Researchers are most welcome at Ghent University. At the level of central administration, a group of experts working on different aspects that are also applicable to refugees has been set up. They are working towards establishing a system of a single point of contact in order to enhance cooperation with the city of Ghent.

The Research Coordination Office (in close cooperation with the Diversity and Gender Policy Unit) focuses on three future-oriented actions:

(1) Refugee-researchers without a (legalised) diploma can have access to doctoral training and can have a placement in a research group. Refugee-researchers (PhD candidates) that have been accepted by a promotor willing to guide the researcher through the PhD journey can enrol at the Ghent University as a PhD student without the necessary legalised diplomas and transcript of records. Not only is the doctoral schools training programme accessible to them, they can also apply for competitive PhD funding (Euraxess and others), with academic support available in the research group in writing their applications for funding. In this way researchers can work on the (academic) CV, while being in a research-enabling environment, giving them all the support they need in starting/pursuing an academic career.

(2) Recognised refugees/subsidiary protected researchers can work at Ghent University in secondment (being paid by the general centre for social welfare), both working on the academic CV, as well as building on their social rights in Belgium.

(3) Scholars at Risk: at Ghent University we welcome scholars at risk, giving them state to the art support.