293 Afghans applied for scholarships in Portugal
The Global Platform for Higher Education in Emergencies completes 293 Afghan applications to study in Portugal. Most are in Afghanistan, but many have fled to neighboring countries. The selection phase follows, with priority given to women, “more exposed and at risk of being locked up at home” with the coming to power of the Taliban. The Platform has already supported around 300 refugees, and 136 have completed their studies, mostly master’s degrees, and those who completed a degree went on to higher education.
Raneem Jnaidi is one of the Syrian students who continued her studies, finding herself doing her PhD. Get 20 scores in the Master’s thesis in Biopharmaceutical Sciences with an investigation into the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most aggressive brain tumors. He studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade Nova.
A woman in a group of students with an equal representation of both sexes, although lately she receives more from the female sex.
Syria and other countries
The program for Afghan students for Jorge Sampaio’s latest initiatives. The former President of the Republic, who died on September 10, founded the Global Platform for Syrian Students in 2013 and in 2017 started to support young people from other countries in conflict. In August 2020, the structure changed its name to the Global Platform for Higher Education in Emergencies (PGESE).
This is the case of the Afghan women who are waiting for the time to come. “We are at the stage of processing the applications and seeing what the candidates’ profiles are, namely assessing the risk situation to which they referred. We know that there are minorities that are more exposed than others“, explained to DN Helena Barroco, secretary general of the Platform and former diplomatic advisor to Jorge Sampaio.
At the same time, it proceeds to obtain funds and also to the selection of higher education institutions, public and private, which are available to receive students. Many results to the request for solidarity from the former President of the Republic. Not all Afghans will be able to attend higher education, and this selection is being made and is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
The last group that the PGESE erected was in 2018 and included 55 Syrians, the largest number ever. Through various partnerships, namely with the Council of Europe, a League of Arab Studies, an International Organization for Migration and the High Commission for Migration, they guarantee all the conditions required for them to study. They are responsible for documentation, logistics and an annual grant, support that is maintained until you find a job in Portugal or abroad.
Since 2015, they have awarded 750 years, which benefited 300 student grants. The overwhelming majority to attend defined higher education in Portugal, but they have supported students in other countries: Spain, Lebanon, Germany, Egypt, USA and Iraqi Kurdistan. Some of the testimonies are published in the book A Minha Terra É Linda, published in June of this year.
“The goal is for them to complete a cycle of studies, which means that a student receives several scholarships annually. It is intended that they graduate and be prepared to face life, return to their country or stay in the host society”, explains Helena Baroque.
Among the 136 who completed their academic training, there are nine doctorates. The rest took masters or integrated masters and those that end up as bachelor’s degrees went on to master’s degrees. Preferred areas of study are engineering, architecture, computer science or robotics.
Of those who completed study cycles, 130 are integrated into the national labor market, one or the other is abroad. The bottom line is that they have no difficulty finding a job.
Helen Meerkhan is one of the young Syrians who completed her academic training in Portugal and is now in Germany for family reasons. The husband was unable to obtain a visa to study in Portugal and had to flee, ending the odyssey in Berlin.
Helen is a musician and lived in Damascus, where she attended a university. He arrived in Portugal in the first group of 45 Syrian refugees, on March 1, 2014. He completed his master’s degree in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto. He went on to do a doctorate in Geosciences at the University of Aveiro, which he completed in 2019. His dream is to return to Syria, to help rebuild the country.
In Berlin she lives with her husband, Nabil Arbaain, composer and musician, who fled through Lebanon and Turkey. He took a boat with 37 other people, who arrived in the Greek islands. Italy followed until Germany.
With the death of Jorge Sampaio, the statutory treasurer, Joaquim Mestre, assumes the presidency of the Platform. The board will meet to assess the continuation of the work, and the government confirmed its interest in remaining active.
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