FH-Prof.in Mag.a Ulrike Alker, MA
Former employee
Frequently searched
Project Duration: 18.08.2016 to 31.08.2023
The “miteinander.Bildung.leben” project was launched in 2016 by colleagues from the Department of Social Work and the Gender & Diversity Management Division at Hochschule Campus Wien. The underlying idea was to promote the diverse potential of refugees in Vienna and, through intensive German language instruction beginning during the asylum process, to help course graduates subsequently build on their academic degrees, have them recognized, or pursue further education. One goal was therefore also to promote access for refugees to fields that are often denied to them due to structural conditions: higher education, highly skilled professions, or the media.
Project Duration:
Project Duration: 18.08.2016 - 30.09.2017
Project Duration: 01.09.2017 - 30.09.2018
Project Duration: 01.09.2018 - 30.09.2019
Project Duration: 01.09.2019 - 30.09.2020
Project Duration: 01.09.2020 - 30.09.2021
Project Duration: 01.09.2021 - 30.09.2022
Project Duration: 01.09.2022 - 31.08.2023
Hochschule Campus Wien carried out the project in cooperation with the Fonds Soziales Wien [Vienna Social Fund] as an external funding body, whereby the existing infrastructure (teaching and counselling rooms, canteen, etc.) could be used. The Project Team, which was part of the Gender & Diversity Management department, consisted of two German teachers, two social workers/coordinators and the Project Lead. The target group consisted of asylum seekers and people receiving basic welfare support in Vienna, who were required to have a university entrance qualification valid in Austria and an interest in starting or continuing their studies. The course was free of charge for participants.
Good German language skills are a prerequisite for the above-mentioned goals, which is why daily German lessons were at the centre of the project. The participants attended German lessons in groups of 18 over the course of an academic year and completed the program with external examinations at B2 or C1 level of the European Framework of Reference for Languages. In addition, social work support in group and individual settings, life-world activities, tandem networks with students and employees of Hochschule Campus Wien and educational counselling (including writing letters of application, support with admission processes for study programs) formed the core of the project.
The miteinander.Bildung.leben project has been able to accompany over 100 refugees with tertiary educational backgrounds from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Chechnya/Russia, Cameroon and Kenya for part of their journey on the premises of Hochschule Campus Wien in a total of seven project runs. Experience has shown that people in ongoing asylum procedures are confronted with a variety of burdens, which is why social work supervisors have become particularly important in order to provide the best possible support for successful course attendance through crisis intervention, psychosocial counselling, support and networking.
Many graduates were able to have their degrees recognised, start further studies or training, or find jobs that matched their well-qualified professional and educational backgrounds after being granted asylum thanks to the German language skills they had acquired. In addition, the project contributed to intensive networking among the participants and graduates, which continues to have an impact as a resource.
The inclusion of students with refugee experience in the university context made a significant contribution to greater diversity at Hochschule Campus Wien!
In 2023, the project was terminated due to the next funding commitment not being made on the basis of changed needs. The experience gained will now be incorporated into further project ideas at Hochschule Campus Wien's Gender & Diversity Management department.
Former employee
Senior Lecturer
Practice Coordination; Head of Program Global Social Dialog (GSD)