Please join us for this CPPR seminar on 24 March from 1-2pm in WBW G/8. No registration necessary, just come along!

In an era marked by rising geopolitical tensions, restrictive immigration policies, and increasing displacement worldwide, higher education institutions face critical questions about their roles as potential sanctuaries. Are universities acting as gateways—opening inclusive pathways for displaced scholars—or as gatekeepers, unintentionally limiting opportunities for genuine academic integration?

Drawing upon research into the lived experiences of displaced Syrian and Ukrainian scholars, this presentation examines existing inclusion practices within higher education. It highlights the profound personal and professional challenges faced by displaced academics—including experiences of ‘academic poverty’ and ‘academic death’, identity struggles, and professional precariousness—while also emphasising their remarkable resilience and contributions to academic communities through ‘academic re-existence’.

This presentation argues that genuine sanctuary within academia requires more than symbolic support; it demands structural, sustainable, and transformative inclusion practices. To this end, it introduces the ‘RIELS’ framework—Recognition, Inclusion, Equity, Leadership, and Sustainability—as a practical reference framework for creating genuinely inclusive academic institutions and cultures for displaced and at-risk scholars. By integrating these scholars' lived experiences into research, teaching, and policy-making, universities can foster dynamic environments that not only protect but actively empower displaced academics as essential contributors to institutional growth and global scholarship.

Ultimately, the presentation offers a vision for international solidarity and collaboration, calling upon higher education stakeholders to critically reassess and reimagine their approaches to sanctuary and inclusion. The seminar attendees will be encouraged to reflect on their roles in fostering inclusive academic communities, ensuring that displaced scholars’ voices are not merely heard, but actively shape the future of higher education. 

Questions? Contact CPPR seminar series organisers Dr Alanah Mortlock or Dr Francesa Meloni.

Please email Alanah or Francesca if you'd like to attend the seminar as an external guest.

Meet the speaker

Dr Ahmad Akkad is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at ECS, KCL, leading the Global Observatory on Academic Freedom (GOAF) research activities. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, where he led the Middle East and North Africa strand of the International Student Mobility and World Development project. Ahmad serves as a College Advisor at Blackfriars College, University of Oxford, is an Editorial Board member of Higher Education Quarterly, and Co-Convenor of the Diary Method Community. 

Ahmad completed his PhD at the University of Warwick, where his longitudinal research explored the lived experiences of displaced Syrian academics, theorising their contributions to higher education reconstruction and the recovery-development nexus in Syria. His research spans international higher education, education in conflict and recovery contexts, doctoral education, academic mobility, research cultures, and diary methods. He has published in various journals, including Higher Education, Education, Globalisation, and Society, Teaching in Higher Education, Review of Educational Research, and Oxford Journal of Refugee Studies.

Ahmad has taught on the MA Global Education and International Development course at the University of Warwick, lectured at several universities and higher education institutions in Syria, and collaborated with international organisations, including the Association of Commonwealth Universities and UN-supported NGOs, to promote refugee education across Europe and in conflict-affected regions.