This document summarizes an organization called Kiron that provides higher education opportunities for refugees. Kiron overcomes major barriers to education for refugees by offering online courses through partnerships with leading MOOC platforms and universities. Students can study remotely for the first one or two years to complete up to 60 credits through Kiron's modularized curriculum. They can then transfer to complete their remaining studies on campus at a partner university. Kiron aims to scale its educational model globally to help address the large challenge of integrating refugees through education.

1. Open Higher Education
for Refugees
“Opening higher education: what the future might bring” – Berlin – 8 December 2016 – Florian Rampelt, Head of Product

2. What is Kiron all about?

4. Challenges and barriers

5. 5
Access to higher education is essential for integration and self-determination. However,
refugees have to face many obstacles when accessing higher education.
Our challenges
(Quelle: UNHCR Education Strategy 2012-2016)

6. Our approach.

7. Providing the latest educational technologies
Partnerships with the best and most innovative online course providers
and universities
Scalable educational model for a global challenge
(“Blended Learning 2.0”)

8. Our solution.

9. 9
Kiron overcomes the four most important obstacles on the way to higher education
Our solution
Costs Legal College Capacity Language
1. Contracts with leading
MOOC platforms and
providers
2. Therefore
Less expenses for
campus and courses
3. Therefore
No enrollment fee
1. Start studying without
official documents
2. Documents only
necessary for the
application at the partner
university after one or two
years of study with Kiron.
1. During an online study
phase with Kiron no
capacities of the partner
universities needed
2. At the time of the
application Kiron students
can fill up free university
places
1. MOOCs mostly in
English (some German,
Arabic, French)
2. Innovative language
apps
3. Partnerships with
established institutions
of language learning

10. 10
Curriculum
Students choose a study track in one of four departments

11. 11
Our modularized study model
Application for transfer to a partner university and recognition of up to 60 ECTS
1. Registration at Kiron Open Higher Education (www.kiron.ngo)
2. Motivation test, self-assessment, English placement test
3. Completion of 2 test-MOOCs within 8 weeks
Year 1
Year 2
Up to 2 years online studies at Kiron
Optional orientation phase &
specific courses for chosen
study track
Language
Courses
Year 3
Year 4
2 years of on-campus study
program
Regular enrolment for the remaining
semesters leading up to an accredited
Bachelor degree at a partner
university
Language courses are
provided on demand, fully
tutored in German as a
foreign language
MOOCs are clustered in
modules irrespective of the
MOOC provider
Learning Agreements are
signed on a module level
The Kiron learning
environment is
technologically designed
fully based on learning
outcomes

12. 12
Framework Specifications
Basic conditions specified by:
● Lisbon Recognition Convention
(Bologna Process/European Higher Education Area)
● KMK (“Ländergemeinsame Strukturvorgaben”)
● European Qualifications Framework
● Recommendations of the German Accreditation Council

13. 13
Modularization of MOOCs
Kiron’s core curriculum follows a coherent module structure:
1. For each study track, modules worth 5-10 Credit Points with clearly defined learning outcomes
are generated
2. The attribution of MOOCs to modules results from an adjustment of the learning
outcomes and the workload
3. Ideally, synchronous teaching (live courses) via Direct Academics (tutorials by volunteer professors
with teaching experience) or offers of the partner universities complement each module
4. Partner universities only recognize successfully and fully completed modules

14. 14
Kiron Campus

15. Why? Asynchronous MOOCs are complemented by synchronous DA courses for a better learning experience,
learning outcomes are checked and students are encouraged to reflect on their learning processes
How? Instructors provide synchronous, interactive teaching and give personalized feedback
When? Pilot since December 2015, full roll-out in 2017 with new student cohort
15
Direct Academics - Live and Online
Module Based
Tutorials
Instructors teach module content
on basis of MOOCs currently
online, complement the modules
learning outcomes and answer
questions from students as well
as participate in weekly
classroom sessions with about
10 students – doing exercises,
initiating discussions and
providing individual feedback.
Tutorials last 8-12 weeks
Time commitment: ~5h/week
Learning Journal / e-Portfolios
Screencast Videos
Lecturers get fellowships to
produce short screencasts on a
given topic that fills a gap within
the Kiron curricula. These
screencasts are used within the
Direct Academics tutorials.
The didacitc concept follows a
new “flipped classroom” model,
where students prepare with the
screencasts and dicuss/ask
questions in the live online
courses

17. How to design at Kiron
4. Subtitles
Our students.

18. (as of August 2016)

19. (as of August 2016)

20. How to design at Kiron
4. Subtitles
Our team.

21. The team is including 60 employees, based in Germany, France, Turkey and Jordan.
More than 300 highly committed volunteers worldwide support the core-team.

22. Our network.

23. MOOC-providers (ca. 400 courses) Partner universities (N=23) Kiron Offices

24. Challenges

25. STUDENT NUMBERS
Students Admission and Onboarding
Explication of Numbers
Preliminary Kiron Students (Total 4.433)
Blocked Kiron Students Because of Inactivity (Total 1.185)
Kiron “Full Students” (Gesamt 1.877)
Onboarding Not Yet Completed (1139)
Oct/Nov ‘15 Simple application via Kiron platform; red: never logged in / didn’t log in for more than 1 month
March ‘16 New Curricula; test-MOOCs compulsory; 800 welcome emails sent out; 295 went through onboarding/505 didn’t;
July ‘16 English language test compulsory; 1.234 welcome emails sent out; 590 have completed onboarding/644 didn’t
Okt ‘16 Randomized Social Belonging Intervention; 755 welcome e-mails sent out; 362 have completed onboarding/393 didn’t
Nov/Dec ‘16 Ongoing student intake
Oct/Nov ‘15
1248
680
568
Mar ‘16
800
505
295
Juli‘16
1234
644
590
Aug ‘16
164
102
62
Oct ‘16
755
393
362
Nov ’16
232
Phone interviews with inactive students (Nov ‘16):
Main reason for inactivity is workload of offline language courses

26. 3
INTERNATIONALIZATION
Academics/Product:
“Core Product?”
Recognition Prior /
Digital Learning
Student Services:
Offline
Counselling
Data Security
Volunteering
→ Scaling
STUDENT SERVICESDISCUSSION
Student Intake
Oct ‘16: Location
of Students
Challenges

27. Unanticipated
effects

28. 28
‘Kiron is hope. Kiron is hope for a lot of students. Right
now, the whole world is facing the refugee issue, and a lot of
division, so the refugees are facing a lot of challenges. To
cope with all the challenges, we have to encourage education.’
Our Impact

29. 29
● Kashif Kazmi, former
student’s spokesperson
● got an internship at the
German parliament
through the Kiron network
● just decided to go for an
apprenticeship related to
his internship
● Ahmad Mobayed, highest
performing student
(23 MOOCs in 6 months)
● contributed to “Journal of
Interrupted Studies” through
our support
● received a full scholarship
from Bard College Berlin
after our recommendation
● “fast track transfer” already
after 2 semesters
● now employed with Kiron as
student assistant

30. 30
Kiron’s innovative approach as a best practice
● changing the “refugee” narrative and stereotyping
● reshaping the discourse on the internationalization and digitalization of higher
education, not only with a focus on our own target group
● MOOCs produced by our partners in projects with Kiron can also be used by other
students (e.g. ERASMUS+ students in Aachen)
→ Kiron model fosters better inclusion of non traditional learners in higher education
● bottom up and digitized civic society movement

31. Our mission.

32. We empower our students to live a
self-determined life by offering access
to higher education.

33. Thank you!