Kiron Open Higher Education

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Kiron Open Higher Education
legal form Profit company
founding 2015
Seat Berlin , Germany
motto Learn new skills and succeed with Kiron.
purpose Access to education
Managing directors Tobias Ernst
owner Hila Azadzoy, Tobias Ernst, Markus Kreßler, Christoph Staudt, Vincent Zimmer
sales 4,641,797 euros (2018)
Employees 80 (2018)
Website kiron.ngo

Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH (former names: Kiron University , previously Wings University ) is a social start-up founded in 2015 with the aim of breaking down existing barriers on the path to higher education for refugees by means of digital learning and support offers.

The non-profit organization has developed an online study program for refugees to provide gradual access to higher education through the use of MOOC- based curricula. Kiron offers program participants the opportunity to switch to one of the partner universities in order to receive an accredited bachelor's degree after the option of crediting the online services acquired at Kiron. Thus, the institution itself is not a state-recognized university. Kiron currently (as of August 2017) cooperates with 45 universities. Studying at Kiron has been possible since autumn 2015. The name Kiron is derived from Cheiron , a figure from Greek mythology.

history

The idea for the concept first emerged at a conference on the refugee issue on September 16, 2014, where Vincent Zimmer and Markus Kreßler met. At this time, both volunteered for refugees, Zimmer at “Study without borders” and Kreßler in the psychosocial care of refugees in Berlin, and shared the vision of a course of study that should be freely and unbureaucratically accessible to everyone. The first discussions with universities, providers of online courses and decision-makers in politics and business quickly followed. In March 2015 the idea had taken concrete shape and Kiron was founded, initially under the name "Wings University", which was later given up for trademark reasons. Shortly afterwards, the founding team, consisting of the partners of the gGmbH Vincent Zimmer, Markus Kreßler and Christoph Staudt, received a grant from the Social Impact agency and was able to gather a large team of volunteers around them. As part of a crowdfunding campaign on the Startnext platform in autumn 2015, over half a million euros were won for the organization, making it the most successful campaign for social causes in Germany at the time. According to Kiron, 1,250 students were in the program in the first year after it was founded. In August 2017, Kiron had 2,700 students, the first students have already switched to a partner university.

organization

Kiron offers a platform that provides its students with virtual learning environments and supplements them with regional concepts of integrated learning and targeted mentoring. The course takes place in the context of online-based course formats (Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs). The principle of organization is to find an answer to the main difficulties faced by refugees interested in studying when transitioning to university: lack of financial resources, lack of language skills, limited capacities at universities and missing documents such as school reports. Accordingly, the course is free of charge for students thanks to numerous cooperations and sponsors and the digital learning offerings and can be started online regardless of the otherwise necessary documents. The students gain time, for example, to learn the relevant national language or to clarify questions about financing and exploring documents. In addition, through supporting programs, Kiron offers students the opportunity to prepare for studying at a university and to integrate into their new home country in the long term. With an opportunity for cultural, economic and social participation, the refugees are encouraged to find their way back to a self-determined life.

team

Kiron is supported by a core team of around 70 and a pool of over 400 volunteers and supporters - social entrepreneurs, refugees, students, practitioners from refugee work, scientists and partners from business and politics. This work is accompanied by a network of external consultants, funding programs and an advisory board. In addition to its headquarters in Berlin and an office in Munich, Kiron is actively represented in two other countries, France and Jordan, and maintains locations there.

Cooperations

Cooperations with established providers of MOOCs such as edX and Coursera are maintained to provide the course content. Partner universities are, for example, the RWTH Aachen, the FH Lübeck, the Leuphana University or the SciencesPo Paris. There are now collaborations with a total of 45 universities in eight countries. Kiron is a member of the member of the Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany .

financing

Online studies at Kiron are free of charge for refugees. Since it was founded, Kiron has been financed by funding from the public sector, foundations, companies and through sponsoring and private donations, and is developing various sustainable financing models in parallel. In the first year after it was founded, Kiron was able to collect around three million euros; the Schöpflin Foundation supported Kiron with 1.5 million euros up to and including 2018. In September 2016, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research provided around 2.1 million euros for an initial 13 months to disposal. The Berlin economy is supporting Kiron and 22 other educational projects in 2016 with a total of 15 million euros. The sponsors include big names such as the Bertelsmann Foundation , the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt , Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, UBS and Ernst & Young.

Education

Kiron accepts students who are willing to study without a cleared residence status, but the refugee status must be proven at the latest when switching to the partner university. To register, it is sufficient to provide evidence that “the educational biography was interrupted by a crisis situation”.

After two introductory courses and accompanying assessments, students can decide on a field of study and begin courses. At Kiron, regardless of the provider, these courses are bundled into modules on the Kiron Campus platform (campus.kiron.ngo) that meet all the standards of the European Higher Education Area and enable an online-based core curriculum that can be studied.

Successfully completed modules can be credited by partner universities up to 60 ECTS. After up to two years, Kiron students usually apply regularly to a partner university and complete the remaining study program there in order to then acquire a regular, accredited degree.

Course offers

So far, five subjects are offered:

  • Mechanical engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Political Science
  • Business and Economics
  • Social work

Extended offers for students

In addition to the academic content, Kiron offers other support services for students via its platform. At the so-called forum, students can connect with employees and their fellow students and exchange ideas. As part of a buddy program, Kiron students are brought together with “buddies” who support them in their cultural and social familiarization. Specialists are also available online and offline for study and subject-specific questions via mentoring. Additional services include advice for those students who need support in processing their sometimes traumatic experiences and who may be referred to experts, as well as a help desk that is available for any questions.

Blended learning 2.0

The Kiron didactic model is based on the concept of Blended Learning 2.0. The courses combine asynchronous learning content, i.e. MOOCs, with synchronous, supplementary digital live tutorials, which are offered by the additional Direct Academics service. This implies that accompanying tutorials and training courses are provided for the online courses in order to support students in achieving their academic goals. This concept is known as Blended Learning 2.0 due to its connection of digital synchronous and asynchronous content with the traditional mixture of online and offline elements.

Awards

Literature / video

  • Laura Hofmann: Berlin found a university only for refugees . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 22, 2015. ( online version )
  • Norbert Lübbers: Berlin crowdfunding project. An online university for refugees . In: ARD Nachtmagazin , October 6, 2015. ( Video ( Memento from October 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Bernd Kramer (text) and Robert Ackermann (video): Kiron University. Where refugees can study - for free and in English . In: Spiegel Online, November 8, 2015. ( Article and video )
  • Felix S. Schulz: A university out of nowhere. In: liberal magazine. December 29, 2015 ( online version )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH: Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Retrieved on May 3, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 26, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stifterverband.info
  3. ↑ Ralf Pauli: Kiron University: The Pioneer University, which costs only 400 euros per refugee , Die Zeit September 11, 2015
  4. ↑ ZDF today ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 20, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.heute.de
  5. ↑ Partner Universities - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  6. ↑ Our Story - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Laura Hofmann: Kiron Open Higher Education: Refugees without papers can study here . In: Berliner Zeitung . ( berliner-zeitung.de [accessed on August 15, 2017]).
  8. ↑ a b c Kiron Open Higher Education: Can an online degree change the world? (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 22, 2017 ; accessed on August 15, 2017 (German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mut-zur-nachhaltigkeit.zeit.de
  9. ↑ Kiron | Open Higher Education for Refugees! Retrieved August 15, 2017 (American English).
  10. ↑ SOCIAL IMPACT LAB Berlin - coworking, event space, community: News in September from our social startups . In: Socialimpact Berlin . ( socialimpactlab.eu [accessed August 15, 2017]). News in September from our social startups ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / berlin.socialimpactlab.eu
  11. ↑ Crowdfunding campaign for refugee university starts | Politics digital. Retrieved on August 15, 2017 (German).
  12. ^ Kiron Family: Kiron University - Crowdfunding project - startnext.com. Retrieved August 15, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Kiron | Open Higher Education for Refugees! Retrieved August 15, 2017 (American English).
  14. ↑ The startup Kiron brings the first refugee to the university . In: WIRED Germany . June 21, 2017 ( wired.de [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  15. ↑ a b Short Concept. Kiron NGO, accessed August 15, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Integrate young talent . In: sueddeutsche.de . July 19, 2017, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  17. ↑ a b Council for Sustainable Development: “They can do it”: Online education platform for refugees . ( Sustainability Council.de [accessed on August 15, 2017]). "They can do it ": Online education platform for refugees ( memento of the original from August 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Sustainability Council.de
  18. ^ Advisory Board - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  19. ↑ Kiron | Open Higher Education for Refugees! Retrieved August 15, 2017 (American English).
  20. ↑ Integrate young talent . In: sueddeutsche.de . July 19, 2017, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  21. ↑ RWTH Aachen University: Academic Refugee Aid - RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY - German. Retrieved August 15, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Partner Universities - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  23. ↑ SEND: network. In: Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany eV Accessed on May 22, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Schöpflin Foundation: Escape & Integration funding area. Retrieved February 18, 2019 .
  25. ↑ BMBF Internet editorial office: BMBF funds social start-up "Kiron" for refugees - BMBF. Retrieved August 15, 2017 .
  26. ↑ 15 million euros for the next generation . ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed on August 15, 2017]).
  27. ^ Corporate Relations Brochure. Kiron NGO, accessed August 15, 2017 .
  28. ^ Kiron Academic Program - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  29. ^ Student Services - Kiron . In: Kiron . ( kiron.ngo [accessed August 15, 2017]).
  30. ↑ ARNO ESCH Award - Association of liberal academics . In: Association of Liberal Academics . ( liberale-akademiker.de [accessed on January 22, 2018]).