The Universities of Sanctuary Steering Group is made up of academics, university staff, scholars and those with lived experience of the asylum system and higher education. The aim of the group is to support the development of a network which nurtures and promotes a culture, and a practice, of welcome for people seeking sanctuary within their universities, and in the wider community.
Objectives
- Setting and maintaining the criteria required to be met for being accredited as a University of Sanctuary
- Engagement and awareness with all universities to increase the number of members
- The development of networks (including universities of sanctuary) and resources to enable the sharing of good practice
- Representing universities of sanctuary in national and international debate with a clear and unified voice
- Enabling and supporting sanctuary seekers, and particularly sanctuary scholars, to lead at all level of the work of the stream
- To coordinate with relevant networks internationally
- To act as a coordinated lobbying and advocacy platform on relevant issues including towards regulatory bodies and stakeholders such as UCAS and UUK.
Steering group members:
Maryam is the Universities of Sanctuary programme Coordinator, and regional coordinator for the North West at City of Sanctuary UK – a charity that holds the vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety to people seeking protection in the UK. In order to realise this vision, City of Sanctuary UK supports a network of groups and streams. Maryam is responsible for Universities. Having experienced firsthand the barriers of accessing HE whilst seeking sanctuary, she realises the challenges of accessing support for this group, including access to education. She is a member of the Equal Access Network at Student Action for Refugees (STAR), and a trustee of STAR. She graduated as a sanctuary scholar and is now supporting universities by providing the same opportunities to other students
Daniel Mutanda experienced firsthand the barriers of transitioning from further education to higher education while seeking sanctuary. Along with his membership in the national Universities of Sanctuary steering group, he is a member of Student Action for Refugees’ ‘Equal Access Activists’ group and serves as a Europe Regional Leader for the Tertiary Refugee Student Network. In these capacities, he works to strengthen student advocacy, build cross-sectoral partnerships, and develop policy. His primary role is as a NIHR School for Public Health Research Fellow within the ‘Healthy Places, Healthy Planet’ and ‘Health Inequalities’ programmes.
Grace is the Secretary for the Steering Group and works as the Scholarships Coordinator at the University of Sussex, where she helps to administer the institution’s Sanctuary Scholarships.
Leslie is Professor emerita of Architectural History at Birkbeck, University of London. At Birkbeck, Leslie co-founded the Compass Project, a groundbreaking sanctuary scholarship programme offering pathways into higher education especially for mature students. She also has experience supporting refugees in Oxford, where she lives. She is currently working for Citizens Advice Oxford and is retraining in law, with an particular interest in immigration and asylum.
Sam Pordale is a Research Assistant at the University of Warwick, specialising in identifying and addressing barriers to higher education for refugees and asylum seekers. He is an active member of the Faith Strategic Partnership Group (FSPG), the West Midlands Combined Authority. With extensive experience working alongside numerous refugee support organisations, Sam focuses on initiatives that enhance access to higher education for displaced individuals, he is also part of Student Action for Refugees. His impactful work earned him recognition as one of The Big Issue’s 100 Changemakers of the Year.