UniRef started implementing its mission since 2018 in partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Jordan Red Crescent. Academic programs began in 2020 after the creation of specialized curriculums dedicated to the Syrian refugee population in Jordan as well as the citizens of the Kingdom of Jordan.
Despite the current pandemic situation, UniRef alongside the Jordan Red Crescent has worked relentlessly to achieve our goal.
Our mission will provide professional trainings in order to foster the refugee population’s access to the labor market and, eventually, lift themselves and their family out of poverty.
UniRef’s objective is to give their students the necessary tools for them to fulfill their academic and professional potential.
Since 2018, UniRef has been working alongside the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Jordanian Red Crescent (JRC), the University of Jordan and Harvard University (USA) on the implementation of the mission.
The present mission of UniRef in Jordan aims to provide free access to higher education and professional vocational training to 5’000 students between 2021-2026.
Among UniRef’s students, 75% are Syrian urban refugees. Indeed, about 80% of all Syrian refugees are living in urban areas in Jordan and, therefore, are outside of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps.
The remaining 25% of UniRef’s students are Jordanian students who cannot pursue their studies for financial reasons. Including these students from the host community contributes to promoting better integration of refugees, cultural mixing and social relationships among other things.
All UniRef’s students have finished their secondary education and their distribution is close to parity between women and men.
Following a study of the Jordanian labor market conducted by UniRef, the Jordan Red Crescent (JRC) and the representatives of the University of Jordan, it has been concluded that the three most important development areas of Jordan are: Healthcare, Agribusiness and Information Technology (IT). Indeed, Jordan has an advanced healthcare system and agriculture is one of the main sources of national growth. Finally, the Jordanian IT industry generates more than $1.18 billions of income per year which represents 13.5% of the GDP of the country.
