UNWE Has Lunched Its Participation in the International Project SEED: Supporting refugees’ Education pathways for Employment and Dignity, funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund

The UNWE has launched its participation in the international project SEED: Supporting refugees’ Education pathways for Employment and Dignity funded by the European Commission under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund /AMIF/. The UNWE project team will be headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yanko Hristozov, Vice Rector for International Affairs. The total budget of the project amounts to €2 222 169,.58 and the implementation period is 36 months.

As part of the project the UNWE will collaborate with leading European organizations and universities, including: Fondazione AVSI - ETS /Italy/, Fondazione Caritas Italiana /Italy/, Consorzio Communitas /Italy/, Commissione Sinodale per la Diaconia /Italy/, Fondation Migration Policy Institute Europe /Belgium/, Mirovni Institut /Slovenia/, Legal Center for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment Ljubljana /Slovenia/, University of Milan-Bicocca /Italy/, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees /Czech Republic/, Malengo gGmbH /Germany/, and Caritas /Bulgaria/.

The main objective of the project is to expand and establish complementary educational pathways for refugees through higher education in four European Union countries — Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Slovenia. The implementation of the project will build upon the existing initiatives and increase the number of refugee students enrolled, while developing sustainable national models for the implementation and sharing of best practices. Particular emphasis is also placed on the quality of the educational process — not only access to higher education, but also student retention, successful graduation, and subsequent integration into the labour market.

Within the frameworks of the project the so-called “university corridors” will be established in Bulgaria for the first time — after a one-year preparatory and mentoring period, a total of six refugee students will be admitted to universities over the course of two years.

Through the active participation of universities, local authorities, campus communities and representatives of the private sector the project aims to create sustainable integration models that support a successful transition from education to employment and contribute to the socio-economic inclusion of refugees in European societies.