Restart: refugee students prepare themselves for studying at UU
鈥淭he course helped me eliminate almost all my fears about my upcoming class鈥
Restart is the new track by Incluusion, aimed at refugee students who want to participate in UU courses. Restart stands for: Refugees Studying 鈥 Academic Return Track. It does just what the name implies: it helps students ease their way back into academia.
Refugee students can follow bachelor courses at the UU through Incluusion, but they often don鈥檛 know much about the UU, Dutch universities or even Dutch culture before they get started. Restart bridges this gap by including various modules about:
- The UU and the Dutch educational system
- Intercultural communication
- Expectations of teachers and required academic skills
- Collaboration with other UU students and social integration
Smooth transition
Ragna Senf (project manager Incluusion): 鈥淩efugee students can be overwhelmed by the expectations teachers have. Many are not used to the informal manners and active participation that is so common in Dutch lectures. They are often unfamiliar with group work. On top of that, they are usually much older than the average regular UU student. This can lead to an unsteady start, which can be discouraging. Restart helps refugee students with their transition into Dutch academia.鈥
Nour Alhalbouni (teacher Restart) adds: 鈥淏eing a refugee myself and a former Incluusion student makes me more comfortable with teaching Restart. I鈥檓 already aware of the struggles that the Incluusion students face when they start with a new educational system, a new culture, and studying in a different language (English). Incluusion students are very enthusiastic learners, but they can have lots of uncertainties. Restart not only prepares them for UU courses in terms of their academic skills. It is also a safe environment to discuss their uncertainties and learn how they can deal with them. Things that I wished someone had explained to me, before I started my course with Incluusion.鈥
Pilot
Restart is still in its pilot phase: the first modules were taught to a small group of students. The last modules are being developed right now; at some point Restart will become available to all refugee students studying at UU.
Restart is an excellent start to integrate into the Dutch education system and learn about study and work environments.