Education for All? Refugees and the Internationalisation of German Higher Education

Internationalization of higher education is an increasingly important factor for single higher education institutions and also European identity policy. Refugees and asylum seekers with high educational aspirations are becoming a growing factor within this process, combining questions of social integration, diversification, study preparation and internationalization. In reaction to the strongly increased number of Asylum applications, German higher education institutions (HEI) and preparatory colleges started programs to assist prospective refugee students on their way to and through higher education. If and to what extend such support programs are available and whether (refugee) applicants can enrol, depends on the individual HEI.

For refugees and asylum seekers their integration into higher education determines their access to the labour market and influences their chances of integration in the new country. For the HEIs, refugees are a new target group to recruit promising students and also a chance for more diverse and international student body.

In this paper, I will describe access and supporting structures for refugees and asylum seekers on the way to German higher education within the scope of the Bologna process. A special focus will lay on how governance actors in higher education position refugees and asylum seekers within the process of the internationalization of higher education and how they understand this process. The findings are based on qualitative expert interviews with relevant actors in HEI, for examples first contacts for refugees, members of international offices and centres for equality, and with prospective students with a background of forced migration.