Actively supporting refugees on their path to university or the labour market is the aim of the University of Oldenburg's "Portfolios for Refugees" project. Essentially, the aim is to present the experiences and qualifications of refugees in a structured and understandable way and to identify points of contact with the German education system or the local labour market.
The Lower Saxony Ministry of Science is funding the project. At the university, it is part of the Competence Centre for Credit Transfer of the Department of Further Education and Education Management. The portfolio project is part of the university's new orientation year, which started at the beginning of April with the first 33 participants. At the centre of this sub-project is the so-called portfolio, i.e. a folder that clearly communicates a person's skills to a university admissions office or potential employer.
The portfolio usually consists of a CV, a summary of the most important educational qualifications and academic appointments and - if available - certificates from the home country. If evidence has been lost during the flight, the path to university admission is more difficult, but not impossible. Participants are given an overview of the necessary steps and are made aware of possible hurdles.
In addition, the experts from the area of credit transfer give an assessment of how the qualifications listed in the portfolio are assessed in Germany and where there are links to the local educational or working world. This provides refugees with meaningful documents that can be used almost universally. In one-to-one meetings, the counsellors also provide tips for further steps and name specific contacts.
Since the beginning of the year, around 25 refugees have taken advantage of the free service. They are between 20 and 35 years old and have already studied or worked in their home country. Many of them have now started their orientation year.
