Sanctuary seekers encouraged to apply for scholarships

Sanctuary seekers are being encouraged to apply for a range of scholarship opportunities available this year at the University of Reading.

The Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme was introduced in April 2021 for sanctuary seekers (people with refugee, humanitarian protected or asylum seeker status) in recognition of the disruption to education that displaced people experience.

The scheme offers up to 12 awards each year, providing opportunities for those taking pre-sessional, undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Applications for undergraduate and postgraduate courses starting in September 2022 are now open, with a deadline of 4 July. Applications for pre-sessional English courses are open until 6 May.

“It changed my life”

The University originally launched a refugee scholarship scheme in 2018. However, low application numbers led to the scheme being revised and relaunched in 2021. Last year, the scheme saw 47 applications, compared to just five in 2019. The scheme did not run in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seven scholarships were awarded last year, based on the applicants meeting the correct eligibility status. This was compared to zero awards made in 2019, where none of the five applicants met the criteria.

Adam (not his real name) was a recipient of a Sanctuary Scholarship in 2021. He travelled to the UK seeking refugee status in 2019 after the situation in his home country became too dangerous for himself and his young family.

“It changed my life,” said Adam. “As a father and a student, it has given me the opportunity to do so much more. I don’t think I would have been able to go to university without the scholarship… When I received the funding, it changed everything. It felt like the pressure had finally been lifted after so many years.”

The full interview with Adam can be read on the Sanctuary Scholarships webpage.

Paul Inman, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) at the University of Reading, said: “The Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme is one of many ways the University of Reading welcomes and supports sanctuary seekers within our community.

“We recognise that people fleeing violence in their home countries want to continue their education here in the UK, and this scheme helps them to do just that. It is fantastic to see the growing number of applications and scholarship awards since the scheme first started – I hope that this year will see even greater numbers.”

University of Sanctuary

The Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme is part of the University's wider commitment to supporting the City of Sanctuary initiative and on-going partnerships with Reading City of Sanctuary and refugee organisations. The University signed the national organisational pledge to City of Sanctuary for the first-time last year and has also pledged its support to Reading City of Sanctuary.

The University is now working towards achieving a University of Sanctuary award, which would demonstrate a clear commitment to the welcome and inclusion of sanctuary seekers on its campuses. There are many examples of work across the University to support this application, including the launch of a Sanctuary Coffee Bank initiative in June 2021, which allows staff and students to donate to the ‘coffee bank' so that sanctuary seekers on campus can access free hot drinks.

Other examples include various research and public engagement projects to raise awareness of refugee issues among members of the public, as well as staff and students, and teaching on issues of forced migration and displacement.

Next week a public lecture on ‘Multilingualism and social justice’ will be hosted by the University. The online event will feature academics from across multiple disciplines at the University, presenting and discussing their international research with multilingual children and adults and looking at how minoritised, multilingual young people experience education, migration and health provision. A roundtable discussion at the end will give the audience an opportunity to engage in the conversation.

Date: Monday 21 February

Time: 6-7.30pm

Book online. All welcome.

Learn more about the University's work to welcome sanctuary seekers.