Refugee Rights Malaysia Project #55068

Send a Refugee Youth in Malaysia to a University

by LIBERTY TO LEARN BERHAD

Project Report | Nov 26, 2025
Fugee HiEd Scholarship: 2024-2025 Highlights

By Kaiser Ho | HiEd Project Manager

Participants at Choose Your Lane

Fugee HiEd Scholarship: 2024-2025 Highlights

This year marks a turning point for Fugee HiEd. We are seeing more of our scholars graduate from their degree programmes, stepping into the next chapter of their journeys as empowered alumni. At the same time, we have strengthened our team to ensure we can continue meeting the evolving needs of our scholars.

Today, our HiEd unit is a five-person team: a Programmes Director, Project Manager, two Project Officers dedicated to the scholarship, and one Project Officer focused on wider initiatives. Together, we are building the systems and structures needed to provide more holistic support at every stage of the scholar journey.

Community Engagement Event: Choose Your Lane

On 27 July, we organised Choose Your Lane, a community engagement event at Sembilan Inci Café in Kuala Lumpur. The event brought together 62 refugee youth aged 15–35 to explore higher education, vocational pathways, and career readiness in an informal, supportive setting.

The programme featured a “speed counselling” area for one-on-one guidance from the HiEd team, and interactive booths hosted by partners that include: BAC for tertiary education, Fugee School for GED, Dignity College for vocational training, and Schola for career exploration. Feedback for the event was overwhelmingly positive, with most participants reporting they discovered new opportunities and gained greater clarity on scholarships, study options, and career pathways.

Following this success, Choose Your Lane is now being considered as an annual initiative with plans to involve more partners and expand its outreach to benefit more refugee youth in Malaysia.

Spotlight: Celebrating Scholars & Refugee Voices

Maram, a HiEd scholar from cohort 4, and active member of her university’s Counselling and Psychology Club, recently took the lead in designing and implementing a mental health programme titled Unspoken Colours. The programme was inspired by the theme of mental burnout and used creative, art-based activities to help participants release stress in indirect but meaningful ways.

Reflecting on the experience, Maram shared:

“At first I underestimated the impact of the programme, but after receiving feedback, I realised that what might not work for me might work for someone else. It was a nice day with the collaborative team who made it engaging and fun.”
Alumni Joining Refugee-lead Research Hub (RLRH)

We spoke to one of our first and most recent graduates, Nija and Abu Bakkar, who recently joined Refugee-lead Research Hub (RLRH), a program that specifically focuses on the livelihood and education of refugees in Southeast Asia after a competitive selection process. Both graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with a law degree.

When asked about his future aspirations, Abu Bakkar, a HiEd Scholar from cohort 3, shared that he would like to conduct research on statelessness and refugee protection in non-signatory countries like Malaysia, to positively impact all refugees, especially the Rohingya community he’s from.

On the other hand, Nija is keen on developing different aspects of research methodologies and critical thinking skills. Seeing the interlinkages of everything from the research hub has solidified her desire to pursue a Master’s— she is determined to be intentional in forging her own professional pathway, preferring to be patient and analytical as she strengthens her capacity before seeing where her future interests truly lie.

Partnerships

Humankind

Our partnership with Humankind continues to strengthen as we follow through with our plan of development programmes throughout 2025; two more workshops are scheduled before the year ends.

Since the introduction of counselling services in June 2023, scholars have booked a total of 75 sessions, with 28 of those sessions taking place this scholarship year. The ongoing collaboration has made mental health support an accessible and trusted resource for our scholars. The variety of sessions booked—including one for couples’ therapy—demonstrates the scholars’ growing openness to seek help in different aspects of their wellbeing, a testament to the trust built between Fugee HiEd and the Humankind team.
Skill Path Australia

We also hosted Sally and Steph from Skill Path Australia, who were visiting Malaysia as part of their Refugee Student Settlement Pathway (RSSP) programme. Five of our scholars were selected for the initiative, and the meeting offered an opportunity to exchange insights on refugee education in Malaysia and Australia. The discussion deepened our mutual understanding of programme design, context, and support systems—paving the way for potential future collaboration and stronger pathways for refugee students.

Humankind HiEd Workshop

HiEd team and Skill Path Australia

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Jul 31, 2025
Fugee HiEd Scholarship: Support Beyond Studies

By Areej Khan | HiEd Project Officer

Khalil, scholar/intern, at a community event

Over the past few months, our team has focused on creating stronger support systems for our scholars — both during and after their studies. We're happy to share two meaningful updates from this journey.

Launching the Fugee HiEd Alumni Network

We’ve officially launched the Fugee HiEd Alumni Network — a growing community of past scholars who want to stay connected and support each other beyond graduation.

This network was built with direct input from our alumni themselves. In a recent focus group discussion, they shared what mattered most to them: staying in touch, giving back, and building something that lasts — even across borders.

So far, 6 out of our 7 alumni have joined the new WhatsApp community. Our alumni are now based across the world, including Canada and the US, and it’s been exciting to see them reconnect.

We’ve also formed an alumni committee, currently made up of Nija and Hania, who are working closely with the Scholar Manager to organise future meetups and mentoring activities. The idea is for the committee to rotate each year: bringing in new voices, ideas, and leadership styles over time.

We are now inviting alumni to return as mentors, especially to support new scholarship applicants through the process.

Scholar Internships in Action

We’ve also continued to support our scholars through internships designed around their interests and growth goals.

Memoona, an Accounting & Finance student, is now working with us as a Finance & Operations Intern. While also teaching part-time, she’s taken on this role in a flexible, mostly remote setup — gaining valuable experience in the field she hopes to build a career in.

Khalil, a final-year IT student, faced challenges securing an internship due to his refugee status. To support him in completing his studies, we created a Web Development Internposition. Since then, he’s played a key role in building the new REaCH platform— a digital resource hub for refugee youth exploring education and career options.

These are just two of several scholar interns we’ve had the honour of working with this year, each of them bringing something special to the team.

Call for Support: Fund the Next Scholarship Cohort

As we prepare to select our next cohort of scholars, we’re reminded of how powerful these opportunities can be. Behind every scholarship is a story of hope, resilience, and potential.

If you’re able, we invite you to donate to this year’s scholarship fund. Your support helps refugee youth take the next step in their education — and in building the future they dream of.

Thank You for Being Part of This Journey

Your support continues to create opportunities for refugee youth in Malaysia. Whether it's through scholarships, internships, or alumni initiatives, we’re building something that lasts and we’re grateful to have you with us.

Together, we can keep opening doors that change lives.

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Apr 4, 2025
Fugee HiEd Scholarship: Q1 2025 Highlights

By Suhail | Project Manager - Scholarship

Fugee HiEd Scholarship Award Ceremony

We started the year by celebrating 22 new scholars at the Fugee HiEd Scholarship Award Ceremony. With your support, we’re working towards awarding 30 new scholarships in the next intake in September.

Spotlight: Celebrating Scholars & Refugee Voices

On 18 January, we hosted Spotlight: Breaking Boundaries, Amplifying Voices at The Grey Box, GMBB, bringing together 173 attendees—donors, partners, scholars, and members of the public.

Scholarship Award Ceremony
The ceremony officially welcomed the 2025 Cohort and recognised our graduating scholars. A highlight of the evening was Jasmine’s speech, where she spoke about what this scholarship means to her and why access to higher education is so vital.

“It’s about how we show up to each other in ways that cannot be measured by the degrees and titles, but by the way we make someone feel when they need it the most.” (Excerpt from Jasmine’s speech)

Open Mic: Sharing Stories & Talent
In conjunction with the Award Ceremony, this year, we also organised an Open Mic event. The open mic session provided a platform for refugee youth to show their talents and express themselves through spoken word, poetry, and music. Nur Sadek, our cohort 3 Scholar, captivated the audience with a powerful piece about his journey of displacement, while guest artists Marco George, Elvira, Kasthury, and Dancesteps Studio brought a dynamic energy to the night. Attendees shared how much they valued the inclusive and inspiring atmosphere.

Beyond Scholarships: Supporting Our Scholars

On 22 February, we held a Mental Health & Well-being Workshop with Humankind, focusing on depression and anxiety—topics identified by our scholars in last year’s surveys and focus groups. The session helped scholars understand how mental health affects daily life and how to support themselves and others.

On 15th March, we organised a CV Building Workshop in partnership with FutureLab. The session focused on helping scholars to create clear and concise CVs, as well as how to tailor them for specific job applications.

Expanding Access to Higher Education

Beyond scholarships, Fugee HiEd runs several initiatives to support refugee youth in higher education and career readiness.

CERTE (Connecting and Equipping Refugees for Tertiary Education) Bridge Course: In partnership with UNHCR and Opening Universities for Refugees (OUR), CERTE has supported over 150 refugee students since 2017. Now in its 10th cohort, the programme has introduced a structured governance framework, expanded mentorship, and refined course delivery. This year, we're doubling our intake, with the next cohort opening in May.
Study Aid: Launched in June 2023, Study Aid supports Palestinian students pursuing higher education at a university in Kedah, Malaysia. By easing financial burdens, it enables students to focus on their studies and complete their degrees without the risk of dropping out. In 2025, Study Aid expanded to include mentorship, mental health services, and internship opportunities for its beneficiaries.
Fugee HiEd Internship Programme: Introduced in June 2024 with targeted donor funding, this initiative tackles financial and employment challenges faced by refugee students. It provides HiEd Scholars, Study Aid beneficiaries, and CERTE graduates with professional experience through internships at Fugee Org. Following early successes, the first external placement took place in early 2025, with more partnerships underway to expand opportunities beyond Fugee.

Thank You for Being Part of This Journey

Your support continues to create opportunities for refugee youth in Malaysia. As we work towards our goal of 30 scholarships, we hope you’ll stay with us—because education changes everything.

Nur Sadek shares his journey of displacement

Jasmine shares what the scholarship means to her

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