Oxford Brookes University works actively with organisations and institutions across Oxford and Oxfordshire to support a city- and county-wide culture of welcome and inclusion. We share knowledge, and promote and facilitate educational aspiration, access and attainment among sanctuary-seeking members of the local community.
Oxford Brookes University is committed to ensuring that our sanctuary-seeking students have a positive student experience resulting in successful outcomes.
We offer Sanctuary Scholarships every year, including a full fee waiver, funding towards accommodation and living costs, and welfare and academic support throughout study.
The University also has a Student Action for Refugees group. The group supports the work of the national Student Action for Refugees network of students building a more understanding and just society where refugees are welcomed and can thrive in the UK. The group can be emailed at s.t.a.r@brookes.ac.uk.
Members of the University’s Migration and Refugees Research Network produce leading research in areas impacting refugees and asylum seekers. This research informs work in advocacy, training and education, as well as housing policy and other areas. This research also informs research-led teaching across a wide variety of degree at Oxford Brookes.
The network regularly works with local collaborators. For example, it has partnered with the University of Oxford and Asylum Welcome to co-develop an east Oxford branch of the University of Oxford’s Refugee-Led Research Hub. This hub supports local scholars and researchers who have been affected by forced displacement to meet their academic and career goals.
It also serves on the organising committee of the local annual Sanctuary Fair as part of Refugee Week. As part of the event, members of the network deliver talks and workshops, engaging members of the local community and refugee support network with Oxford Brookes University initiatives.
The Migration and Refugees Research Network hosts an annual summer symposium, bringing together local organisations engaged in supporting migrants and sanctuary seekers to share knowledge, experiences and expertise, and to reflect on and collaboratively address challenges.
The Migration and Refugees Research Network also provides two freely accessible, online courses in Migration and Refugee Studies for practitioners working in these areas, people with lived experience, academics and interested members of the general public: an online postgraduate summer school and an annual public lecture series, both of which are funded by the Jean Monnet Programme of the European Commission.
The Centre for Development and Emergency Practice at Oxford Brookes University runs the annual Oxford Human Rights Festival, founded in 2003. The festival regularly engages with themes related to, and platforms, refugees and asylum seekers.
In partnership with Refugee Resource, the University runs an accredited level 7 (masters) short course called Rehumanising People in Extreme Situations. This course helps frontline professionals in all sectors work effectively with refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants who may have been traumatised by their experiences while also looking after their own wellbeing.