Deadline: 16-Sep-25
The European Commission is accepting proposals to increase the impact and the sustainability of Complementary Pathways Linked to Education by increasing the number of admission places offered to refugees and the quality of the programmes.
Objectives
- This should be achieved via one or more of the following specific objectives:
- Facilitated enrolment of persons in need of protection displaced in a non-EU country in European higher education institutions or recognised institutions offering vocational education and training, with a particular focus on areas of studies linked to the needs of the EU labour market;
- Creation of the necessary (facilitated) procedures and support structures to enable admission of skilled persons in need of international protection through complementary education pathway programmes. The procedures and structures developed should match the needs of the specific refugees to be admitted in education programmes and, at the same time, be replicable and serve as a footprint for admissions in the future.
- Promotion of new initiatives or improvement of existing ones led by local actors in the receiving country, e.g., civil society organisations, diaspora communities, local authorities, etc.
- Increased sustainability of programmes for pathways linked to education by leveraging funding tools during and post implementation of projects.
- Increased direct involvement of relevant Member States’ authorities in legal pathways programmes.
Funding Information
- Grant amount: EUR 5 000 000
Expected Outcomes
- Proposals should focus on contributing to the achievement of one or several of the following outcomes:
- Higher number of people in need of international protection benefiting from a complementary pathway linked to education to the EU and benefiting from predeparture assistance and post-arrival integration measures.
- Strengthened support at the local and national level for the development of complementary pathways linked to education, particularly though building effective partnerships between relevant stakeholders.
- Reinforced and expanded sustainable networks between national authorities, the academia, student associations, labour market actors, and international organisations and relevant NGOs to advance complementary pathways linked to education leading to concrete admissions.
- Enhanced dissemination and exchange of experiences, knowledge and practices on education complementary pathway programmes across the EU, through the creation of networks where feasible.
- Higher number of organisations involved in designing and implementing complementary education pathways that have more clarity and awareness about their role, contribution, and the added value of their engagement in complementary pathways.
Eligible Activities
- Proposals should include one or more of the following activities (non-exhaustive list):
- Matching of students in need of international protection to education opportunities/academic programmes/higher education institutions or recognized institutions offering vocational education and training.
- Multi-stakeholder engagement on national, regional and local level (national, regional and local authorities, local communities, academia, student associations, civil society organisations, diaspora communities) to facilitate refugee students’ integration in the destination country by providing tailored support on several areas (accommodation, language courses, mental and social support, administrative support, cultural awareness).
- Foster integrated student support activities on campus offered during the whole duration of the pathway to identify and address refugee students’ needs and to enhance learning outcomes.
- Career counselling activities to enhance self-reliance prospects of students in need of international protection after the completion of their studies in order to access advanced studies/research opportunities, internships/traineeships, and employment.
- Conferences, workshops and mutual learning activities aimed at raising awareness on refugee education pathways and disseminating good practices on the design, implementation and growth of these pathways targeting national and local authorities, university staff and the private sector.
Target Groups
- The target groups of this topic are as follows:
- Higher education institutions/academia
- Vocational education and training providers
- Student associations
- National authorities with responsibility for refugee admission, migration for study purposes and integration into the labour market.
- Local and regional authorities (LRAs) with responsibility for integration into the labour market
- Public and/or private employment services
- Migrant-led organisations and non-governmental organisations active in the field of promoting complementary pathways and labour market integration
- Social partners (cross-industry or sectoral organisations): European or national associations of employers, European, national or regional trade union organisations
- Economic partners: European, national or regional chambers of commerce and industry, European, national or regional skilled craft chambers.
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)), excluding Denmark
- non-EU countries:
- countries associated to the AMIF (associated countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.
For more information, visit EC.