Conference Program

In the context of demographic transition and the challenges posed by the inclusion of young people with a migrant background in European education systems, university pathways are emerging as key instruments for combining mobility, protection, and the enhancement of human capital. From this perspective, access to higher education can represent not only a channel for social inclusion but also an innovative mechanism of international cooperation. The proposed contribution focuses on the UNICORE project – University Corridors for Refugees, promoted by a broad network of Italian universities coordinated by UNHCR, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and civil society actors such as Caritas Italiana, Diaconia Valdese, and Centro Astalli. The initiative aims to expand access to higher education in Italy for refugees residing in several countries in Africa and Asia, through safe and regular educational mobility pathways.

The analysis of data collected across the programme’s editions, active since 2019, highlights the defining features of an innovative model of multilevel governance integrating universities, public institutions, civil society, and the private sector. This configuration facilitates access for young refugees to master’s degree programmes and supports them along integrated trajectories of educational mobility, social inclusion, and progressive transition into the labour market.

Enhancing the intellectual capital of young refugees represents a strategic lever for promoting inclusion, social cohesion, and sustainable development in host societies. In line with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Global Compact on Refugees, the contribution examines higher education pathways as complementary safe and regular entry channels capable of transforming international protection into concrete opportunities for autonomy, agency, and social participation.

Findings emerging from six years of implementation highlight the programme’s positive impact in terms of academic success, employability, and skills development, while also suggesting its potential transferability and scalability at the European level. The reflection also offers a critical analysis of the main challenges that have emerged — including institutional sustainability, equity of access, and continuity of post-graduation pathways — highlighting lessons learned and future perspectives for making such initiatives increasingly inclusive, sustainable, and aligned with the aspirations of young refugees.

From this perspective, access to higher education can be understood as a device of international cooperation capable of fostering the maintenance of transnational ties and the development of hybrid academic and professional networks through institutional partnerships that connect universities, involve NGOs and public institutions, and create legal mobility pathways. At the same time, it transforms protection into agency, reduces dependence on welfare systems, and contributes to positioning these young people as active protagonists within diasporic communities and global contexts, generating benefits for both host and origin countries in a win-win logic.