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Executive summary and key messages1) ContextThe perspectives of both learners andinitiativedevelopershavebeenintegrated into this characterisation andassessment.TheMOOCs4inclusionstudywasconducted between July and October2016. Its objective was to assess theextent to which MOOCs and other freedigital learning (FDL) offers (includingfree mobile learning) are effective andefficient ways of developing the skillsneeded by migrants and refugees(mainlythird-countrynationalsinEurope) for inclusion, civic integration,re-engagement in formal or non-formaleducation and employment. The studywas timely, given the fast-evolvinglandscape of MOOC provision, the doubtsabout their effectiveness for enablingeducational access for disadvantagedlearners, and the current emphasis oneducational and digital solutions for therecent influx of refugees in Europe.2) The demand: Lack of awarenessand need for adaptation to diversemigrant/refugee profilesIn general, awareness of FDL was verylow in the target population. Thoughmost migrants/refugees use social mediaand have mobile phones, they do notnecessarily use them for structuredlearning purposes. Usage of languageApps was found to be most common.Generally,potentialmigrant/refugeelearners perceive that they cannotwait until they have asylum, aresident’spermit,housingoremployment to seek FDL. They seeFDL as a means of acquiring suchprovisions. Most migrants/refugees alsobelieved that FDL, irrespective ofpurpose, should be a complement toface-to-faceformalandinformal/non-formal learning andstressed the importance of physicalnetworking for their integration. Thosemigrants/refugees who were specificallyinterested in higher education sawrecognition of credits and degrees asimportant and were generally interestedin blended learning that incorporatessocial interaction.The methodology for the study includeda literature review, a mapping ofrelevantinitiativesfeaturedinasearchable website (‘Catalogue’), and aSWOT analysis based on twenty-fivesemi-structured interviews with keyinformants from ten different FDLinitiatives and four focus groupswith thirty-nine migrants/refugeesin different situations and withdifferent profiles. Emphasis was placedon Europe and current migrants/refugeesin Europe, though initiatives andexamples were also taken from theMiddleEastandtheSouthernMediterranean.In terms of the effectiveness of FDL formigrant and refugee inclusion, it wasfound that those developing FDLinitiatives should consider the fragilityand diversity of migrant/refugeetarget groups. Where they are in theirjourney, their digital literacy, educationbackground, location (inside or outside arefugee camp) and access to technologyand connectivity are all factors that mayinfluence their learning experiences andultimately the effectiveness of xaminedthisdiversity, more in-depth studies whichdifferentiate target groups should bedone.This note summarises the main findings,citing general trends in FDL initiatives formigrants/refugees. It includes: An analysis of key issues that mostFDL offers and initiatives are takinginto account in order to enhanceefficiency (ability to accomplishsomething with the least waste oftimeandeffort/competencyinperformance) and efficacy (ability toproduce a desired or intendedresult). A characterisation of current FDLinitiatives by type of design andpurpose.4

3) The offer: The efficacy of blended,targeted and facilitated approachesMOOCs4inclusiondemonstratedthatthere is a plethora of new FDL initiativesfor migrants and refugees that vary innature, design and purpose. Thislandscape is changing almost daily,which makes it difficult to pinpoint howeffective they are.It must also beremembered that most initiatives haveyet to produce data which assesses theirimpact. The figure below presents theaxes along which FDL initiatives can becompared according to their design: theextent that they are fully online versus‘blended’ (a mix of online and face-tofacelearning),targetedatmigrants/refugees versus general (forany public or user) and ‘facilitated’versus non-facilitated (providing supportservices and guidance to the learner).The FDL initiatives covered in this studymostly fall into the following quadrants: Targeted, online only and nonfacilitated (one example would beplatforms that aggregate digitallearning resources for migrants, like‘Information Sweden’). Targeted, blended(suchasKironEducation). The Catalogue of initiatives lists someFDL, in particular language coursesand MOOCs, that fall into thecategory of general, online, nonfacilitated,butthesearenothighlighted in this report as theywere not perceived (neither bybeneficiaries nor by providers) to bethe most effective means of reachingmigrant/refugeesforinclusionpurposes.The research found that donors, fundersandresearchers,andalsotherefugees/migrants themselves, concedethat targeted, blended approachesare the most effective way to engagemigrant/refugee learners, at least informal education, but also to someextent in language learning and civicintegration-related FDL. This is true bothinside and outside refugee camps,though initiatives that deliver FDL insidecamps have additional considerationssuch as quality ofthe learningenvironment, connectivity and security.and facilitatedOpenHigherIn terms of purpose, the majority of theinitiatives identified for the study areonline or digital language courses (ofwhich there are many) and civicintegration-related online courses anddigital projects (on topics ranging fromdemocraticparticipationtounderstanding the local social securitysystem). A number of higher educationinitiatives were also identified, whichwere experimenting with approachesthat involved partnering with Europeanuniversities to develop FDL content, reappropriating existing MOOCs. Some ofthese initiatives employed displacedscholars to help develop online coursecontent and teach/mentor and assistrefugee students with their entry intohigher education, even though theirdocumentation was not yet in order.It was found that language learning isa first-priority intervention for thegeneralmigrantandrefugeecommunity. Language learning andcivic integration-related initiatives arecommonly linked and the concept of‘ContentandLanguageIntegrated5

Learning’ (CLIL) is gaining momentum.Furthermore, the largest growth areaidentifiedwasmobileAppsforlanguage learning and integrationpurposes.II. Adapting the initiative to thelearners’ characteristics andenvironmentThe FDL landscape is developing fast. Anumber of competitions (‘hackathons’and ‘innovation labs’) and open fundingcalls are generating, and will continue togenerate, innovation in this field. TheTech sector has taken a keen interestand, in some cases, refugees themselvesare being empowered to develop theirown solutions.Thestudyprovidesaseriesofrecommendations for the EU and otherinterested investors and actors regardingboth the design of FDL initiatives formigrants and refugees and futureresearch that is needed (see points 4and 5 in the executive summary). ,‘offline’andmobilelearningpossibilities, low-tech designs for theFDL, security and responsible datapractices for an at-risk populationmust all be considered. This isspecificallyrelevantinrefugeecamps. Including the target group in thedevelopment (‘co-development’) ofthe FDL may ensure its relevance andusability. Multilingual approaches for theFDL provision may increase accessfor those who do not speak a secondlanguage and be a first step tolearninganewhostcountrylanguage. Current FDL provision inArabic should be leveraged andincreased. Embeddinglanguagelearninginto targeted interventions maynot only support civic integration andemployability, but also be of addedvalue to formal education initiatives.4) Recommendations for FDL design:enhancing efficiency and efficacyI.Fit-for-purpose design Differentiatingformalversusnon-formal FDL, and stand-aloneFDL offers versus structured FDLinitiatives with student intake, isessential. This can strongly influencethe type of intervention, its designandsubsequentassessment.Structured formal learning dpre-screening,which take into account the uniquefeatures of the migrant/refugeelearning population (basic languagelevel and ability to learn online). Thishelps to ensure that those who followthese programmes can be successful. III. The importance of itated’approachesareoptimal; they are unanimously seenas a means of enhancing the successrate of any FDL initiative, particularlyfor formal learning. The importanceof mentorship and support should notbe underestimated, nor should theneed for socialisation and face-tofacenetworkingforthemigrant/refugee community.6 yimportant for formal learning. It ispromising that FDL higher reducationinstitutions to deliver the FDL andstriving to use Bologna tools (ECTS).This practice should be furtheremulated. It is important that theEuropean quality assurance (QA)agencies should be able, whereneeded, to accredit FDL. This wouldheighten the awareness of FDLamong recognition authorities andemployers. Social badges for mobile learningemployability courses could makeFDL more effective. The cost forlearners must be considered. Communication ure

acceptance/recognitionofFDLcertification should be built into FDLinitiative strategies. IV. Ensuring sustainability dfoundational funding are all entrypoints to developing FDL. However,diverse and dynamic partnerships forfunding(public,private,NGO,education provider, tech sector) maylead to greater sustainability. Co-development. FDL initiatives canbenefit from engaging the migrantand refugee learners in development.Bottom-up solutions, funded throughopen calls to the learners and thetech sector itself, can also be ameans of driving creativity andrelevance in FDL. Reaching target groups may bevery difficult. As more studentscomplete FDL programmes, creativemeans of using them as ambassadorsfor FDLshouldbeconceived,promoting a concept that has still togain traction in many countries andamongst various learning groups.Social networks are also crucial inthis endeavour. Models that capitaliseon the dispersed network of willingrefugee scholars and volunteersshould be favoured. Transparency and communicationaroundthedifferentFDLinitiatives should be enhanced.More must be understood abouttarget groups that do not necessarilyembrace FDL or are not aware of thepossibilities it provides. The EU has apotential role to play here, both infundingcollaborativeEuropeaninitiatives and collaborative research.5) Future researchThe majority of the literature on FDLfor migrants and refugees pertainsto the Higher Education sector. Thisis also where a higher number ofinitiatives are concentrated. Little hasbeenwrittenaboutothermigrant/refugee learning groups andtheir digital learning needs and barriersas regards the use of FDL: i.e. those aryeducation,children and adult learners.In addition, more specific data onparticipation and completion is neededif we are to better understand refugeeand migrant usage of FDL and its effects.This is particularly true for initiatives inthe non-formal education sector that arestand-alone apps and platforms. As thisis a fast-changing landscape, a followup study to MOOCs4inclusion would beneeded in a year’s time, when manyinitiatives have finished their pilotprocesses and should have more dataavailable on uptake and effects.Cooperation with other initiativesand sharing of good practice shouldbe an integral part of FDL design.7

1 IntroductionThe European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) has conducted numerous studiesregarding the potential impact of ICT, e-learning and Open Educational Resources (OER)to widen opportunities for educational access and foster inclusion. To this effect, the JRChas demonstrated a specific interest assessing the extent to which MOOCs (Massive OpenOnline Courses) are utilised by certain disadvantaged/unemployed and/or digitallyilliterate parts of the European population (see Castaño Muñoz et al. 2016b). The specificdimension of ICT, MOOCs and refugee/migrant inclusion has generated renewed interestsince the start of what is referred to as the refugee crisis in Europe, notably when thenumber of asylum applications hit 1.3 million in 20151, three times what it was in 2013and twice what it was in 2014. Many countries are scrambling to put in place rapidresponse solutions and educational access is indeed a large piece of the puzzle 2. TheUNHCR report ‘Missing Out’ (UNHCR 2016) highlights the fact that education is of theutmost importance for refugees who on average spend 20 years in exile. Only fiftypercent have access to primary education, compared with a global level of more thanninety percent. Eighty-four percent of non-refugee adolescents attend lower secondaryschool, but only twenty-two percent of refugee adolescents have that same opportunity.At the higher education level, just one percent of refugees attend university compared tothirty-four percent globally3.Given that many international donors concur that digital learning offers great promise formigrants and refugees (UNHCR 2016), the JRC commissioned the present study to mapand analyse the potential of MOOCs and free digital learning (FDL) specifically for theinclusion of migrants and refugees in Europe. This has been contracted to a team ofresearchers led by Elizabeth Colucci, higher education consultant and InternationalCooperation Advisor for the European University Association, and involving RAND Europe(Axelle Devaux), CARDET (Charalambos Vrasidas), Hanne Smidt, Senior AdvisorEuropean University Association and Hanne Smidt Consulting, and Malaz Safarjalani. Theobjective of the study was to assess the extent to which MOOCs and other FDLoffers (including free mobile learning) are effective and efficient4 ways ofdeveloping the skills needed by migrants and refugees for inclusion, civicintegration, re-engagement in formal or non-formal education and employment.The methodology for the study was of a qualitative nature and included a literaturereview, a mapping of relevant initiatives featured in a searchable website (‘Catalogue’)and a SWOT analysis based on focus groups with migrants/refugees of different profilesas well as semi-structured interviews with key informants from ten different FDLinitiatives. Emphasis was placed on Europe, and current migrants and refugees inEurope, though initiatives and examples were also taken from the Middle East/ theSouthern Mediterranean5.While the term ‘migrant’ can include many categories of individuals, the research hasgenerally placed more emphasis on newer arrivals to Europe or to the immediate12345According to EUROSTAT, the number of first-time asylum applicants in the 28 EU countries decreased by15% in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter in 2015. The highest number of firsttime asylum applicants in the third quarter of 2016 was registered in Germany (with over 237 400 firsttime applicants, or 66% of total applicants in the EU Member States), followed by Italy (34 600, or 10%),France (20 000, or 6%), Greece (12 400, or 3%) and the United Kingdom (9 200, or 3%). These 5 tat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum quarterly reportSee, for example, predictions on German spending on migrants in 2016: Source: Zeit Online, m statistics)Efficiency - ability to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort/competency inperformance); Efficacy - ability to produce a desired or intended result.According to the European Union Neighborhood Policy, the Southern Mediterranean encompasses hood-policyenp en8

Southern Mediterranean neighbourhood countries, who are third country nationals (nonEU) and come from current conflict areas. ‘Migrant’ can refer to those both fleeing suchconflict as well as economic migrants, though the general interest has been in those whoarrived to Europe or a neighbouring country in a disadvantaged situation (as opposed tohigh skilled economic migrants with entry permits, for example, or EU nationalsmigrating within the EU in accordance with the principle of free circulation of labour). Theterm ‘refugee’ can cover those with both official refugee status and those waitingfor/applying for refugee status, either in detention centres or in transit. Refugeescurrently in refugee camps were of specific interest to the research team given that thereare a number of recent initiatives that have been launched to address these targetgroups.This final project report begins with a brief summary of the methodology taken for thedifferent deliverables. It proceeds to summarise the main findings, citing general trendsin the landscape of FDL initiatives for migrants/refugees. This includes citing anddescribing key features of FDL initiatives that were noted particularly for theirrole in determining the efficiency and/or effectiveness for migrant/refugeeinclusion and integration. These features ranged from specific business models of FDLinitiatives to the extent to which they focus on recognition of learning and oncommunication and outreach to target groups. In line with the SWOT analysis that hadbeen conducted in an earlier research stage, the main success factors and limitations ofFDL of different types and purposes are mentioned throughout. The report alsocharacterizes current FDL initiatives by their approaches, including type ofdesign (an FDL resource applied in a ‘blended’ context or a purely online resource, forexample) and purpose, ranging from higher education to civic integration, employmentand language learning. The report concludes with recommendations for the EuropeanCommission, policy makers more generally and for other donors/investors interested ineffective and efficient FDL solutions for migrants/refugees. Areas and themes for futureresearch are also identified.9

2 ApproachMOOCs4inclusion was carried out between July and December 2016. One primaryobservation of the research team was that, even in thisshort period of time, the field of FDL formigrant/refugee learning and inclusion wasdeveloping rapidly. This made the study challenging,MOOCs4Inclusion is abut also very rich. The three deliverables – the literaturecont

JRC research on Learning and Skills for the Digital Era started in 2005. It aimed to provide evidence-based policy support to the European Commission and the Member States on harnessing the potential of digital technologies to innovate education and training practices; improve access to lifelong learning; and deal with the rise of new