Opening doors for refugee scientists
Ourania Tzoraki, assistant professor of marine sciences at Greece’s University of the Aegean in Lesbos, was inspired to set up SCIREA after coming across a similar scheme in Germany. The project aims to ease the integration of refugee scientists in the European research system and labour market by targeted support and training. “Scientists from a different place bring fresh ideas. These people have the capacity to do a lot but they have no opportunities,” she says. At SCIREA’s request, in March 2018 front-desk staff at Moria camp on Lesbos began asking people on arrival about their level of studies. “The first analysis showed that almost 7 % of the refugees have a university degree and 1 % a Master's degree or even a PhD,” adds Tzoraki.
Data gap
Using questionnaires and interviews, project partner Fondazione Leone Moressa studied the knowledge and qualifications of the potential scientists in more detail. “We realised they are missing important skills such as being able to analyse or visually represent Big Data, something which is important for all disciplines these days. Also the open-source tools that we use in Europe,” explains Tzoraki. SCIREA designed a series of seminars, delivered at the university, aiming to fill this gap. Webinars were also provided in video format to get around connectivity problems in the camps. They focused on the practical issues of writing CVs, job-seeking in Europe and asylum procedures. The need to care for the environment was covered too – important for avoiding friction with the local host community. “People feel they are temporary, and the result can be really destructive for the environment – tons of plastic in the rivers,” says Tzoraki. As few women participated, female refugee scientists were recruited to give basic courses on English and German to women living in the camps as an outreach measure. The SCIREA team set up a matchmaking platform including an offline repository of people’s CVs in partnership with European internship network Praxis, which informed participants about job and research opportunities.
Most found work
Three scholars from Afghanistan and Iran completed 8-month fellowships – all found work as a result. Tracking the outcomes was not part of the project, but anecdotal evidence shows that the majority of participants have found work since, many in NGOs. Others continue to aim for a scientific career. Seeing SCIREA scholars presenting the results of their research – as when the Afghan scholar presented at an environmental conference in Greece in June 2019 – was a personal highpoint for Tzoraki. The project has encouraged formal and informal providers of education for refugees to come together – with a network launched at the final conference in February 2020 to keep the momentum going. It has produced recommendations for the Greek government and the EU on how to improve refugee education. The SCIREA partners are currently applying for more funding. In the meantime, the University of the Aegean continues to act as a point of contact for refugees on Lesbos and has opened its Greek language courses, formerly only for visiting ERASMUS students, to refugees. “In recent years there has been a lot of effort put into studying migration, but not much into practical help with integration. With SCIREA we emphasised how important education is for integration,” Tzoraki concludes.
Keywords
SCIREA, refugees, refugee scientists, integration, Greek islands, Lesbos, refugee education