To mark Refugee Week, King's is celebrating the sector-leading work of the King's Sanctuary Programme, which has now been supporting forcibly displaced people for over a decade.
The programme helps those who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries to access opportunities, find community and develop a sense of belonging. It can support people with fully-funded scholarships, fellowships, and practical help - widening access to education for displaced people in the UK and internationally, and increasing awareness of the global issues of forced displacement.
Beginning as a volunteer-led roundtable in 2015, the King's Sanctuary programme has now directly supported 100 scholars and fellows to continue their academic journeys, continually supported displaced students and staff across the University, and secured over £7 million in donations.
"Our approach goes much further than other universities' sanctuary scholarships, with dedicated staff, strong backing from senior leaders and the freedom to try new ideas. It is not treated as a side project, it is embedded in the University's culture and backed by real investment."
Paul Webb, Sanctuary Programme Manager
Key milestones throughout the programme include the pilot of the first ever university-led community sponsorship scheme for a Syrian student and their family, which expanded rapidly in 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Two years later, King's was awarded prestigious 'University of Sanctuary' status.
Since its founding in 2015, the programme has adapted to the changing geopolitical environment and increasing scale of global displacement amidst a more difficult migration environment.
"The world has become more complex, and our response has had to become more adaptive and ambitious too, thinking more broadly and more flexibly about online or flexible education routes and influencing policy and research."
Paul Webb, Sanctuary Programme Manager
Most recently, the team behind the programme worked with the government to support the facilitated departures of sanctuary scholars from Gaza. They also led the University Sponsorship Model, building international partnerships and bringing institutions together in response to urgent crises, including creating a coalition for London-based universities to support students arriving from Gaza.
Two students who had secured master's offers from King's were supported by King's Sanctuary Programme last year, arriving in London with their young daughter after being part of the government's facilitated departures process from Gaza. Meeting them at the airport, the King's Sanctuary Programme team supported them to enrol and settle in as they began their university life in completely new circumstances. Months later, the family invited the team round to their home for a shared meal, which the team described as "really moving" and "an opportunity to learn from each other" - demonstrating the richness Sanctuary students bring to the King's community.
"Supporting people to be safe and able to begin or continue their studies is just one part of the Sanctuary Programme's support, which also offers a sense of dignity, generosity, and a chance to begin again with hope and a future to work towards."
Paul Webb, Sanctuary Programme Manager
As they reflect on a decade of supporting people who have been forcibly displaced, the Sanctuary Programme team will continue to build momentum by growing their international work and building the long-term sustainability of the sector-leading programme. This includes partnering with Mosaik Education, a Non-Governmental Organisation working to remove barriers to university access for refugees and supporting the higher-education sector to respond consistently and collectively to students affected by humanitarian crises.
