The contributions from five donor families and philanthropists will support programs focussed on protecting scholars under threat, creating opportunities for displaced students and safeguarding national academies.
“With these trustee gifts, IIE will grow its signature programs, strengthen protection for scholars facing persecution, and expand access to higher education for refugee and displaced students,” said IIE CEO Allan Goodman.
The donations will go towards a variety of programs including IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund, the only global program that arranges, funds and supports fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at worldwide institutions.
The yearlong fellowships allow scholars to continue their work anywhere in the world, including in their home regions.
Since 2002, the program has supported 1,134 scholars from 62 countries partner with over 500 worldwide host institutions.
“With wars, conflict and disasters spanning the globe – from Lebanon to Ukraine, Afghanistan to Syria, Israel, Gaza and Sudan – education is in peril for millions of students and scholars,” said IIE.
In 2023, only 7% of refugee students had access to higher education, compared to a global average of 42%.
Another program to receive funding will be the IIE Odyssey Scholarship which covers tuition, housing and living expenses for refugee and displaced students pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Scholars are nominated by IIE offices in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which are run by refugees and displaced people who have a deeper understanding of the needs and challenges of the students they serve.
To date, the program has placed more than 130 students fleeing their homes in 40 different global host institutions.
The need for IIE’s help has never been more pressing, and the need for leadership support has never been clearer
Thomas S. Johnson, IIE
The historic donation of $33m will strengthen such initiatives amid increasing global unrest and higher education crises.
“The need for IIE’s help has never been more pressing, and the need for leadership support has never been clearer,” said IIE chair emeritus, Thomas S. Johnson, urging other “like-minded supporters” to contribute to IIE’s critical programs for students seeking freedom.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, IIE activated its Emergency Student Fund to provide immediate financial support for Ukrainian students within a week of Russia’s invasion, raising close to $650,000 to support 225 Ukrainian students to study in the US.
The UK’s higher education sector established a twinning initiative enabling over 100 UK institutions to support Ukrainian counterparts through short-term aid and longer-term strategic activity such as student exchanges.
According to the Council for At-Risk Academics, demand to help at-risk scholars hit an all-time high last year, but it said that conflicts such as those in Sudan and Yemen have not seen the same wide backing from the academic community as those in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
In the UK, the government offers 1,000 fully funded Chevening scholarships to students from around the world to pursue a one-year master’s degree in the UK, though there are doubts around whether Afghans will be able to apply for the scholarship next year due to the war.