participants' availability and interests.
Once a partnership is formed, the CPNL provides the participants with all the information and resources needed to get started. Then they arrange to meet for an hour, once a week for ten weeks, with just one goal: to converse in Catalan.
Where do partners talk?
The programme envisages three possibilities to adapt to participants' needs: meeting in person, online or a combination of both.
For more details, email xerraquexerra_grup@uoc.edu.
Website: https://www.uoc.edu/portal/ca/servei-linguistic/acollida-linguistica/index.html