162
I. I. Berchin et al.
As another example, the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (Brazil) integrates the Scholars at Risk network that unites academic institutions aiming to
support and protect the human rights of academics in a situation of vulnerability
due to threats against academic freedom. The network operates in 40 countries with
the participation of nearly 400 higher education institutions, which grant academic
refugees temporary positions in the signatory institutions. In addition to encouraging researches, that promotes freedom of expression worldwide, the Scholars at
Risk network also helps to hold seminars and workshops that integrate refugees into
the local communities (Scholars at Risk Network 2019).
Local and international networks are great allies in assisting Universities in the
design of projects and fundraising that help refugees in their transition within hosting
countries. Europe has several partnerships due to the large flow of immigrants and
refugees it receives annually, one of them is the inHERE project, in partnership
with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the University of Barcelona
(Spain) and the Sapienza University (Italy). The project aims to share knowledge
and offer training to academic and administrative staff within Universities, ranging
from legal knowledge to administration courses. It does so for them to be able to
understand the context experienced by refugees and assist in their economic and
social integration. It also strengthens the integration capabilities of their institutions
and allows them to serve as a model for other universities (inHere Project 2020).
In Austria, Universities joined forces in 2015 to develop the MORE Project,
which is currently applied in more than 21 universities across the country. They
provide housing, food and medical assistance to refugees, as many are injured or ill
after arriving at the chosen location of refuge. According to SDG 3, this concern for
refugees’ access to health and well-being is essential for them to establish themselves
in the hosting community (UN, 2020a). Refugees are also allowed to attend classes to
expand their knowledge of the country’s language and other areas of interest, without
the need to be registered as university students or pay tuition fees (Uniko, 2020). The
actions and efforts of universities’ initiatives strengthen the importance of SDG 17,
which discusses partnerships to meet the goals, which accelerate their achievement.
3 Methods
This study uses a qualitative approach to collect and analyze the necessary data to
achieve its goal, “to analyze how universities can contribute to improving refugees’
wellbeing by implementing the Sustainable Development Goals”.
This study used the semi-structured interview method to collect the data. In order
to be representative, seven university managing directors were interviewed, from
Private, Public and Community universities in Sao Paulo (4), Florianopolis (2) and
Sao Bernardo do Campo (1), Brazil.
The open-ended questions of the questionnaire (Table 1) were based on the literature, aiming to understand how universities can contribute to improving refugees’
I. I. Berchin et al.
As another example, the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (Brazil) integrates the Scholars at Risk network that unites academic institutions aiming to
support and protect the human rights of academics in a situation of vulnerability
due to threats against academic freedom. The network operates in 40 countries with
the participation of nearly 400 higher education institutions, which grant academic
refugees temporary positions in the signatory institutions. In addition to encouraging researches, that promotes freedom of expression worldwide, the Scholars at
Risk network also helps to hold seminars and workshops that integrate refugees into
the local communities (Scholars at Risk Network 2019).
Local and international networks are great allies in assisting Universities in the
design of projects and fundraising that help refugees in their transition within hosting
countries. Europe has several partnerships due to the large flow of immigrants and
refugees it receives annually, one of them is the inHERE project, in partnership
with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the University of Barcelona
(Spain) and the Sapienza University (Italy). The project aims to share knowledge
and offer training to academic and administrative staff within Universities, ranging
from legal knowledge to administration courses. It does so for them to be able to
understand the context experienced by refugees and assist in their economic and
social integration. It also strengthens the integration capabilities of their institutions
and allows them to serve as a model for other universities (inHere Project 2020).
In Austria, Universities joined forces in 2015 to develop the MORE Project,
which is currently applied in more than 21 universities across the country. They
provide housing, food and medical assistance to refugees, as many are injured or ill
after arriving at the chosen location of refuge. According to SDG 3, this concern for
refugees’ access to health and well-being is essential for them to establish themselves
in the hosting community (UN, 2020a). Refugees are also allowed to attend classes to
expand their knowledge of the country’s language and other areas of interest, without
the need to be registered as university students or pay tuition fees (Uniko, 2020). The
actions and efforts of universities’ initiatives strengthen the importance of SDG 17,
which discusses partnerships to meet the goals, which accelerate their achievement.
3 Methods
This study uses a qualitative approach to collect and analyze the necessary data to
achieve its goal, “to analyze how universities can contribute to improving refugees’
wellbeing by implementing the Sustainable Development Goals”.
This study used the semi-structured interview method to collect the data. In order
to be representative, seven university managing directors were interviewed, from
Private, Public and Community universities in Sao Paulo (4), Florianopolis (2) and
Sao Bernardo do Campo (1), Brazil.
The open-ended questions of the questionnaire (Table 1) were based on the literature, aiming to understand how universities can contribute to improving refugees’