The international journal PLAIO – Prior Learning Assessment Inside Out has recently published a review of eucen’s work on inclusion of refugees and migrants in higher education carried out by eucen‘s project VINCE. This review appears in Volume 9 (2025) of the journal, which focuses on responses to urgent social realities, including access to education and work for refugee, migrant, displaced and stateless people. 

The review, titled “EUCEN: Pioneering Validation Pathways for Refugee and Migrant Inclusion in European Higher Education”, highlights VINCE’s contribution to advancing understanding and practice around the recognition and validation of prior learning for displaced learners. It situates the project within broader debates on how validation and recognition systems can facilitate access to learning and meaningful participation in higher education for refugees and migrants across Europe.

VINCE (Validation for Inclusion of New Citizens of Europe) was a European project coordinated by eucen that developed tools and guidance to help higher education institutions better support refugees and newly arrived migrants in validation processes — addressing barriers related to documentation, diverse learning paths and social inclusion. The project’s outputs include country profiles, case studies, practical guidelines for validation professionals, and recommendations to policy makers and practitioners, all designed to improve inclusion in higher education through robust validation practices.

The PLAIO review situates these VINCE contributions within the evolving field of prior learning assessment, emphasising the project’s role in promoting equitable access and recognition for learners whose skills and experiences are often overlooked by formal systems. This publication not only showcases VINCE’s impact but also reinforces the importance of learner-centred validation approaches in fostering inclusive lifelong learning pathways for refugees and migrants.

It fills us with pride to see the work we did recognised and reviewed, even six years after the project’s completion.

You can download the publication from here. 

Thank you to Ruud Duvekot for his work writing this piece.