AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Quality Education
KEYWORDS
education, access to knowlegde , migrant crisis
COUNTRY
Germany
DESIGNED BY
Vincent Zimmer and Markus Kressler
WEBSITE
https://kiron.ngo/
Kiron University
The first online university for refugees
Germany has launched the first online university exclusively for refugees, offering free higher education anywhere in the world.
Kiron University is based in Berlin, and currently offers courses to 1,000 students, with at least 15,000 other refugees demonstrating interest in involvement.
Enrolment requires documents including refugee status proof from the UNHCR, and all students need to participate is access to the internet.
Not only would this give displaced people a higher chance of employment in their new countries, but it would provide a social and professional network where they can meet others facing similar challenges. Funding has come from a crowdfunding campaign, and partner universities that include Yale, Harvard and MIT contribute courses.