In addition to a look back at the past years of the program, the presentation also featured an informative talk about entrepreneurship, followed by a presentation about the revised MORE program. In the future, the initiative will help support asylum-seeking students prepare to enroll in a major of their choice.

Integration can be a matter of life and death: Univ. Prof. Johann Bacher cited a Swedish study that showed that the suicide rate among refugee teens is ten times higher than the rate among Swedish teens. The MORE program sets an example: Since the 2015/2016 academic year, the Johannes Kepler University has offered German language courses for asylum-seekers. Starting with A1 classes, the students have been able to continually improve their language skills. This semester, approximately 35 students in the MORE program successfully completed the German B2 level courses. Course instructors Mag. Ursula Bichler and Dr. Karin Willinger-Rypar remarked that the students were respectful, worked together, studied hard, had strong learning outcomes, were motivated and were also charming and sincere.

The MORE team at the JKU (Ines Tumfart, Katharina Oberthaler) then presented the newly revised MORE program. The target group includes refugees who have been officially admitted to studies at the Johannes Kepler University. Students in the program can take preparation courses to help pass supplementary examinations and the preparation course fees will be waived. The JKU will cover a large portion of the required fees. The MORE program will continue to help those who have a refugee background access higher education at an Austrian university and thus make important contributions to the process of integrating refugees.