NTU Navigate – supporting young refugees and asylum seekers in our local community
Published: 09/09/2021
This August, Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Centre for Student and Community Engagement (CenSCE) were delighted to host the return of the NTU Navigate programme to the City Campus with a week-long summer school.
The event brought together 16 students originating from a range of different countries including Eritrea, Iran and Afghanistan to provide valuable activities and support for refugees and asylum seekers aged 16 and 17 in the local community.
NTU Navigate was established in 2013 to support local community organisations, and to provide young sanctuary seekers in Nottingham with language support, cultural navigation and educational inspiration. It offers a wide range of academic sessions designed to help them prepare for the new school year and their pending GCSE qualifications.
“It was great to do something for the week, see old friends and make new ones. It was a great experience!”
NTU Navigate participant
The 2021 summer school offered a taste of university life with an Olympic-themed academic group project focused on researching and producing a presentation on inspirational athletes throughout history, alongside several recreational activities including a traditional ‘British Sports Day’.
Reflecting on the event, one of the students said “It was great to do something for the week, see old friends and make new ones. It was a great experience!”
The NTU Navigate Project Coordinator, James Rowland, expressed his admiration for the scheme, “Given recent events that we’ve all been seeing, a project like NTU Navigate has demonstrated the positivity enthusiasm and resilience that these young people show. I’d like to thank our colleagues in Catering, Sport, Nottingham Institute of Languages and Intercultural Communication (NILIC) and fellow CenSCE colleagues for making this event a possibility”.
How can I get involved?
NTU Navigate will be continuing to organise further activities and events as part of the university’s ongoing commitment to providing an open and welcoming environment for Nottingham’s sanctuary-seeking community. If you are interested or have any questions regarding NTU Navigate please get in touch.