Complementary Pathways: Erasmus+ Share HERCoN

Share’s Higher Education for Refugees Collaboration Network (HERCoN)

Promoting the creation and expansion of high-quality, sustainable complementary education pathways for refugees in the EU.

September 2024 - August 2026

The Share HERCoN project is dedicated to creating sustainable pathways for refugees to access higher education (HE) across the European Union, addressing an urgent need in the global refugee landscape.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), only 5% of the world’s refugees currently access higher education, compared to 39% of non-refugees. Share HERCoN builds on successful yet fragmented HE initiatives within the EU, with the goal of establishing a robust and coordinated system that offers more reliable and accessible opportunities for refugees seeking higher education.

Why Share HERCoN?

The need to expand higher education for refugees is part of a larger UNHCR goal to admit 2.2 million refugees globally through educational and other complementary pathways by 2028. Additionally, by 2030, UNHCR aims to achieve a 15% refugee enrollment rate in higher education worldwide.

Share HERCoN directly supports these goals by:

Consolidating expertise in EU higher education pathways for refugees, making programs more cohesive and responsive to refugee needs.
Engaging more universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) in the EU to participate in and expand pathway initiatives.
Building sustainable structures that integrate these pathways into broader migration and education policies, making them more accessible and dependable.

Objectives:

Foster collaboration, peer learning, and sharing of best practices to develop sustainable higher education pathways for refugees across the EU.
Boost awareness, interest, and engagement in refugee education pathways among universities, vocational schools, students, and community groups.
Equip educators, students, and civil society with the skills and capacity needed to support education pathways for refugees.
Advocate for integrating refugee education pathways into mainstream education, migration, and integration policies.