Universities agree to admit refugee students

Eleven Italian universities are joining forces to launch university ‘corridors’ to offer refugee students coming from countries at war or affected by calamities the opportunity of continuing to pursue their studies in Italy, UNHCR announced in a statement, reports ANSAmed.

The UN Refugee Agency signed a protocol with the universities, the foreign ministry, Italian Catholic charity Caritas, the Waldensian community and the Gandhi Charity. The project, which is a continuation of a pilot project that kicked off in 2019 with the participation of two universities and six students, will involve 20 refugee students who are currently in Ethiopia. They will be supported to pursue a two-year university degree and integrate into campus life.

The project, called University Corridors for Refugees, involves the universities of L’Aquila, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence, Milan, Padua, Perugia, Pisa, Sassari, Iuav in Venice and Luiss in Rome. “Too many refugees in the world don’t have access to education,” said Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino. “The situation is dramatic for higher education: only 3% are able to access [higher education] against a global average of 37%.”
Full report on the ANSAmed site