News and Events

The global refugee crisis now stands at 65 million forcibly displaced people, according to the United Nations. Could the world ever have imagined a number exceeding that produced by the Nazis and World War II? The conflict over Syria alone, raging since 2011, has so far resulted in more than 11 million refugees and internally displaced persons. Over the past year, international summits have convened to address this global crisis, including the United Nations Summit in September. There is a growing view that the world must recognize these individuals not as part of a temporary emergency, but as a long-term challenge, and one where higher education can play a major role.

The harrowing tale of an IIE-SRF fellow's escape from Mosul in 2014 as it was under the control of the Islamic State.

A look at the experiences of IIE-SRF fellows who are hosted in New Jersey.

For Syrian students now living in Turkey, the path through higher education is far from smooth. “Higher education is an incredibly important alternative to more negative outcomes: crime, radicalization, and early marriage for young women,” King said. “Education can provide a pathway to integration within the country and durable solutions for Turkey and Syria.”

The Vanderbilt Political Review profiled IIE-SRF Alumnus Issam Eido, who escaped Syria toward the start of the conflict there.

From across the Mediterranean Sea at the University of Florence, a Syrian economist called Ahmad Sadiddin is modelling the financial implications of global warming for four Arab countries: Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt.

“We have an in-depth analysis on this by piecing together whatever data is available,” explains Sadiddin, “Rainfall across the MENA region, especially in Mediterranean countries, is going to decrease and agriculture consumes 80 percent of water in the region.”

The Jamiya Project is an ambitious blended learning program that aims to help refugees pursue their college dreams.

The course will follow the curriculum of and—significantly, be accredited by—Gothenburg University in Sweden, though Jamiya is still awaiting approval to allow its credits to be transferable to other schools. The accreditation piece is crucial, according to James King, assistant director of the Scholar Rescue Fund at the New York-based Institute of International Education. Though still valuable regardless, the majority of online course offerings have not been able to offer students courses that count toward a degree, he notes.

A world-class, high-tech researcher, Ahmad Adib Sha’ar made his way from Aleppo, Syria, to the United States with his wife and children after the Syrian civil war erupted. He was assisted by the Institute of International Education Scholar Rescue Fund, which supports visiting scholars from war-torn areas. Thanks to the generosity of donors, Sha’ar will be able to continue his beneficial research while serving as a visiting professor at Harvey Mudd College.

Turkey is now the number one country for applications from under-threat scholars seeking safety in Western universities, according to two charities that help at-risk academics.

With hundreds of academics sacked, suspended or under investigation in the wake of the unsuccessful coup attempt in July, the Scholar Rescue Fund has faced an “unprecedented” number of requests for help, its director Sarah Willcox told an audience at the European Association for International Education’s annual conference, held in Liverpool from 13 to 16 September.