Validation for inclusion of new citizens of Europe

The number of refugees arriving in Europe and moving between European countries is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. Refugees settling in Europe are often highly educated and skilled but their competences are not recognised in the host societies. Refugees are often not aware of the possibility of having their prior learning validated and in many cases they may lack the documentation needed to undertake the validation procedure. Having their qualifications recognised would be a major catalyst in enabling refugees to enter the labour force or continue their studies. The project addresses university teachers and administrative staff, and especially the staff in charge of validation, and aims to equip them with tools for better responding to the needs of refugees living and moving between different countries in Europe. The project intends to enrich the existing validation procedures taking into account the specific needs of refugees, even those without verifiable documentation, and develop a course for HE staff working on validation procedures. The project also intends to produce a comprehensive set of guidelines addressed to 3 different potential groups of users (a) newcomers, (b) teachers and (c) administrative/support staff, covering the broad spectre of aspects/topics likely to provide refugees with the necessary knowledge of the new environment (Validation, Europe in general, the country they go to and the institution that will help them in their VNIL process) and thus facilitate their smooth integration in the host countries. Therefore, the project’s direct target users are validators, teachers and administrative/support staff, while this groups’ indirect target users are the refugees.