Bridging Access:
Refugees and TNE in Egypt

Creating opportunities for refugees through UK TNE programmes in Egypt.

A collaboration between University of London, European Universities Egypt, UNHCR, and Mosaik

The challenge

Refugee and displaced learners face persistent barriers to entering higher education. Globally, only around 9% of refugees are enrolled in tertiary education, which is progress, but still far below the global average of around 44%.

At the same time, there is a clear opportunity. Inclusion in UK transnational education (TNE) has the potential to expand access, because it can deliver UK-aligned programmes through local partnerships, blended learning, and flexible formats that suit context and need.

This will co-design and test what practical refugee inclusion can look like within an established UK–Egypt TNE partnership, and to produce a model that other institutions can adapt.

What this project will deliver

1
Stakeholder Mapping and Context Brief
A structured scoping exercise to understand the landscape of refugee access to higher education and UK TNE in Egypt.
2
Two policy and practice dialogues
Convened with UK and Egypt higher education, government, humanitarian, and community stakeholders, to move from evidence to co-design. The aim is to agree priority actions and build commitment to a pilot plan.
3
Learning and Policy Brief
A short publication for UK HE and in-country stakeholders, sharing lessons and recommendations for scaling inclusive TNE approaches.
4
Pilot foundation programmes and micro credentials.
A pilot route into a set of programmes (including foundation programmes and micro-credentials), designed for online and blended delivery, with learning to inform future scale.

Ways to get involved

Contribute expertise to the evidence and dialogue process

Share institutional practice, barriers you have encountered, and approaches that have worked, particularly around admissions flexibility, recognition, student support, and safeguarding.

Explore adapting the framework to your own context

If you have TNE activity in Egypt or other refugee-hosting settings, the outputs are intended to support replication and adaptation.

Join the dialogues

The dialogues in Egypt and the UK are open events. If you have an interest in refugee inclusion in TNE in Egypt (or elsewhere!) join one of our upcoming events.

Project Partners