Creating the Future – Refugee Students

With Creare Futuro Mosaico supports refugee students who wish to pursue their academic career and build a qualified entry into the world of work.

The project stems from the urgent need to guarantee the right to study for those who, after a path of forced migration, face language, cultural and economic barriers that often prevent them from accessing and completing university.

The origin of the project

Since 2016, Mosaico has been accompanying young refugees in the transition from shelter to autonomy, offering support in enrolling in university courses, recognizing degrees, accessing scholarships and services, and even finding essential tools such as books, computers, room and board. With Creating the Future this commitment is strengthened and structured by opening a Student Space accessible twice a week, a meeting place where they can receive guidance, personalized accompaniment and listening.

Post-academic support

The project is not limited to the academic dimension: it integrates training paths dedicated to work, such as the series of meetings “After Graduation”, designed for those preparing to enter skilled professional settings. Here, practical aspects such as employment contracts, skills required by companies, use of the Italian language in professional settings, and direct encounters with managers and recruiters are addressed. This is complemented by intensive courses in Italian for the world of work, which strengthen the chances of job placement.

Refugee students at the center

Student protagonism is at the heart of the project: one of them has been involved as a tutor, becoming a reference point for peers and helping to build a network of mutual help. It is a concrete example of how Creating the Future is not only an advocacy program, but also a workshop for empowerment and participation.

Every year at least twenty-five refugee students enter this pathway. For some it means arriving at the end of the university cycle and facing with more confidence the entry into the world of work; for others it means taking their first steps inside a university, overcoming bureaucratic, economic and social obstacles. The impact does not only affect the direct beneficiaries: universities, companies and Italian students involved are in turn enriched, opening up spaces for exchange and new prospects for integration.

Creating the Future is supported by the Reale Mutua Foundation, which shares with Mosaico a commitment to making the right to study truly accessible and transforming it into a lever of social and economic inclusion.