The University of Portsmouth has been awarded University of Sanctuary status by the national charity City of Sanctuary UK . The award recognises work from the last seven years to support students, staff and local people who have been forcibly displaced.
The University began working towards the award in 2019. That year it was one of more than 80 Portsmouth organisations to sign the pledge at the launch of Portsmouth City of Sanctuary, alongside Portsmouth City Council and both city MPs.
A Sanctuary Working Group of staff, students and people with lived experience has led the work since then, in partnership with local charities Friends without Borders and Portsmouth City of Sanctuary.
University teaching staff and trainee teachers run weekly English classes for between 12 and 40 people at the Friends without Borders drop-in and the Portsmouth City of Sanctuary Refugee Hub . They also run classes with the British Red Cross and Portsmouth City Council. Since 2024, dental hygienists from the University's Dental Academy have made regular oral health visits to the Friends without Borders drop-in.
The Fostering Integration and Thriving Through Physical Activity (FITTPA) project supports more than 30 people each year. One participant said: "My mental health has improved 100 percent because of the professionals that are teaching us. The student trainers and the tutor from the University are outstanding. They are very understanding, polite and patient."
Since 2021, the University has also offered an annual undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarship . Eight scholarships have been awarded and four students have graduated. The University also has a long-standing relationship with the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) , hosting researchers whose lives or careers were threatened in their home countries.
Fiona Hnatow, Chief People Officer at the University of Portsmouth , said: "Supporting people who have been forcibly displaced has been part of who we are as a university for a long time, well before we set out to achieve this award. The inspirational projects from the past seven years build on a commitment that goes back much further, and I'm proud of how much of it started with individual colleagues who saw how they could help.
"We want the University to be a place where every student and member of staff can thrive and feel they belong. This recognition celebrates that ambition, and the partnerships with local charities that have helped shape it. My thanks go to everyone who has made it possible."
The award is reviewed every three years. The University will build on its work through a plan covering support for students and staff, student volunteering and placements, and regular consultation with local organisations and people with lived experience.
Dr Charles Leddy-Owen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Chair of the University's Sanctuary Working Group, added: "What I think is so important about our work in this area is the concrete impact it has on the lives of marginalised people. We are providing opportunities for students and colleagues who would not otherwise be able to study or work as academics, clients who would not otherwise be able to access legal advice, as well as more everyday but important activities such as an English class. People with lived experience have shaped that work from the start, and they will keep shaping it over the next three years."
Maryam Taher, Universities of Sanctuary Programme Manager at City of Sanctuary UK, chaired the panel that assessed the University. She said: "It was a privilege to hear from senior leaders, staff, students and colleagues with lived experience, and to learn more about the University's extensive partnerships with local sanctuary organisations. The breadth of representation at the appraisal reflected a strong institutional commitment to sanctuary, and we especially welcomed the Vice-Chancellor's description of the University as a safe space in which everyone should be able to thrive and feel included."
