UniTo Initiatives for Afghanistan

Following the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, the University of Turin responded promptly to the appeal of the international network SAR (Scholars at Risk), the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (the Ministry of University and Research) and the Conference of Italian University Rectors, expressing its willingness to host Afghan students and researchers through specific actions.

The aim of the initiative is to bring Afghan scholars, students and scholars currently living in areas at risk to safety and to support students and scholars, asylum seekers already here, who arrived in Italy with a facilitated entrance in August. By extending the range of support already available to refugee and asylum seeking students, the University of Turin has confirmed its intention to be increasingly inclusive.

In particular, with the Rector's emergency decree published on 18 November 2021, provisions were issued regarding student contributions for the 2021-2022 academic year for students seeking asylum and/or from Afghanistan:

• for Afghan students: free enrolment in courses of study with payment of only the first instalment of the student contribution
• for students with refugee, subsidiary protection and asylum seeker status: free enrolment for the academic year 2021-2022 in individual courses at the University for a maximum of 30 cfu
• for students with asylum-seeking status, the possibility to enrol free of charge in the Foundation Programme of the University of Turin in order to bring the students up to the necessary level for enrolment on University courses
• for students with refugee or subsidiary protection status and asylum seekers, free access to the assessment of qualifications and/or credits obtained at foreign universities.

In addition, a call for applications is currently being drafted for the allocation of 10 annual scholarships to provide financial support to Afghan students for the current academic year.

Lastly, the University has started to launch reception projects for researchers at risk. Numerous departments have signed up, and a first research grant has already been granted to an Afghan scholar on the political socialisation of the Afghan refugee community in Italy.