In Italy, the UNICORE project student who will start studying at the University of Padua
29.10.2025
Photo by Alessandro Penso/UNHCR
A first group of 71 refugee students, winners of scholarships offered by 33 Italian universities as part of the seventh edition of the UNICORE - University Corridors for Refugees project, coordinated by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, arrived in Italy today.
Among them is an Eritrean student who will be attending the Master's Course in English Studies at the University of Padua. The student is a winner of the UNICORE (University Corridors for Refugees) call for the 2025/26 academic year, a project in which the University of Padua has been participating for years by providing scholarships for refugee students coming from Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The new arrivals are refugees residing in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, selected directly by the participating universities through a public call based on academic merit and personal motivation. The students will attend two-year Master's degree courses in various disciplines.
The UNICORE project, active since 2019, has so far enabled over 300 refugee students to access university education in Italy in a safe and regular manner, offering a concrete alternative to the dangerous journeys managed by traffickers.
