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.
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.
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). We came together because we believe that institutions of higher learning can and must have a different, but equally vital, focus.
Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative
TSI offers Fellowships in OSUN institutions for scholars who have lost their academic positions or cannot remain in their home countries due to threats or actions from authoritarian regimes, persecution for their views or identities, or other risks. Fellowship activities can include teaching, research, writing and other creative activities, and participating in the scholarly and cultural life of host institutions and the broader OSUN community.
Past Projects for Access to Education
Socrates Project
The Socrates Project offered university-level courses in the humanities and social sciences to adults in the wider community of Berlin who had been denied educational opportunities in the past, including those who have not completed secondary school. The evening courses, taught in English or German, tackled big questions of life and society in a friendly atmosphere yet with academic rigor. No qualifications were 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.