Jamiya Project 2016: Reconnecting Refugee Higher Education Networks

Abstract

The war in Syria has left a trail of unprecedented displacement and disruption, and consequently the lack of higher education opportunities for tens of thousands of young Syrians. As of 2017, only 1% of the global refugee population is able to access tertiary education programs in stark contrast to the up to 26% university-level participation in Syria prior to the war.

Jamiya Project, one organization that has aimed at improving access to higher education opportunities for Syrian students in the Middle East, piloted an Introduction to Java Programming course in the Fall/Winter of 2016/2017. The course was free to access, accredited by the University of Gothenburg, taught in Arabic, and delivered through a blended learning model alongside education technology partners and non-governmental organization-facilitated learning centers on the ground. The Jamiya Project partnered with Syrian academics in exile in developing and delivering the course.

This chapter outlines the vision and the methodology behind the actions of the Jamiya Project during this pilot course and aims to share lessons learned from the experiences, reflections, and iterations of research from the course with students and academics. There is no doubt that a collaborative effort is required to mitigate the serious effects of this crisis.

Citation

Aristorenas, M.R., O’Keeffe, P. and Abu-Amsha, O. (2018), "Jamiya Project 2016: Reconnecting Refugee Higher Education Networks", Sengupta, E. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Strategies, Policies, and Directions for Refugee Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 13), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 129-141. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120180000013008