"Open Lecture Hall"

The Open Lecture Hall will be discontinued.

Since 2016, the project Open Lecture Hall (OH) has been committed to the social integration of refugees at the University of Bern. The aim was to give participants access to higher education through guest auditor passes, mentoring programs and the exchange with students.

In 2022, the preparatory year for Ukrainian refugees was created on the basis of the OH. This later gave rise to the Kompass UniBE project, which was opened up to all refugees. The OH and the SUB were driving forces behind the creation of this program. Since then, the programs have continued to run parallel to each other and have collaborated in some aspects.

The OH has been very well attended and received. However, even after attending a OH project round, the hurdles for participants to enrol in a university program remained slim, despite great interest. The admission hurdles in the canton of Bern posed insurmountable obstacles for the majority of participants.

In addition, the project became increasingly resource-intensive for the SUB and continued to develop over the course of almost ten years. As a result, the OH reached a point where it was no longer feasible for the SUB. 

Due to these two points, the OH is no longer being continued, but the commitment to the topic has by no means ended.

Focus on political work and cooperation with Kompass UniBE. 

Instead of the OH, the SUB will increase its efforts in higher education policy work to break down structural barriers. In cooperation with Kompass UniBE, a preparatory program for refugees, the SUB will contribute its experience and commitment in the future. The aim is to find long-term and sustainable solutions that not only offer short-term insights into university life, but also provide realistic pathways to enrol in a university degree program. 

The cancellation of the OH does not mean the end of the commitment to better educational opportunities or equal opportunities. Rather, the SUB plans use its resources in a more targeted manner to create sustainable solutions for the integration of refugees into the higher education system. The work continues - on a political and structural level. 

We refer those interested in the OH to the Kompass UniBE project and perspektiven-studium.ch for further support in accessing higher education and would like to thank all those who have been involved in the OH as well as former participants for the great cooperation in the past.