Access to University Education for Refugees, Integra Project.

Successful integration can be perceived differently by each individual or society, but we can highlight key areas which can be indicatives of such success. Education is one. It can provide the social connections with host communities. The initiative support and contributes to expand the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particularly to countries experiencing conflict, for enrollment in higher education in a developed country, as Spain. The main objective of the practice was to innovate in educational methodologies that allow the inclusion of young refugees in higher education. For this four main areas were stablished: -Pre-degree: This course allows students to acquired cultural, socioeconomic and political knowledge of our society. It also provides language and psychological support. - Degree: Each student selected from a variety of degrees integrated in three main schools: School of Communications and Humanities, school of Education and Health and School of Technology and Science. -Internships: Integration is a long process, while language skills, education and housing were on the right track, Santander offered another essential marker of integration, job opportunities during the summer months. The payed internships did not only provide a little of financial independence but allowed them get professional curricular experience in our country. - Social entrepreneurship: The UCJC recognizes the importance of providing social awareness, commitment, solidarity and a pragmatic vision. For this, we want Integra Project students to be actors of change, innovation and social entrepreneurship. - As it was the first Spanish university to welcome refugees, the methodology, administrative locks and activities, had to be created from cero. This are the 5 main challenges and how they were overcome: 1. With more and more young refugees arriving to Spain each year, creating the guidelines for eligibility, finding the right profiles and choosing candidates was not an easy task. For this working with experienced partners helped us overcome the difficulties. 2.Students coming from different countries, social-economic and education backgrounds was a real challenge. We had to provide the basic knowledge required by Spanish regulations to begin an official degree for this the Pre-college course was created. 3.How would the university community would adapt to the arrival of refugee students? That was not only a question but a difficulty to overcome. Different awareness workshops, campaigns and conferences were promoted to gain knowledge on the issue and to un learn intolerance. 4. Positioning the practice within the media, generating acceptance on the local society, educative community and authorities, was another test. This was essential to promote a spillover effect and generate the financial and in kind support needed. A narrative was created, positioning the initiative as an innovative and good practice, promoted by the firs Spanish university to receive and provide full tuition to refugees. 5. We wanted the good practice to be replicable and implemented by other universities all over Europe. The European Citizen's Prize received on October 2018 allowed us to share and scale the good practice to an international level.