Science 4 Refugees

Topic Description

The Science4Refugees initiative is directed towards researchers/scientists with refugee background, which will enable them to continue their educational path or enter the European research labour market. Under the header "Science4Refugees", as part of the EURAXESS initiative, the integration into the European researchers' community as part of the labour force shall be enhanced.

Information available on education level of recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers points to a rather wide distribution across education level. To integrate them into Europe's research system, specific measures are requested in terms of integrating the highly skilled refugees into the labour market and to better understand the different cultural backgrounds.

The objective of the call is raising the awareness of refugee researchers of jobs and career development opportunities in Europe. Activities can directly address support for the job seeker but should also address the relevant skills assessment and training of the refugee researcher to increase his/her chances on a competitive European labour market. They can also comprise activities like open lectures, academic networking initiatives and training on how to reach the appropriate qualifications for the higher education system in the new country.

This action is addressed to legal entities such as universities, NGOs, the EURAXESS Service Centres to bring involuntary immigrants with a refugee background into the European research labour market in the new host country.

Collaboration or coupling with national labour market initiatives are welcome, however the involvement of an accredited EURAXESS Centre would be beneficial for their experience in welcoming international researchers. These initiatives will give refugees researchers/scientists the opportunity to develop their knowledge and careers by improving their skills and employability.

The funded initiatives shall contribute to the overall scope of the EURAXESS initiative so that projects can be taken up and enlarged to a European level, e.g. webinars on entrepreneurship, research field specific training or any other training need will be uploaded in the relevant section of the EURAXESS portal.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the order of EUR 0.25 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nevertheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Provide support for the career development of refugee researchers, both women and men, to support their integration into their new employment settings and culture, and to prepare female and male refugees for the highly competitive and highly skilled job market. In the medium term, the action aims at supporting research jobs and growth; it will increase the number of highly skilled workers who are sufficiently prepared to access the European labour market by using their newly gained skills and experience through the supported actions.