Supporting academic freedom. Freie Universität supports researchers who are endangered in their home countries. Since 2012 the university has been a member of the international network Scholars at Risk, and since 2018 it has been involved in Germany’s mentoring network Academics in Solidarity, which was founded in Berlin-Dahlem. Since then, more than 50 people from fourteen countries have been able to continue their research here. In 2015 the Welcome@FUBerlin Program for Refugees was set up to provide targeted support in preparing refugees to enroll in degree programs in Germany. More than 100 students who came to the city as refugees take part in the program annually.

Sources and additional information

Freie Universität has been a member of the international network Scholars at Risk (SAR) since 2012 (and a supporting member since 2013). The university is also a member of the Steering Group of the Scholars at Risk Network – Germany Section. In April 2018 it hosted the Scholars at Risk Network Global Congress in cooperation with SAR and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Founded in 2018 at Freie Universität Berlin, the Academics in Solidarity (AiS) program is a peer mentoring program that brings together displaced and at-risk researchers with scholars and scientists in Germany, Lebanon, and Jordan. The aim is to create a solidarity network, strengthen transnational research cooperation, and provide university support for the members of the AiS network. The program provides access to mentoring, academic advising, systematic network building, and funding opportunities for small research projects. The project was originally sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is now funded and supervised by Freie Universität Berlin.

Further Information:

• Website of the Division of International Affairs, Scholars at Risk
• Article in Featured Stories “A Refuge for Researchers” about support for researchers from Ukraine
• Website of Academics in Solidarity
• Article in Featured Stories, “A Network That Cushions People’s Landing,” about Academics in Solidarity, posted June 5, 2019