USW doubles its Sanctuary Scholarships for refugee students

The University of South Wales (USW) is expanding its Scholarships for refugees and people seeking sanctuary in Wales.

From 2023, USW will offer two undergraduate and two postgraduate level scholarships, as well as providing further support for refugees who want to study at Higher Education level but do not speak English as their first language.

As a University of Sanctuary – one of only two in Wales with this status – USW is doubling its scholarship provision in line with its Strategic Equality Plan for increasing diversity and promoting inclusion.

The University has growing expertise in the area of support for forced migrants, with the appointment of Dr Mike Chick as USW Refugee Champion in 2019, followed by the awarding of University of Sanctuary status in 2020.

Last year, an exhibition of the successful Speak to Me project, created and overseen by Barrie Llewelyn, was displayed at USW’s Oriel y Bont Gallery. Speak to Me Too, a follow up project, is starting this month. This work illuminated the value of bringing people together in order to foster a sense of inclusion and belonging.

Also in 2021, Dr Mike Chick and Dr Catherine Camps published a report for Advance HE on the important role universities should play in the inclusion of forced migrants.

This year, Mike will work with the Learning and Work Institute to review the Welsh Government’s Policy of language education for migrants in Wales.

He said: “We are delighted that USW will be supporting even more students with the Sanctuary Scholarship scheme. We have offered these scholarships for the past four years, and have seen first-hand that such actions really do change the lives of those seeking sanctuary in our community.

“This announcement is a result of the fantastic work of numerous departments at USW, such as Student Services, Marketing & Student Recruitment, and the Equality and Diversity steering group.

“The running of the scheme is also down to the energy, professionalism and passion of so many colleagues across the University, including those in Enquiries & Admissions, USW International and the Centre for International English.”