Publications

Reports

A Beacon of Hope for Academia During the Forced Migration Crisis

IIE Networker  |  February 20, 2019
By Desiree Halpern and James R. King

In IIE's Centennial Issue of the IIE Networker, IIE-SRF staff address the unprecedented forced migration crisis that is signficantly impacting global higher education. They explain, "We are committed to remaining a beacon of hope for vulnerable scholars, so that their life’s work, and their lives, are not lost."

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An ‘Unprecedented’ Exodus of Scholars

TWAS Newsletter  |  July 12, 2018
By James R. King

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) released the latest edition of their quarterly newsletter, which focuses on the ever-growing issue of displaced scientists. For the newsletter, IIE-SRF Assistant Director James King authored “An ‘Unprecedented’ Exodus of Scholars,” elaborating on the effects of war and authoritarianism on researchers, particularly in the Global South.

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Refugee Scientists: Quiet Pioneers Dedicated to Discovery

UNESCO Courier  |  November 30, 2017
By Sarah Willcox

In the October 2017 edition of the UNESCO Courier, IIE-SRF Director Sarah Willcox provides historical perspective and a context for today’s scholar rescue in her article titled, “Refugee Scientists: Quiet Pioneers Dedicated to Discovery.” According to the article, among the 30,000 people forced to leave their homes every day due to conflict and persecution are renowned scientists and scholars. International programs are working to ensure that these scholars are able to continue educating students and producing world-class scholarship. Sarah writes that IIE-SRF “is now among a handful of formalized programs that provide essential support for threatened academics. But there is so much more to be done to ensure that the world’s intellectual capital will seed innovation and discovery for generations to come.”  

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IIENetworker Magazine Feature: Seeking Safe Havens: National Responses to Scholar Persecution

IIENetworker  |  May 9, 2017
By Sarah Willcox

The Spring 2017 issue of IIE's Networker magazine is now online, featuring the work of IIE team members as they join with partners around the world to expand international opportunities for all. IIE-SRF Director Sarah Willcox, in her article entitled Seeking Safe Havens: National Responses to Scholar Persecution, provides an important overview of the program from its inception to present day, noting particularly the steps that countries are taking to keep their doors open as safe havens to scholars duing times of uncertainty.

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Academic Solutions for the Syria Crisis

New Research Voices  |  March 17, 2017
By Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei

New Research Voices (NRV) is a community platform for researchers to share their work, opinions, and ideas with other researchers from around the globe. In this issue, IIE-SRF alumni of Iran Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei discuss the online medical education course program they created for displaced Syrian scholars. Their story, titled "Medical Education for Vulnerable Students Worldwide. Hope from Albany to Aleppo" discusses how they collaborated with their host institution, the University of Albany, State University of New York (SUNY Albany), to develop a program that promotes access to higher education.

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Forum Magazine: Internationalization in a Conflicted World

European Association for International Education  |  April 13, 2016
By Maija Airas and James R. King

The Syrian and Iraqi higher education sectors and the lives of their researchers and students have been upended due to conflict and war. In oppressive regimes, the academic pursuit of knowledge is commonly seen as a threat. These at-risk individuals often have a lot to contribute to human intellectual advancement. In Finland, among much discussion on the issue of refugees, a novel partnership is connecting some of these individuals to higher education institutions that can host them.

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Syrian Academics in Exile

New Research Voices  |  April 12, 2016
By Ed. Paul O'Keeffe and Zsuzsanna Pásztor

New Research Voices (NRV) is a community platform for researchers to share their work, opinions, and ideas with other researchers from around the globe. In this issue, which features an interview with IIE-SRF's Assistant Director James King, articles by several IIE-SRF Syrian fellows explore what it means to be academics in exile and share the research that they hope to continue now that they have reached safe havens. 

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Researchers in Exile

New Research Voices  |  January 29, 2016
By Ed. Paul O'Keeffe and Zsuzsanna Pásztor

New Research Voices (NRV) is a community platform for researchers to share their work, opinions, and ideas with other researchers from around the globe. In this inaugural issue, NRV features contributors who “have all faced persecution for their work and have sought sanctuary at universities overseas where they continue, despite the many obstacles they have faced, to strive for a better world through their academic endeavors.” Including articles by IIE-SRF fellows from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Syria, the issue explores academic freedom in sites of oppression and the ordeals faced by scholars violently driven out of their native countries.

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Workshop Report: Strengthening Delivery of Higher Education to Syrian Refugees

Al-Fanar Media  |  December 4, 2015

Al-Fanar Media in partnership with the Institute of International Education and the Dutch NGO SPARK hosted a workshop to address the needs of University-age Syrian refugees. The workshop, "Delivering Higher Education to Syrian Refugees," took place in Istanbul, Turkey on October 6 and 7, 2015. The event brought together stakeholders from regional and international governments, UN bodies, local and international NGOs, universities, and Syrian students and professors, to share best practices and enhance coordination amongst initiatives that are supporting Syrian access to higher education. 

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We Will Stop Here and Go No Further

Institute of International Education & the University of California, Davis  |  October 18, 2014
By Keith David Watenpaugh, Adrienne L. Fricke, James R. King

In this report, IIE and the University of California, Davis look at the conditions and educational needs of Syrian university students and scholars in Turkey. As few as 1–2 percent of Syrian university-age students in Turkey were successfully enrolled at Turkish universities last year, including less than 1 percent of young women. These enrollment rates, however, increased by more than 300 percent between 2012–13 and 2013–14.

The report identifies:

  • The educational needs of Syrian faculty and university-age students in Turkey, including the barriers they face in accessing higher education.
  • Recommendations for increasing Syrians' access to higher education in Turkey.
  • Opportunities and challenges for the international community to support Syrian university students and scholars in Turkey.
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