U.S. Group Raises Funds for Syrian Scholars

Syrian university and college students unable to attend classes due to the unrest
in their country are being invited to study at one of the institutions that are
members of a consortium led by the Institute of International Education.

LONDON — The Institute of International Education is campaigning to raise $5 million to aid Syrian students and academics. Because of the outbreak of civil war, university students in the country have been unable to attend classes, while Syrians studying overseas have been cut off from funding.

Since the campaign was announced in September, the I.I.E. has organized a consortium of 35 universities in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America to find places and possible funding for Syrian students and scholars. Next month the group expects to announce the opening of an online portal connecting students in Syria with overseas universities offering places and groups offering financial aid.

“We were contacted by Syrian students in the United States saying they couldn’t pay their tuition fees because of sanctions, or because banks and other businesses back in Syria had closed or been destroyed in the fighting,” Daniela Kaisth, vice president of the I.I.E., said by telephone.

The New York-based organization was founded after World War I to promote educational exchange. In the 1930s the group’s assistant director, Edward R. Murrow, helped rescue hundreds of academics fleeing Nazism and Spanish and Italian fascism.

Each university that joins the coalition is expected to provide some form of scholarship or tuition waiver for Syrian students and, where possible, fellowships for Syrian scholars.

- Nytimes.com