Imagine thousands of experienced scientists fleeing war zones, arriving in Europe with PhDs and decades of research experience — but no idea how to restart their careers here. BRiDGE built a step-by-step support system with mentoring, training courses, and career guidance to help 220 refugee researchers find their way back into labs and universities across 5 countries. Think of it like a relocation agency, but specifically designed for displaced academics who need to navigate a completely unfamiliar research landscape.
European universities and employers have no structured method to identify, assess, and integrate displaced researchers who hold advanced degrees and years of experience but lack local networks and knowledge of the European research system. This leads to significant talent waste — experienced scientists end up in low-skilled jobs or unemployed while institutions struggle to fill research positions.
BRiDGE delivered 3 pilot training courses (for academic mentors, non-academic mentors, and refugee researchers) in both in-person and online formats, a video handbook with 12 real-life testimonies, career development advisory services for 220 refugee researchers, and systematic policy recommendations for the EURAXESS network.
If you are a university struggling to assess and integrate qualified refugee academics into your departments — this project developed pilot training courses for academic mentors and a structured career advisory method tested across 5 countries with 200 academic mentors. The approach plugs directly into the existing EURAXESS network used by 40 country members.
If you are an HR department looking to tap into an overlooked pool of experienced researchers for your R&D teams — this project created non-academic mentoring courses and a handbook with 12 real-life testimonies showing how refugee researchers successfully restarted their careers. The structured mentoring method helps companies onboard international scientific talent faster.
If you are a public employment service trying to match highly qualified refugees with appropriate positions — this project trained 90 refugee researchers and 30 mentors using a replicable pilot course model. The career development advisory approach and policy recommendations can be adopted by agencies across all 40 EURAXESS member countries.
The project data does not include specific per-unit costs or licensing fees. BRiDGE was a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), meaning the outputs — pilot course materials, mentor handbooks, and policy recommendations — were developed for dissemination through the EURAXESS network. Contact the coordinator to discuss adoption costs.
The project was explicitly designed for scale through the EURAXESS network, which spans 40 country members across the European Research Area. The pilot courses were tested in Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, and the training materials were built for transfer to the broader network.
As a publicly funded CSA project, the training courses, mentor handbook (vlog format with 12 testimonies), and policy recommendations were developed for open dissemination. Based on available project data, there is no indication of proprietary licensing restrictions on the outputs.
The project delivered 3 pilot courses — one for academic mentors, two for refugee researchers, and one for non-academic mentors — all in both in-person and online formats. A total of 220 refugee researchers received case-by-case career support, and 200 academic mentors were involved in the program across 5 countries.
BRiDGE was funded under the Science with and for Society (SwafS) programme and directly addresses EU policy on researcher mobility and inclusion. The project produced systematic policy recommendations for integrating refugee researchers, aligned with EURAXESS standards used by 40 member countries.
The pilot courses were developed and delivered within a 24-month project period across 5 countries. Based on available project data, the materials include both in-person and online formats, suggesting relatively rapid deployment once adapted to local institutional contexts.
The consortium of 7 partners across 5 countries (Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey) is entirely academic and research-based, with 3 universities and 4 research organizations and zero industrial partners. This is typical for a Coordination and Support Action focused on policy and social impact rather than commercial product development. The geographic spread covers both Western European host countries and key transit/origin regions (Turkey, Greece), which strengthens the practical relevance of the pilot results. The absence of private sector partners means businesses interested in the mentoring methodology would need to engage directly with the academic consortium for adoption.
The coordinator is Universität Bielefeld in Germany. SciTransfer can help locate the project lead's contact details.
Want to adopt the BRiDGE mentoring model at your institution or integrate refugee research talent into your R&D team? SciTransfer can connect you with the project team and help tailor the approach to your needs.
