Scholarships for Refugees

The Odysseus Academic Network – a network of experts in European immigration and asylum law from across Europe and coordinated by the Université libre de Bruxelles – plans to welcome refugee students to its 16th Annual Summer School, which will take place in Brussels from 4-15 July 2016.

The objective of the project is to allow approximately 20 refugee students to gain knowledge in European immigration and asylum law and to further their education, which may have been interrupted by their departure. Their time in Brussels will allow them to discover the European capital and the European institutions, which will in turn aid their integration into Europe.

The project entails costs which the Odysseus Network - a non-profit organisation - cannot cover alone as the Summer School is entirely self-financed and does not benefit from any financial support other than the fees paid by the participants. The project will be supported by various sources. Our first sponsor, the Josefa Foundation has kindly committed to support the project by hosting four refugees for the duration of the Summer School. We are also actively seeking the support of the university community at the ULB, asking both staff and students to offer free accommodation to the refugees during the summer school. The university itself has agreed to provide lunch at the university canteen. All other costs will have to be covered by sponsorship in order for this initiative to be successful.

We hope to have five scholarships entirely financed by the public. This would amount to approximately €5.000, and would cover the cost of transportation, daily expenses in Brussels, and a portion of the tuition fees. Any money raised beyond this amount will contribute to finance another scholarship.

Your support would allow a refugee to continue his/her studies, engage with professors and students in the field of migration and visit the European capital of Brussels. As a thank you, we will send an overview of participants to all donors, no matter the amount of the donation. Those who give a generous gift of €40 or more will also receive an invitation to meet and speak with the participants. (This invitation will also be available to undergraduate and Master's students who donate €20 or more - please contact us by email at [email protected] for more details.)

You can also help by hosting refugee students during their stay in Brussels. Please contact us if you wish to volunteer.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us at: [email protected].

We hope that you will help us to reach our goal of €1.000 per student.