HERCoN Academy

Practical training for everyone building higher education pathways for refugees

What it is

The HERCoN Academy is a free, open training space developed by the Share HERCoN Community of Practice. It brings together six training modules that follow a refugee student's journey through an education pathway, from the moment a programme is designed and a call is opened, to the moment a graduate finds a job and a home in their new country.

Each module combines learning objectives, key concepts, step-by-step design and implementation guidance, real programme examples from Belgium, France, Ireland, Portugal and beyond, monitoring and sustainability advice, and ready-to-use tools such as checklists and facilitator guides. Modules can be read individually or used together as a full curriculum.

What you will find

The six modules cover the whole pathway: selection and admission (outreach, pre-screening, academic assessment, qualification recognition, fair and accessible applications); visa, residence and legal status (mapping the legal journey, travel documents, renewal, access to rights, with country comparisons); financing (full-cost budgeting, mixed cash and in-kind models, predictability and student dignity); building strong partnerships (roles, governance, donor engagement, power dynamics); community sponsorship and integration support (welcome groups, campus and community integration, volunteer sustainability); and post-graduation transition (mentorship, internships, employer links, housing and the move to independence).

Why it is useful

Most education pathways in Europe have been built programme by programme, with each team solving the same problems from scratch: how to assess a diploma that no longer exists, which visa a student should travel on, how to fund a full degree cycle, what happens the day the scholarship ends. The Academy captures what HERCoN partners and the wider Community of Practice have learned in doing this work, so that new and existing programmes do not have to reinvent it. It does not prescribe a single model; every module is explicit that pathways depend on national law, institutional culture and funding realities, and gives you the principles and questions to design something that works in your own context.

Who it is for

The Academy is designed for anyone involved in designing, running or supporting an education pathway: university staff in admissions, international offices, student services and leadership; NGOs and civil society organisations; community sponsorship and welcome groups; government and public authorities; donors and foundations; employers and private sector partners; and student organisations. It is equally useful to institutions starting their first pathway and to experienced programmes looking to strengthen, scale or sustain what they already do.