Afghans staying at refugee camp Heumensoord can attend courses at Radboud University since today. Around twenty refugees are starting their education this Monday. ‘The need for social contact and education is huge.’

After vising camp Heumensoord, a large refugee camp in a forest area just south of Nijmegen, to gauge whether residents were interested in attending lectures and working groups at Radboud University, Saskia Paulissen received fifty to sixty emails. For her, the situation was clear: there was a lot of need for this project.

‘Many Afghans in Heumensoord are well-educated’, says the Radboud coordinator diversity, equality, and inclusivity for students. ‘Doing nothing for days at a time comes as unfamiliar to them. They want to use what they already know and gain new knowledge.’

Making bachelor courses accessible

Now there is the Radboud Welcomes Newcomers project. Several bachelor courses at the university have been made accessible for well-educated Afghans. That means they need to have at least finished high school and speak English or Dutch at a decent level. The goal is to offer them five courses per faculty every period of the academic year. The courses vary from macroeconomics to artificial intelligence.

The Afghan refugees join regular bachelor students to stimulate mutual social contact. The courses and study material are free: the participating teachers and professors voluntarily made space and time available. The first group of about twenty Afghans start their courses today.

‘It’s also valuable to regular students and teachers’

The refugees are linked to a regular student, their ‘buddy’. They help the Afghans to get to know the campus and the Dutch educational system and show them how sites like Brightspace and Osiris work.

The goal of the project? Making education more available and lowering the bar for Afghans to meet new people and gain new knowledge in Nijmegen. ‘But it’s also valuable to regular students and teachers, since new perspectives are added to the group’, Paulissen adds. ‘That way everyone can learn from each other.’

Serious study

Attending lectures isn’t just to pass the time, but a serious commitment, Paulissen emphasizes: ‘Participants take part in all assignments and are expecting to do their homework. Afterwards they’ll earn a certificate. If they take part in the exams and final assignments, they’ll even receive a certificate with an end grade. That can be very valuable.’

Paulissen is happy with how everything is going and the amount of interest but would like to see more Afghan women on campus the coming periods. ‘Right now, it’s basically all men. That worries me, since taking part from the start is very important. I want commit myself to that group the coming time.’

Afghan refugees can sign up for a course using this form. Teachers and students wanting to help with the project are still in high demand. If they are interested, they can take a look at this website or come into contact with Saskia Paulissen via [email protected]. People can also make a donation to contribute to the purchase of teaching materials.