EDUC blended summer school 2026

This blended summer school delves into the global history of processes of refuge-seeking. It explores the many challenges that newcomers labeled as refugees and migrants face but also focuses on the opportunities they create in their new home countries. It engages the manifold ways in which citizens have responded to migrants and refugees over time – from the Huguenots’ arrival in Brandenburg-Prussia in 1685 to the present – and in various places, including France, Australia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Germany. The course aims at opening up a complex vista that explores various actors’ responses to and visions of migration and mobility with a special emphasis on place-making, creation of new homes and local and regional “integration” practices. 

The course brings together 25 students from eight European universities through the European Digital UniverCity alliance (EDUC), for three lessons of online learning (starting on April ) and a week together in Potsdam June 1-6, 2026 (classes from Monday to Saturday). 

During the on-site week in Potsdam students will meet with local decision-makers, civil society actors, and newcomers labelled as migrants as well as refugees to learn first-hand about practices and issues relating to migration and integration, being considered in and out of place. During the morning sessions the students will engage with historic and contemporary case studies that encourage critical reflection of themes such as culture, religion, racism, education, and labour in relation to various integration paradigms. During the afternoon, we will visit different initiatives in the area to foster a lively exchange between student perspectives and practitioners’ insides.