Third Group Discussion with Private-Sector “Higher Education as a Tool for Inclusion, Self-Reliance, and Solutions: High Demand and Limited Opportunities/Mitigation and Possible Interventions”
EDU-SYRIA funded by the EU and managed by the German Jordanian University (GJU) in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held on 22nd June 2023 at Daimeh-Jordan River Foundation-Amman, a series of panel discussions entitled “Higher Education as a Tool for Inclusion, Self-Reliance, and Solutions: High Demand and Limited Opportunities/Mitigation and Possible Interventions”, and was attended by representatives from EDU-SYRIA/GJU, UNHCR, Jordan Investors Sector, Al Hussein Technical University (HTU), Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PwC), South End Business Alliance (SEBA) organization, Eversheds, Nuqal Group/Fine, Talent Beyond Boundaries, Luminus Technical University College (LTUC), Payment Service Provider (PSP) Dubai (Virtual), Ernst and Young (Virtual).
This third group discussion with the private sector is one of a series of focus group periodic discussions conducted with refugee students, academic institutions, and the private sector to support achieving the 15by30 Goal (increasing enrolment of refugee youth in higher education to 15% by 2030). The work with the private sector focuses mainly on finding solutions for the refugees, promoting economic and livelihood opportunities, increasing the refugees’ resilience, creating an opportunity for refugees directly through jobs, and receiving cash contributions.
Ms. Jadaan, Head of Education at UNHCR, introduced the Five Pillars of the 15by30 Roadmap and explained that there are many constraints and challenges related to education, vocational and technical training, and higher education data for refugees, to determine the percentages, this was double-checked against the UNHCR database. She noted the most important unmet needs of higher education including encouraging the revision of policies and promoting tuition reductions for refugee students at universities, encouraging the creation of more scholarship possibilities, and offering students full and partial funding. And the needs of complementary pathways revolve around insufficient merged education and employment opportunities, limited awareness of available options, the demand for career guidance, the necessity for language training, especially in English.
The session brainstorming was moderated by Dr. Dhiah el Diehn Abou-Tair, Project Manager of EDU-SYRIA that concluded a set of points emerging from the roundtable’s goal is to guide how the private sector can direct skill-set-related interventions, and every participating private sector company has provided evidence of its actions and role toward refugees; for instance, LTUC actively participates in the complementary pathways, connected higher education, and TVET pillars, In addition, HTU partners with UNHCR, GJU, and other partners resulting in over 2,500 beneficiaries having graduated. For Eversheds Program with the financial sponsorship scheme sponsors two refugees, one from Jordan, and one from Gaza. The formative support scheme is available for students, recent graduates, and refugees, based in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinian Territories. As for PwC’s upskilling programs do include a percentage of refugees, their primary focus remains on Jordanian youth, and they have established several digital labs throughout Jordan, which can serve as a platform for refugees.
The private sector can help refugees by offering more scholarship opportunities, for example, with Yarmouk University, the university is now offering tuition rates for refugees similar to Jordanians. For Nuqul Group/Fine, it may be possible, in collaboration with the foundation’s executive director, to provide some scholarships to refugees, group staff members can also serve as mentors for refugees, and HR staff members can help refugees with interview and CV writing. HTU proposed enabling refugees to work remotely or virtually to give them the experience they need and enable them to support themselves.
It is important to note that the cooperation between EDU-SYRIA and UNHCR aims to highlight the importance of higher education to support the inclusion of refugees and provide them with educational opportunities that will empower them, enhance their self-reliance, and contribute to their well-being.
