Arqus was selected in the first round of the European Universities alliances call in 2019. It gathers 9 comprehensive reseach universities: University of Granada, University of Graz, Leipzig University, Université Claude Bernad Lyon 1, Maynooth University, University of Minho, University of Padua, Vilnius University and the University of Wroclaw. Since it has been established, the Alliance has demonstrated a strong engagement in supporting refugees and students at risk.
SAFE: Why was it important but also relevant to Arqus to create an integrated plan for refugees and students at risk ? What have been the main achievements of the integrated plan and what changes or evolutions has it brought within the individual partner universities?
Arqus: Supporting students and scholars at risk has been a priority for the Arqus European University alliance since the very beginning of its activities, in October 2019, as part of a much larger effort towards facilitating inclusion across the whole Alliance. Inclusion is enshrined in the Alliance’s Mission Statement as a key identifying feature, which in practice translated into common policies on inclusion and a number of initiatives to support all the members of the university community, with a special focus on the most vulnerable and less represented groups.
As for students and scholars at risk, this effort translated into a “Framework for an Integrated Action Plan for refugees and students at risk ”, drafted in 2022, and in the most recent “Arqus Integrated Plan for students and scholars at risk – with a focus on Ukraine ”, published in the summer of 2023. The second document draws on the first to present a set of recommendations for the integration of students and scholars at risk in the higher education system, based on a thorough analysis of the main challenges students at risk face. The Action Plan is the result of a close collaboration between Arqus and its Ukrainian associate partner, the National University of Kyiv – Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA), which could -unfortunately- provide the Alliance with invaluable insights into the experience of students at risk. It also relied on the expertise of those Arqus member universities that, for different historical or geographical reasons, have been managing high numbers of students and scholars at risk.
The Action Plan will be further developed in the future together with students and scholars at risk themselves. We aim at facilitating the creation of an Alliance-wide community of students and scholars at risk, a platform to voice their needs and provide partner institutions with a clearer understanding of their needs. The Arqus Action Plan will in this way ‘trickle down’ to the individual institutions, whereby the universities belonging to the Alliance will be able to translate into practice the recommendations and the best practices jointly suggested at the Alliance level.
SAFE: As of 2025, you have also developed two bottom-up initiatives with a focus on students and scholars at risk. Can you tell us more about these?
Arqus: Through the Innovation Fund Calls, the Arqus Alliance aims to incentivise bottom-up initiatives with an impact on the entire Alliance, led by Arqus staff and students with a joint approach. Two of the initiatives awarded with funding had a focus on students and scholars at risk.
The first, “Implementing academic freedom for responsible internationalization in Arqus”, brought together five Arqus partner universities and the National University of Kyiv – Mohyla Academy. The initiative was organised in close collaboration with the SAR – Scholars At Risk – Network, to which some of the partners of the Alliance are members of. It engaged students, academic and professional staff from each participating university in exchanging best practices and in pinpointing common actions in relation to the SAR pillars of protection, advocacy and learning. Within the initiative, different materials are being developed and will be disseminated throughout the Alliance as useful tools to raise awareness about the most recent European developments on academic freedom.
The second initiative, “An Alliance supporting refugees’ right to a qualified and unique study experience ”, is currently being implemented. It consists of a day of reflection, engagement and discussion on and with refugee students at each Arqus partner university, with a presentation of local activities for the inclusion of refugee students and the screening of a documentary. The discussions are facilitated by a PhD student from the Human Rights Centre of the University of Padua, and the screenings are presented by the film director. The documentaries are “Where you can’t go back”, a story about the life of a Syrian refugee student in Italy, and “Refugee Girls”, which presents the stories of an Afghan student at Sapienza University of Rome, and of two Ukrainian girls at the University of Barcelona.
SAFE: Arqus has put in place a Scholarship Fund for talented graduates and students, where refugees are one of the priority groups. Why this prioritisation?
Arqus: The Arqus Talent Scholarship is a scholarship scheme designed to attract and retain talent at the postgraduate level – either Master’s or PhD – from around the world. Awarded students pursue their degree at one of Arqus partner universities, with a compulsory mobility at a second Arqus institution. Students with fewer opportunities receive a specific top-up in addition to the scholarship: priority is given to refugees/asylum seekers; students with caring responsibilities, either of young children or family members with certified impairments; students with disabilities and learning disorders; and students with chronic diseases.
This prioritisation is part of the wider efforts of the Arqus Alliance towards inclusion and towards an Alliance that is increasingly caring about the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of students. We are convinced that inclusion and excellence go hand in hand, and that as talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, we need to create those chances for everyone to thrive. Through the scholarship, the Alliance had the chance to welcome highly talented students from many different countries in the world, including Pakistan, Turkey, South Africa, Cambodia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Palestine.