The main goal of the CI-RES project is to create institutional capacities for the integration of refugees in Algerian higher education. To do this, the Ci-RES project is a pilot experiment which proposes the reorganization of the organic and functional structure of the higher education establishments that are partners of the project in order to respond to the current problems of the effective integration of refugees within the establishments of Higher Education. The project proposes the development of normative and institutional mechanisms promoting the integration of this category in higher education.
This process is part of the broader aim of the European Union to support the modernization, accessibility and internationalization of the field of higher education in eligible partner countries.
Faced with the current situation of refugees in Algeria, their status and integration measures in the education system in general and in higher education in particular, this project attempts to achieve specific objectives cited as follows:
- Strengthen the knowledge and skills of academic and administrative staff for better care of refugees at the university;
- Develop concrete integration measures for refugees wishing to integrate the Algerian higher education system through a prospective study of the needs and difficulties of refugees at all levels of integration;
- Rewrite and reformulate the internal regulations of partner HEIs through the introduction of provisions relating to the status of refugees, their rights and obligations to better define access, the organization of the training course and the integration of refugees into the university life;
- Develop a reception system for refugees within the partner ESS through the creation of a centralized office at the level of the vice-rectorates responsible for external relations whose mission is to take care of refugees as well as annex offices, at the level of each faculty, attached to the vice dean in charge of international relations of all the partner universities.
- Create a committee responsible for the academic and professional support of refugees during their training course.
- Create and regulate institutional measures for the enhancement of the diplomas and skills of refugees, through the recognition of credits, the system of equivalence of diplomas, and the scientific skills of the latter.
- Strengthen the government’s will in favor of refugees through the participation of the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education in the insertion of these measures into the already existing regulatory system;
- Promote access to employment for refugees through the creation of a support system for refugees towards employment by mobilizing the public employment service and the employer who will work with the career center university and professional liaison office;
- Help promote refugee culture and intercultural dialogue through partnership with civil society and the local community through the organization of cultural and sporting activities
These specific objectives address the problems cited in part D.1 with the aim of finding solutions to the absence of internal institutional measures for the educational, psychological and professional care of refugees. They are also trying to build the capacities of the academic and administrative staff of the university for a better reception and improvement of the university life of refugee students, which will allow them to overcome their difficulties, particularly at the linguistic and practical levels.
The proposed objectives are justified by the lack of clear regulations for the benefit of refugees at the institutional level as well as by the lack of real data on the academic and professional advancement of this vulnerable category of society. The results can be reasonably achieved given the means already made available by Algerian universities for the benefit of Algerian students. The internal regulations, the career center and the liaison office exist at the level of all the Algerian partner universities. The presence of qualified psychologists is also a positive element for the achievement of the objectives proposed above. An administrative officer responsible for international student affairs is also appointed in each university institution, which would facilitate the designation of a person responsible for refugee students in particular. The support provided by the Ci-RES project as well as by the European experience will only reinforce the efforts already in place to also reach this student population in difficulty.