up2date. Das Onlinemagazin der Universtiät Bremen

At-Risk. Adrift. Assisted.

How the university supports refugee and at-risk researchers

Research / University & Society

For many researchers from war-torn and crisis-stricken areas, a position at a foreign university is one of the few possibilities to build a secure future. Although funding programs make such research visits possible, the application processes are often complicated and increasingly competitive. The University of Bremen offers comprehensive support, from the application process to arrival in Germany, with the help of a dedicated staff member.

“On the first day the Taliban regime retook control, I was fired from my position in higher education – just because I am a woman. I had no choice but to leave Afghanistan,” reports chemist Marzia Wafaee. After four months under the reign of the Taliban, she fled to Germany, unsure of how she and her family should build a new life.

Marzia Wafaee is now conducting research at the University of Bremen, currently supported by a Bridge Fellowship funded by the Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative. She is one of several refugee researchers at the university, such as Maryna Stepura and Ala Pihalskaya. Each has a distinct path that brought them here and unique challenges they had to overcome along the way. The university has played a supportive role in addressing these obstacles.

There is one thing almost all researchers have in common, whether they fled the war in Ukraine or political repression in Turkey: They had to leave their country quickly and with little time to prepare for the university system of a foreign country. This is one reason why there are special funding programs to enable refugees to undertake research stays in Germany.

Marzia Wafaee

A woman wearing a headscarf smiles at the camera.
The Afghani chemist Marzia Wafaee completed her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Teheran, Iran. She then became a researcher at the University of Kabul as well as Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education. After the Taliban seized control in 2021, she fled to Germany, and has been working as a researcher at the University of Bremen since 2022. Initially funded by a VW scholarship , she currently is a Bridge Fellow of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative. She works together with Professor Tim Neudecker on developing innovative polymer materials that exhibit conductive properties and mechanochromic activity upon deformation. This enables the material to change color in response to mechanical stress. This property is of particular importance in the construction and transportation sectors, where color changes can serve as a warning signal for material overloading and potential failure.
© privat

Fellowships for Refugees: High Demand, Limited Supply

Bremen State has its own scholarships – for example, the State Program for At-Risk Scholars. EU-financed programs such as MSCA4Ukraine and SAFE – Supporting at-risk researchers with fellowships in Europe are advertised as well. Additional offers are available from sponsors, such as the Philipp Schwartz Initiative for at-risk researchers, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Most fellowships finance research visits lasting somewhere between six months and two years. While the number of these funding programs has remained relatively steady in the last few years, the number of applications for said programs is steadily rising. In order to ensure these programs’ success, the application procedures have become more lengthy for both refugees and their host universities.

Since 2016, the University of Bremen has been involved in this area and has hosted eleven researchers with Philipp Schwartz Initiative funding. Kirsten Beta has been the central contact at the International Office of the University of Bremen for at-risk researchers and refugees who need support in coordinating and preparing their applications since March 2024.

University as Mediator Between Researchers and Mentors

Most researchers contact Kirsten Beta early on in their application process. They often have a concrete idea and then begin a focused search for a compatible academic mentor at the University of Bremen. All fellowships intend for refugees to have a mentor to guide them in their research collaboration. “Whether a funding application is successful depends not only on the academic qualification of the applicant, but also on whether there are suitable academic connecting points at the University of Bremen,” says Kirsten Beta.

Academic compatibility is not the only criteria at play. A significant number of application procedures mandate that the host university devise a hosting strategy. The idea is that the social and cultural environment at a university are as important as the academic environment in determining whether refugees feel at home. “Luckily, I can work closely on this with the Welcome Center, which supports international researchers in planning and carrying out research stays,” says Kirsten Beta. Employees of the Welcome Center in the University of Bremen’s International Office advise researchers on applying for visas, obtaining travel and health insurance, and searching for an apartment. When a researcher brings their family along to Bremen, the Welcome Center also supports their partner in finding a job and helps them with finding childcare. They help arriving researchers with language courses as well, offering special German language courses for researchers in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and the Language Centre of the Universities in the Land of Bremen.

Maryna Stepura

A woman smiles at the camera.
Auch die ukrainische Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerin Maryna Stepura hat ein Brückenstipendium der Philipp Schwartz-Initiative erhalten. Sie studierte und promovierte in Kyjiw, wo sie zuletzt Associate Professor an der Nationalen Wadym-Hetman-Wirtschaftsuniversität war. Seit 2022 arbeitet sie an der Universität Bremen. Mit Professor André W. Heinemann erforscht sie, wie Steuereinnahmen in mehrstufigen Haushaltssystemen prognostiziert werden können.
© privat

A successful stay in Germany requires a fitting research environment as well as services to support researchers culturally and socially. Marzia Wafaee is a good example of how these aspects can be combined. “At the University of Bremen, I have been able to not only research in well-equipped labs, but have also been able to simultaneously improve my German skills. I want to continue this and gain further qualifications for the German job market,” she says.

Ala Pihalskaya

A portrait of a woman wearing glasses, looking into the camera.
Ala Pihalskaya kommt aus Belarus und forscht an der Universität Bremen im Rahmen des Länderprogramms für gefährdete und geflüchtete Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler. Sie studierte Kunstgeschichte an der Europäischen Geisteswissenschaftlichen Universität in Minsk, die (die aus politischen Gründen im Jahr 2004 vom Regime geschlossen und im Jahr 2006 in Vilnius, Litauen wiedereröffnet worden ist. Anschließend forschte sie von 2006 bis 2019 an der Europäischen Geisteswissenschaftlichen Universität (Vilnius, Litauen) zu visueller Kommunikation, visueller Anthropologie und Geschichte des Grafikdesigns. 2013 promovierte sie an der Kunstakademie Vilnius. 2022 verließ sie Belarus aus politischen Gründen. An der Universität Bremen untersucht sie mit Professor Simon Lewis, wie Bücher im spätsowjetischen Belarus produziert und veröffentlicht worden sind – sowohl im staatlich kontrollierten als auch im Untergrundverlagswesen. Dabei vergleicht sie die Verlagsszene in Belarus mit der in der Ukraine, Polen und Russland.
© privat

zurück back


Also interesting…

Universität Bremen