IMMERSE · Project

Data-Driven Tools to Track and Improve Migrant Children's Integration in Schools

otherTestedTRL 5Thin data (2/5)

immerse-h2020.eu

Imagine you're running a school district and hundreds of refugee or migrant kids arrive, but you have no way to measure whether they're actually fitting in or falling through the cracks. IMMERSE built a digital dashboard — think of it like a fitness tracker, but for social and educational inclusion — that collects real indicators on how well these children are integrating. The data then feeds into concrete policy recommendations so schools and cities know exactly what to fix. The project ran across 6 European countries with 11 partners over 5 years, producing 40 deliverables including a working online hub.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved

European countries where tools were tested

total project deliverables produced

EUR 2,990,343

EU funding invested in development

27%

industry partner ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Schools and municipalities across Europe are receiving growing numbers of refugee and migrant children but have no standardized way to measure whether these children are actually integrating socially and educationally. Without data, resources get allocated based on guesswork rather than evidence. This leads to wasted budgets, children falling behind, and cities failing to meet EU inclusion commitments.

The solution

What was built

The project built the IMMERSE Hub — an ICT-supported dashboard that collects socio-educational integration indicators for refugee and migrant children in schools. Across 40 deliverables, the consortium also produced policy recommendations, co-creation methods involving children and educators, and validated indicator sets tested in 6 European countries.

Audience

Who needs this

EdTech companies building student wellbeing or school analytics platformsMunicipal and regional education departments managing diverse school populationsInternational NGOs working on refugee and migrant children's integrationSocial impact consultancies advising governments on inclusion policyEU-funded projects needing validated socio-educational indicators

Business applications

Who can put this to work

EdTech / Education Technology

SME

Target: Companies building school management or student wellbeing platforms

If you are an EdTech company looking to expand into the inclusion and diversity monitoring space — this project developed the IMMERSE Hub, a tested dashboard of socio-educational indicators designed for schools across 6 European countries. You could license or integrate these validated indicators into your existing student wellbeing or school analytics product to serve municipalities dealing with migrant integration.

Social Services / NGO Sector

any

Target: International NGOs or social enterprises working on refugee integration

If you are an organization supporting refugee and migrant families and you struggle to show measurable impact to your funders — IMMERSE created a set of validated integration indicators and co-creation methods tested with children and schools across 6 countries. These tools let you demonstrate outcomes with real data instead of anecdotal reports, which strengthens your grant applications and donor reporting.

Public Sector / Municipal Education

enterprise

Target: City or regional education departments managing diverse school populations

If you are a municipal education department trying to comply with EU inclusion directives but lack the data to know where resources are needed — IMMERSE produced policy recommendations backed by indicator data collected from schools across 6 EU countries with 11 partner organizations. The IMMERSE Hub gives you a ready-made monitoring system instead of building one from scratch.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license the IMMERSE tools?

Based on available project data, the IMMERSE Hub was developed with EUR 2,990,343 in EU funding under an RIA (Research and Innovation Action) scheme. RIA outputs typically have open or preferential licensing terms. Specific pricing or licensing arrangements would need to be discussed directly with the coordinating university in Spain.

Can the IMMERSE indicators work at scale across different countries?

The project was designed for cross-country use from the start, tested across 6 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy) with 11 consortium partners. The indicators cover socio-educational integration and were validated in multiple school systems, suggesting reasonable scalability to other EU member states.

Who owns the intellectual property — can a company use this commercially?

The project was funded as an RIA under Horizon 2020, with the coordinator being Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a Spanish university. IP generated under H2020 RIA projects typically stays with the consortium partners. Commercial use would require a licensing agreement with the consortium.

Is the IMMERSE Hub still operational after the project ended?

The project closed in November 2023. The IMMERSE Hub was listed as a demo deliverable, and the project website (immerse-h2020.eu) was active during the project period. Post-project sustainability depends on whether the coordinator secured follow-up funding or partnerships. Based on available project data, this would need to be verified directly.

Does this comply with EU regulations on data protection for children?

The project involved collecting data from refugee and migrant children across 6 EU countries, which means it had to comply with GDPR including special provisions for minors' data. The consortium included 3 industry partners and 5 other organizations (likely including NGOs and policy bodies) with experience in child protection. Specific GDPR compliance details would be in the project's ethics deliverables among its 40 total deliverables.

How does this integrate with existing school IT systems?

The IMMERSE Hub was built as an ICT-supported solution designed to collect and analyze socio-educational indicators. Based on available project data, it functions as a standalone dashboard rather than a plug-in for existing school management systems. Integration with specific platforms would likely require custom development work.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium of 11 partners across 6 countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy) is heavily weighted toward non-commercial entities: 3 universities, 5 other organizations (likely NGOs and policy bodies), and only 3 industry partners with just 1 SME — giving a 27% industry ratio. The coordinator is a Spanish university (Universidad Pontificia Comillas), which means the IP and decision-making sit in academia rather than industry. For a business looking to commercialize these tools, this means you would need to negotiate with an academic institution, which can be slower but often offers favorable licensing terms. The 6-country spread suggests the tools were designed for cross-border applicability, which is a plus for any company serving the European market.

UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA COMILLASCoordinator · ES
SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALIA ETSparticipant · IT
ZABALA INNOVATION CONSULTING SAparticipant · ES
PERIFERIAKI DIEFTHINSI PROTOVATHMIAS KAI DEFTEROVATHMIAS EKPAIDEFSIS KRITISparticipant · EL
ACTIVE CITIZEN EUROPEparticipant · BE
INETUM ESPAÑA S.A.participant · ES
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK - NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORKparticipant · IE
PANTEIO PANEPISTIMIO KOINONIKON KAIPOLITIKON EPISTIMONparticipant · EL

How to reach the team

Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid, Spain) — reach out to the research office or the IMMERSE project lead via the university's public directory

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA COMILLAS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing the IMMERSE Hub indicators for your EdTech platform or municipal integration program? SciTransfer can connect you with the right people in the consortium — contact us for a tailored introduction.

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