Global University

Children & youth

Aug 12

Written By Annikken Grieg Sæthre

Who: Global University, University of Oslo

What: The Global University Academy

Where: Global

Project period: 2024-2026

About the project

Today, only seven percent of the world’s fast-growing refugee population have access to higher education. Seed funding from Grieg Foundation has contributed to creating The Global University Academy.

The Global University Academy aims to provide internationally recognised higher education courses and degrees for refugees, displaced learners, and their local communities. The academy brings together universities and other stakeholders willing to pool contributions and work with local partners, joining the expertise and resources of universities across the world. The aim is to reach one million refugees and displaced learners by 2038.

In close collaboration across the network, and with relevant local partners, the Global University Academy will develop a scalable and sustainable model of hybrid courses on foundation and bachelor’s level. To achieve this, partners are working to develop an academic model sensitive to the distinctive needs of refugee and their communities, and to the different local contexts. Local university partnerships are essential and, where possible, the Global University Academy model will be based on local co-hosting and co-designing of courses.

As refugees find themselves both in a long-lasting and intractable state of limbo, and in immediate emergencies, the model will have to be implementable in both situations. Support services, local tutors and necessary infrastructure are also vital components in the model and will be adapted to each location.

Access to quality higher education is one of the most effective pathways for refugees to transition from aid dependency to self-reliance. It is a paradox that such offers are chronically underfunded, knowing how it can transform the lives of individuals and communities. Also, investing in higher education yields a high return for societies.

The GUA will present a global model by the end of 2025, but is already setting up educational offers in Jordan for the first pilot project in July.

About the organization

The Global University Academy’s secretariat is with the University of Oslo, with strong contributions from partners worldwide.

The contributing universities are Arizona State University, Bard College Hubs for connected Learning initiatives, Humboldt University of Berlin, HTU, Al Hussein Technical University, KU Leuven, Makerere University, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) University, SOAS, University of London, Southern New Hampshire University, Stellenbosch University, University of Bergen, University of Cape Town, UCLouvain, University of Geneva, University of Hamburg, University of Oslo and University of Oxford.

Other contributing partners are Norwegian Refugee Council, Norwegian Students and Academics International Assistance Fund (SAIH), The Higher Education Alliance in Jordan, Save the Children, UNESCO and Reallyenglish.