BRiDGE II (EU funded project)

BRiDGE II – Bridge for Researchers in Danger Going to Europe Step II
BRiDGE II is a project funded under the Horizon 2020 call SwafS-6-2018:
Science4Refugees-Support to highly skilled refugee scientists.
BRiDGE II is a two-year project that started on December 1st, 2018
BRiDGE II gives an all-in-one solution for the localized guidance of refugee researchers (RRs) in the European Research Area (ERA) and enables the 40 EURAXESS country members in the ERA to identify and utilize the potential of RRs across Europe.

BRiDGE II for refugee researchers at a glance

Support the long-term careers of 300 highly skilled refugee
researchers and their integration into the labour markets of the European Union member states and its associated countries. It provides high quality guidance, mentoring and training for refugee researchers, especially postdocs and professors displaced for more than two years in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden.

Procedures and criteria to identify and recruit participants

Priority is given to all asylum granted researchers in Europe and Horizon2020 eligible countries are eligible to participate in the project, and profit especially from the matching with academic and non-academic mentors, the trainings, the career development measures and the networks, provided that these RR have an affiliation (a mentorship, a position, a fellowship, a project collaboration) with a research institution, higher education institution, company or other relevant entity will be eligible in participating in BRiDGE II. No further selection criteria will be applicable.
Gender quota will be applied (50/50 men/women) in mentoring, training, internship and networking measures and events.
All career stages (R1-R4) of refugee researchers are eligible, although priority will be given to R3-R4 refugee researchers
For the recruitment and identification of participants the beneficiaries use their established network in the refugee researchers’ community of their countries and collaborate in a wide network of experts and NGOs, recruiting refugee researchers in network events, through mouth-to-mouth propaganda, excellent and committed academic mentors, Science4Refugees, newsletters, mailing-lists, social media.

Impact of BRiDGE II

The project facilitates the efforts of the European Union to help RRs settle into their host country of residence and prepare RRs for the highly competitive and highly skilled EU job market.
The project outcomes will contribute to increasing the employability of RRs and their use of the EURAXESS Portal. The knowledge and experience to be gained include the methodologies to be developed that will enable the future integration of RRs in the European Societies.

BRiDGE II Work Plan

BRiDGE II is structured in 5 interrelated work packages (WP):

WP1 Ethics and Data Protection focused on Ethics and data protection in line with national and European rules and laws on data protection.
WP2 Career Planning, Mentoring and Building Networks emphasizes the guidance of 300 Refugee Researchers, who are already affiliated with higher and research institutions in Europe, on their path to a future career in and outside academia.
WP3 Career Development Courses and Trainings which is the base for the implementation of other WPs, adjusting course materials and conducting trainings and materials for the integration of RRs in the European job market (in and outside academia), by obtaining key career and labour market relevant skills and knowledge;
WP4 Dissemination and Outreach with the scope to establish a comprehensive, consistent and sustainable dissemination strategy for the project which will enhance the impact of the co-generated project activities for all target audiences, especially for RRs and EURAXESS members.
WP5 Project Management and Quality Assurance devoted to the coordination, monitoring and reporting on the projects progress.

Partners

The BRiDGE-Step II team consists of experienced members of the EURAXESS Network and they use their experience and established cooperation to solve RRs’ cases. Geographical coverage of the project team marks “BRiDGE for Researchers in Danger Going to Europe − Step II” including so called final destination countries and entry countries, a transit, conditional host and origin country of RRs at the same time

Coordinator

Bielefeld University (UNIBI), Germany

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Partners

Experts with advisory role

A broad pool of relevant experts with advisory role is also consulted in BRiDGE − Step II:

Scholars at Risk Network, New York University, USA

Marie Curie Alumni Association, Belgium

German-Syrian Research Society, Germany

SCIREA, University of the Aegean, Greece