ACA members the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) have decided to bring to the next level their already existing partnership in protecting displaced and threatened academics, in the framework of the IIE-led Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF).  This fruitful partnership was first launched in 2016, when EDUFI (at the time called “Centre for International Mobility” (CIMO)) joined the IIE-SRF.Through this initiative, which was announced by ACA in its January 2016 Newsletter, the Finnish government engaged in supporting displaced scholars from Iraq, Syria, and later Yemen, hosting them at Finnish higher education institutions. Scholarships are financed jointly by IIE-SRF and EDUFI, for a total of about USD 50,000 (ca EUR 44,000) a year. The duration of supported periods can be between 9 and 12 months, with the possibility of extension for another year.

Due to its success, on 18 September the IIE and EDUFI have decided to renew their partnership for three more years. But this time they are aiming higher and they will extend the partnership to the protection of other individuals at risk, such as artists and university students from conflict regions. This will be made possible through the Artist Protection Fund (APF) and IIE Student Emergency Initiatives (IIE-SEI).