Institutional Engagement

The Program for International Education and Social Change (PIESC)

The extreme indignity and ruthlessness that define our times call for a new and resolute generation of citizens who are committed to initiate change – idealistic and impactful change that is targeted toward increasing the communal well-being instead of the individual being well-off.

In 2015 Bard College Berlin established the Program for International Education and Social Change (PIESC), a scholarship program that is aimed at young, promising, strong-willed individuals from regions of crisis or conflict. Over the past three academic years, 32 four-year scholarships were awarded to Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan, Palestinian, Greek, Brazilian and Eritrean students who will become much-needed change agents internationally and/or in their home countries.

Student stories

• Wafa Mustafa: The Story Behind The Name (Die Bärliner student blog, April 4, 2017)
• Videos: Education Matters, in collaboration with IIE - PEER (Sixtine Berquist, LinkedIn, September 5, 2018)

Socrates Project

The Socrates Project offers university-level courses in the humanities and social sciences to adults in the wider community of Berlin who have been denied educational opportunities in the past, including those who have not completed secondary school. The evening courses, taught in English or German, tackle the big questions of life and society in a friendly atmosphere yet with academic rigor. No qualifications are required to apply, other than enthusiasm, commitment, and a desire to delve into philosophy, history, literature, politics, and art in small discussion groups led by university professors at Bard College Berlin.
 

Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education

In response to the unprecedented acceleration of forced migration throughout the world due to war, persecution, poverty, and climate change, Bard (Annandale and Berlin), Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, and Vassar colleges joined forces in early 2016 to found the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement and Education (CFMDE). While governments, NGOs, religious relief agencies, and tech innovators across the globe have devised an array of specific—and sometimes conflicting—responses to forced migration, we came together because we believe that institutions of higher learning can and must have a different, but equally vital, focus. We are uniquely positioned to drawn on our robust local, national, and international educational and cultural networks to prepare our students for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of forced migration and displacement. CFMDE is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

As a result of CFMDE funding, Bard College Berlin is able to enhance its innovative curriculum in migration studies in a number of key ways. 

OLIve - the Open Learning Initiative

In 2019 Bard College Berlin joined the Refugee Education Initiatives (REIs) Consortium, which addresses challenges that refugees and asylum seekers face in accessing higher education. Through a combination of education programs and advocacy work, REIs aims to provide people with refugee backgrounds in Europe every opportunity to not only access higher education, but to flourish therein.

The REIs Consortium is funded by the Erasmus+ Social Inclusion program and is comprised of six universities and education providers: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Bard College Berlin, Central European University, OpEn Education Limited Budapest, the University of East London and the University of Vienna.

In the academic year 2019/20, Bard College Berlin is running two educational programs: OLIve-Plus and OLIve-Access.