Reflections from a year long project delivered across four European countries to create an entry point for refugees with professional experience and qualifications into work in higher education.
coLAB, a collaboration between five higher education institutions in Europe, is born from the observation that many refugees bring with them substantial professional experience and qualifications. Unfortunately, their prior achievements may not be recognised by their new host communities, and it is common for refugees to experience higher than average levels of unemployment, or to be employed below their level of skill. The coLAB project, implemented within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme “Democratic and Inclusive School Culture in Operation1” (DISCO), aims to remedy this by hiring refugees as “visiting experts” who can share their knowledge with students and teaching staff, within the frame of the academic curriculum. The project provides valuable training to refugee experts, and promotes inclusive academic practices that can potentially benefit everybody in higher education.
1. Introduction
2. Executive summary and key recommendations
3. How to use the toolkit
4. Coordination
5. Recruitment and preparation
6. Communication
7. Teaching activities
8. Evaluating coLAB
9. Outcomes and impact
