With Europe seeing a flood of refugees coming in every year, Berlin-based Kiron University has taken upon itself the task of offering these refugees the hope of building a bright new future for themselves through education.
Kiron University was founded in December 2014. It is a new online university whose vision is to provide millions of refugees worldwide the opportunity to graduate from university -- and with free tuition. The university has currently partnered with around 20 universities across the world to offer its students a three-year internationally accredited degree program. The components of this program include a two-year online module at Kiron University, and a one-year offline program at the partner university.
All the students need to provide to qualify for this program is a proof of their refugee status.
According to their crowdfunding page, Kiron University allow the refugees to enroll and study, even if their legal status, documents or previous school certificates do not meet the requirements to enroll in an university. They can complete their two-year online courses with Kiron, and need to fulfill those requirements only before the offline program with the partner university.
Kiron University is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Startnext. They want to start the pilot by funding 1000 refugee students. They have already raised 161,000 Euros from 1058 supporters. The campaign is still on.
Tuition-Free Education
Kiron University in Berlin Now Offers Free Schooling to Refugees
Trend Themes
1. Tuition-free Education - With Kiron University's vision to provide free online education for refugees, traditional universities may feel pressure to reduce tuition fees and improve accessibility.
2. Online Education - As Kiron University offers an entirely online education program with offline components, there may be an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the field of online education in general, such as developing alternative online education platforms.
3. Refugee Education - As refugee education becomes an increasingly important topic worldwide, there may be an opportunity for complementary services such as language learning apps or mentorship programs for refugees seeking higher education.
Industry Implications
1. Higher Education - With Kiron University offering free tertiary education, the higher education industry may see disruption with a shift towards affordable and accessible education for all.
2. Edtech - As Kiron University is an entirely online university and offers a pedagogy that caters to refugees with various backgrounds, the EdTech industry may see an opportunity to develop alternative platforms that suit the needs of non-traditional students.
3. Social Impact - As education becomes increasingly important in providing social and economic mobility for refugees, there may be an opportunity for social impact organizations to partner with universities or create complementary services to ensure educational accessibility for all refugees.