1. Hanne-Gerd Nielsen Head of Recognition Section, NOKUT
Assessment of Refugees’ Qualifications – national and international solutions
Hanne-Gerd Nielsen
Head of Recognition Section, NOKUT

2. Lisbon Recognition Convention

3. International obligations
Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (The Lisbon Convention), Art. VII – obligations to establish a system for the recognition of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation.
Norwegian extensive experience:
2005 – Recognition procedure for Refugees
2013 – UVD-procedure for Refugees and Persons without Verifiable Documentation
2016 – NOKUTs Qualifications Assessment for Refugees

4. ENIC-NARIC Network
Two networks for the same objective  fair recognition!
NARIC network
1984 : National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union created by the European Commission
ENIC network
1997 : European Network of National Information Centres on academic recognition and mobility created by the Council of Europe and UNESCO to implement the Lisbon Recognition Convention and to develop policy and practice for the recognition of qualifications

5. «Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit»
UN Declaration of Human Rights, 1948:art.26
32% of youth in the university age enrolled in higher education globally
>1% of refugee population in the univeristy age enrolled in higher education
UNHCR, 2016

6. Left out: the common barriers
Funding
Language proficiency
Lack of necessary documentation / possibility to evaluate educational background
Lack of information or ineadequate, inaccesible and inaccurate advice

7. Before we get into technical details..
Recognition is more than a technical exercise
Recognition is more than a preparation for further studies or employment
Early recognition of refugees` qualifications is a key to build inclusive societies
Recognition of a qualification = recognition of the human behind the qualification
Inclusion – empowerment – participation
Reduce the risk of (social, political, economical) alienation

8. What is an optimal assessment solution?
Early / Fast
Effective
Accessible
Professional
Fair / provides equal treatment
Provides relevant information
Provides feasible system for transition and easy mobility between regions, countries and educational levels

9. Current challenges and possible solutions
Current refugee crisis concerns the European states, but:
Different legislations;
Different assessment practices;
Different financial situations;
Different labour markets;
Different number of refugees

10. A question we ought to ask…
Do we have time to wait until necessary recognition procedures are established and approved by national authorities?

11. European Qualification Passport for Refugees
Passport No.
47XXXXXX
Date of issue
Date of expiry
Family name M
Given name
Sonia
Previous name, if any
N/A
Date of birth
Sex Country of origin, place of birth
F Syria, Homs
Educational background / highest educational qualification achieved
2005: Bachelor of Civil Engineering, University of Damascus, Syria (4 years higher education)
Additional information
: Project Assistant, Homs Building dep., Syria
Language proficiency
Native language: Arabic
Other languages: English, French
National education system (description of the educational system in the country where the highest qualification was taken)
Information/guidance on further recognition procedures available from ENIC-NARIC offices. Link to the ENIC-NARIC website

12. European Qualification Passport for Refugees
What could it be?
A document containing advisory statement concerning refugee’s qualification(s).
It provides necessary information about the refugee’s educational and training background, which will enable the inclusion to the society.

13. European Qualification Passport for Refugees
Who is it for? The European Recognition Passport for Refugees should be issued to newly arrived refugees

14. European Qualification Passport for Refugees
What it is not?
The European Recognition Passport for Refugees is not:
a substitute for identification or educational documentation;
a substitute for regular recognition statements/authorization issued by the national recognition authorities in the European Community;
an automatic system that guarantees admission to studies or employment in the European Community.

15. NOKUT’s Qualification Assessment for Refugees
Successful trial project (February-May 2016)
First assessment issued 24 February 2016

16. Our way ahead
Special assessment procedure for refugees; NOKUT’s Qualifications Assessment for Refugees (2016)
Refugees and Recognition: Toolkit for Assessment of Refugees’ Qualifications (Erasmus+ project) (2016 – 2018); NOKUT leads a consortium consisting of 6 European Credentional Evaluation Agencies
European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) ( ); Council of Europe will lead a pilot project to test the EQPR methodology in one or more of the southern European countries in 2017

17. Active sharing of best practice

18. NOKUT’s contribution and participation in other Norwegian initiatives
Partner in Network coordinated by the Norwegian Association of Universities and Colleges (UHR)
Partner in development of supplementary courses for refugees at HiOA
Seminars and workshops on refugee qualifications
Welcome to the 23 November seminar Integrating Refugees in Higher Education: How to move from Dugnad to a Robust and Effective System of Recognition and Inclusion?
Partner in the UiO initiative Academic Dugnad

19. Thank you for your attention!
Hanne-Gerd Nielsen Head of the Recognition Section NOKUT (Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education), Norwegian ENIC-NARIC