Migration, especially in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis, has had many lasting repercussions on the discourse on identity within Europe. During such times of demographic transformation, questions of identity and belonging have become ideological standpoints for organizing across the political spectrum. On April 20th, I had the opportunity to attend a research conference as a student ambassador of the IDenti-T Project which intended to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on the implications of fluctuating identities in times of democratic transformations.

Higher education institutions are a site for political contestation, especially when it comes to the integration of students in exile. Camile Nau brought this issue to my attention in her presentation about the different schemes across French universities for allowing students in exile to continue their educational paths. Throughout her presentation, and within this blog post, the word “exiled” is being used to refer to both refugees, who have gained the right to international protection, and asylum seekers, who have yet to receive legal recognition of their international protected status, to make no distinction between the legal status of persons.

In France, a cooperation agreement exists between eight higher education institutions (HEIs) to host exiled students, regardless of their legal status. An issue with the current system that Nau elaborated on is that many persons in exile who were formerly in higher education in their home countries are forced to work in low-skilled jobs upon arriving in France. This is oftentimes due to administrative difficulties, lack of integration and social support, financial hardship, or language barriers. As Nau notes, at the beginning of the 2015 refugee crisis, large numbers of exiled persons from Syria were enrolled at universities to learn French as a foreign language, but there were comparatively low outcomes for those students to enroll back into university studies at French HEIs. To secure an enrolment spot at one of these institutions, prospective students must present their high school diploma and proof that they speak French at an upper-intermediate level. If an applicant has a high school diploma but does not have a sufficient level of French, they are given the option to attend French language classes at their prospective HEI, however, these classes tend to be expensive and have limited capacity.

While these prerequisites are standardized for all prospective international students across France, persons in exile face additional barriers to enrolment. To the French system’s credit, a prospective student does not need to have formal refugee status to begin the application process, but still, there are still additional hurdles for persons in exile to overcome to access higher education. Nau made note that students in exile face many of the same experiences as other international students, such as culture shock, language barriers, the loss of previous social networks, and in some circumstances, racism or prejudice from their new environment. However, unlike typical international students, Nau noted that students in exile have certain needs that are specific to the situation that forced them to leave their home country. For example, a possible reason to explain the low outcomes for exiled Syrians in France to attend university is that they do not have access to their previous educational records from their home country. In addition to this, the experience of living in a violent or conflict-stricken area can lead to trauma-induced incapacities, such as memory loss or intrusive thoughts, that make learning a new language or adjusting to a new educational environment difficult – especially when psychological healing does not line up with the constrained administrative timeframes of programs developed for exiled persons.

As explained by Nau, Bridge Diplomas were introduced at French HEIs to accommodate the specific needs of students in exile. The idea behind this program was to help students navigate their new learning environment and prepare them to have a command of the French language specifically suited to integrate them into academic coursework. In addition to this, the program provides support to work on academic projects and opportunities to integrate with other students. These diplomas are completely free of charge and offer the possibility for students to receive housing and a monthly stipend of around 650€.

While this model at French universities helps alleviate some of the burden placed on students in exile to return to university environments, across Europe, resource allocation to students in exile has become politicized to varying degrees across national contexts. This is seen in the extent to which national integration frameworks differentiate refugee populations based on what Nau called their “cultural proximity” -- or in other words, how similarly they align with normative European identities. Racism creates substantial barriers for exiled persons to integrate and realize their full potential in new countries and oftentimes informs political decisions on the way resources should be allocated for integrating persons from abroad.

The prioritization of certain groups of international students over others due to their cultural proximity is exemplified in the way European HEIs prioritize Erasmus and non-EU exchange students over students in exile when it comes to funding, language learning support, and access to housing. This is something that was discussed in the research seminar at length and made me reflect on my own experience as an exchange student compared to the experiences of students in exile. Unlike many individuals forced to leave their countries, I had the opportunity to study abroad and choose which institution I would attend. I ultimately decided to spend a semester in Berlin, Germany during the final year of my undergrad. Despite having no knowledge of German and no family within the country, I was able to have a rewarding learning experience during that time because of the amount of support I received during it – something I was able to benefit from because of my relatively privileged position as a student coming to Europe from the United States. I received a spot in student housing specifically reserved for exchange students, I could take German language classes immediately – without having to wait for a spot to free up, and most importantly, I could take courses towards my legal studies degree in English, which were specifically offered for exchange students who did not have an advanced level of German.

Local institutions, like universities, are an essential part of the integration process for people coming from abroad. From my own experience as an exchange student compared to the experiences of exiled students discussed by Nau, I can see a clear prioritization in educational policy. Exiled students face a multitude of barriers, from integration and language learning to situation-specific trauma and racism, and to a certain extent, these barriers exist as a political choice. Exiled populations who are racialized, framed as culturally abhorrent to European normative values, are given less chances at obtaining higher education and can be forced into working low-skilled jobs while exchange students are accommodated at these institutions at every turn. Programs like the Bridge Diploma in France show trends to a more equitable environment at higher education institutions, but exiled students still face exceptional barriers to academic study, despite many of their needs being similar to other students coming from abroad.