About Incluusion
Incluusion was founded in 2016 and has since that time enabled over 1,900 students to participate in UU courses. On top of that, over 50 status holders followed an Incluusion traineeship successfully.
The lower participation of refugees in the labour market is partly caused by the long-term exclusion of participation in society. Refugees often have to wait months or even years for their asylum procedure to be completed. For that reason, it is of great importance that refugees are not put ‘on hold’, but that they keep on developing themselves while waiting for their status.
Incluusion has proven to be a catalyst for social integration by providing a flexible, supportive pathway tailored to the diverse needs of refugee students. Incluusion emphasises support, informal learning, and social capital formation. It allows participants to gain confidence in their integration process. Students often share that participation in Incluusion makes them feel like they are “not just a refugee anymore.”
Participation in courses
By offering newcomers the chance to attend courses at Utrecht University, newcomers get the opportunity to become involved, to continue their education and integrate into society.
Exclusion has negative consequences for both the refugees and society at large, since it often leads to lower participation of refugees in the labour market and can be a cause for loneliness, depression and other mental health problems.
Apart from free participation in UU courses, Incluusion offers support to the students through a preparatory training (Restart) and buddy programme. We also work alongside the Incluusion Community, UU's diversity network for and by refugees.
Incluusion Traineeships
Apart from offering access to education, Incluusion also offers traineeships for status holders who already speak Dutch (a bit). The trainees can gain work experience in the Dutch labour market and develop a professional network in the Netherlands, which is a necessary stepping stone towards a paid contract.
Learn more about the traineeships
Sponsors, partners and related projects
Incluusion is supported by various sponsors.
Find out how you can contribute to Incluusion.
We collaborate with various partners. Since the start of the programme, several other universities started similar educational programmes for refugee students.
History of Incluusion
Incluusion was founded by UU employees Hilke Grootelaar, Marij Swinkels and Elena Valbusa during the fall of 2016. The three founders were awarded the Silver Award by the UU in 2019, because Incluusion expresses the mission of Utrecht University: to work towards a better world.
From 2021 onwards, Ragna Senf was Incluusion's project manager, who stayed onboard until Incluusion was embedded in the university at the beginning of 2026. Prior to being embedded, Incluusion was a temporary project at Utrecht University within the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programme.
To celebrate Incluusion's 5th anniversary in 2021, we created the video at the top of the page with the help of involved students, trainees and teachers. Around that time we also published a report on our work so far.