HEQUITY is a two-year Erasmus+ funded project that brings together five partner organizations from Belgium, Turkey, Italy, and Latvia to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices across European higher education institutions. The project responds to a clear and growing need: migrant and refugee students continue to face significant barriers to accessing, remaining in, and succeeding within higher education, from language and recognition of qualifications to a lack of institutional awareness and tailored support.
Through research, capacity-building, and the co-creation of practical tools, HEQUITY works directly with university staff, administrators, and support services to close these gaps. The project maps existing DEI practices across partner countries, develops a evidence-based DEI Toolkit, and delivers international and local training sessions that give staff the concrete skills and frameworks needed to build more inclusive institutions from the ground up.
Coordinated by ECEPAA, and delivered in partnership with Sakarya University, KU Leuven, the University of Latvia, and Popoli Insieme ODV, HEQUITY combines academic research with grassroots community experience. The project's outcomes are designed to extend well beyond the partnership itself, through open dissemination of the toolkit, training materials, and research findings to higher education institutions across Europe.
