Sanctuary Scholarships
Around the world, people start their academic careers with
big ambitions of building their knowledge to help others
and support local and global development. For some, this
experience gets stopped in its tracks because of
persecution, violence and conflict.
Brunel is committed to
working with the Council for Academics at Risk (CARA) to
help at least one academic each year that is in immediate
danger, to continue their work in safety.
In order to support one student at PhD level, it costs partner universities £66,000.
With the scale of the crisis in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Syria over the past few years, Cara has received thousands of applications from academics in immediate danger. With the ongoing conflicts and natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Turkey, Cara has launched appeals for immediate emergency support for those in greatest need.
Over 40 Afghan academics, many with families, have so far arrived in the UK as Cara Fellows, with more on the way. With partner universities, placements have been secured for 36 Ukrainian Fellows; five Russians, escaping from the current regime; scholars from Yemen; and Syrian colleagues who still make up the largest single cohort of Cara Fellows.
Brunel has hosted a Syrian scholar through the Cara programme, and you can hear her story at the video link above. With your generous support, we will continue to offer a sanctuary where even more displaced academics can advance their
knowledge, expand their skillset and build support networks, with the hope that when the moment comes,
they are equipped to return to their home country and help re-build society.