Learning beyond limits

Free online courses and job-readiness programs for refugees and underserved communities
A person of colour wearing a hijab with some books and a bag smiling optimistically

100,000+

Students
since our start in 2015

700+

Self-paced courses
from 13 providers

10+

Job readiness programs
since 2021

Inclusive education for all

We believe that everyone has an equal right to access quality education
Free courses
Language & Tech
Free online courses to boost your language or technical skills
Free Programs
Job Readiness
Free job readiness programs to stand out in the job market
Free offers
Community
Free integration offers to settle into your new community
A person of colour wearing a hijab with some books and a bag smiling optimistically

Learn in-demand skills

Prepare for the future of work and integrate into your new community with educational content by Kiron and 10+ leading providers
CourseraLingua TV – Online Language Coursesuxcel logocases media logoDatacampCodecadamy – Learning to Code Future LearnCornelsen eCademyBusuuEdraak – Online Courses in ArabicSaylor Academy free and open online coursesOncampus pre university courses

Hear from others

What our students say

After fleeing Syria, I lived in Jordan without any hope to access education in the country. Kiron provided me with the chance to continue my education, and for that I am grateful.
Safaa  Kiron Student
Safaa
Kiron student in Jordan

I can say the learning program [I joined at Kiron] is undoubtedly... at the highest level.
Illia  Kiron Student
Illia
Kiron student in Germany

I think that non-formal education plays an important role in order to be fit for the job market. These courses like Kiron offers are a really good opportunity, to keep up with the latest developments.
Sefa  Kiron Student
Sefa
Kiron student in Germany

Our blog

Read student's stories and catch up with our latest updates
Projects insights
Meet Katrin: Reflections on being a first-time mentor
In this blog post, Katrin shares her experience as a mentor with Kiron. From the challenges she faced to the profound impact on her mentee's journey and her joy in fostering personal and professional growth, discover how mentoring goes beyond a professional duty for Katrin.
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Partners
Kiron Mentoring Program partners with TE Connectivity for the third time!
Kiron is delighted to announce the extension of our mentoring program in partnership with TE Connectivity — a global industrial technology leader dedicated to creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future.
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Press Release
WARNING: Important Notice
We have discovered that a Mr. Yilmaz Yigit is posing on the Internet as an employee of our organization. Mr. Yigit, under the guise of Kiron, has been offering services and products such as language and integration courses, certificate issuance, and assistance with finding work and housing. He has been requesting payment for these services.
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Meet our students
Meet Kadir: From Engineer to Aspiring Data Scientist
With 15 years of experience as an electrical engineer, circumstances led Kadir to seek refuge in Switzerland with his wife and children. He was scared to start from scratch. However, Kadir discovered Kiron’s mentoring program. Read to learn more about his experience…
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Meet our students
Meet Halyna: Becoming a Data Professional
With a background as a business analyst in the automotive industry and three years of experience as a team lead in a customer support team, Halyna Klimova decided to take on a new challenge: transitioning into the world of data analysis. Read about the inspiring journey of Halyna, who embarked on a path of personal and professional growth, all while navigating a new life in Germany.
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Meet our students
Meet Enis: From Coachee to Coach
When a coachee transitions into the role of a coach, it unveils a remarkable story rooted in resilience and the potential that arises from embracing opportunities. In this interview, we reconnect with Enis, who was once a coachee in Kiron's Wir Für Chancen (translated as “Together for Opportunities”) program and has since volunteered to coach for future coaching programs, giving back to the Kiron community.
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Press Release
Kiron Announces Senior Leadership Changes
Berlin, Germany – Kiron, an education technology nonprofit organisation, is poised for the next step of organisational development as it prepares to bid farewell to its esteemed Managing Director, Dr. Tobias Ernst, while welcoming Anne Parsons and Hannes Rudzik as new members to the leadership team.
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Meet our students
Meet Raoul-Ardy: From Refugee Camp to Career Success
In a world plagued by forced displacement, one individual's determination and unwavering willpower stand as a testament to the transformative power of education. ‍
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Meet our students
Meet Oksana – Moving ahead with confidence
Oksana Klochko is from Ukraine. She taught computer science, applied mathematics, and methods of teaching computer science as a university professor.
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Case studies
Free THRIVE Program Equips Refugee Women for Job Market Success
Over 50 million women and girls are forcibly displaced currently. They often face significant challenges compared to men, including gender-based violence, discrimination, and limited access to education and employment opportunities.
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Press Release
Kiron Launches THRIVE: An Upskilling Program for Women
Kiron, the educational technology non-profit organization focused on providing learning opportunities for refugees & underserved communities.
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Press Release
Kiron partners with DataCamp Donates to empower refugees through data education
Kiron is delighted to announce our partnership with DataCamp via the Data Camp Donates program.
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Projects insights
Kiron Ausbildungsbrücke program with Alstom creates job market pathway
For many refugees, finding a job is challenging. Some lack formal certificates to enter the labor market or face tedious and costly job recognition processes.
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Insights
Meet Khalil: Continuing education against all odds
Khalil Al Doughaiman is from Homs, Syria but was forced to move to Lebanon in 2013.
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Press Release
Kiron, Deutsche Börse, and Virtual Internships Launch Experiential Learning Program for Refugees in Germany
The EdTech non-profit, Kiron, has joined forces with global financial services provider, Deutsche Börse, and VC-backed EdTech startup, Virtual Internships, to launch an ambitious hybrid learning and mentoring program for refugees and people with a migrant background in Germany
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Projects insights
Our partner: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
INTEGRAL+ – Integration and participation of refugees in the context of digital teaching and learning scenarios through personalization and scaling
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Kiron in Jordan
Our project: Certificate; Empowerment Program
KSTEP: Kiron Blended Certificate Program & Student Empowerment Program in Princess Basma Community Centers supported by the UNHCR
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Kiron in Jordan
Our partner: GIZ; certificate program
Education and training for young Syrians and Jordanians. 3-month program in collaboration with the GIZ.
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Press Release
Kiron Jordan launches the KAS Program to further civic engagement for Jordanian youth
In the context of building the capacity of Jordanian youth in political life, “KAS Program to Activate the Role of Youth in Political Life” is a project to be conducted in its second edition, adapting a new digital approach.
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Kiron in Lebanon
Career readiness goes virtual
Skill building, training programs, online courses: there are countless methods to prepare for a job and develop the skills needed to perform well at work.
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Projects insights
Transform through education: Rania's story
Rania is one of our students who took part in these “offline” events in Germany. Rania was a journalist and activist from Egypt.
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Kiron in Lebanon
Western Union Foundation Project
Kiron partnered with Western Union Foundation for a 9 months project with the aim of providing marginalized and underserved communities in Jordan and Lebanon the skills needed to enable good education and job opportunities.
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Insights
Why NGOs should embrace digital transformation
In March 2020, not only did COVID-19 dominate our conversations, but also shrunk our workplace into laptop-sized dimensions.
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Meet our students
Meet Bischer: A Story of Change
Since arriving in Germany four years ago at the age of 19, Bisher has been pursuing his academic and professional goals in the field of information technology.
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Meet our students
Story of Change: Enes
One of the many initiatives designed under the H&M Foundation and Kiron’s targeted project, “Building a Learning Environment for Study Success (BLESS)”, is a focus on broadening German and English language offers.
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Insights
How we use MEL at Kiron
How can an NGO ensure that it remains committed to its mission and accountable for its decisions?
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Our partner: Ford Foundation
“Turning a challenge into a chance”: This project supported both refugees and vulnerable communities. 150 students were recruited and followed a blended learning program in 3 different cities in Jordan. The main goal was for them to study Computer Science, English and Life Skills courses both online and offline.
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Our partner: UK Aid/Department for International Development (DFID)
PADILEIA – Partnership for Digital Learning and Increased Access: Jordan and Lebanon
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Insights
Kiron begins building the Digital Self Defense Center
In the digital age, many members of the civil society, NGOs and journalists feel that they are underprepared when it comes to data security.
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Case studies
Meet Elif: Overcoming barriers through language
One of the greatest barriers for refugees to receiving higher education or entering the job marketing is language. In Germany, many refugee students do not have the resources to reach the C1 language level required by employers and universities.
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Building an inclusive learning environment for sustainable study success
Kiron and the H&M Foundation have successfully concluded their three-year-long collaborative project BLESS, having reached the goal of “building a learning environment for study success.”
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Kiron to develop the new campus for the European Digital University Staff Competences project
The Erasmus+ KA2 project ‘European Digital University Staff Competencies’ (EDUSC) aims to support and accelerate digitalization in higher education.
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Insights
Protect yourself online: 5 ways to stay safe in the digital world
The internet is a big place and sometimes it can feel overwhelming and unsafe. Hacked computers, stolen data, and other security breaches on the internet seem to be a part of the daily news.
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Insights
Collective Impact Campus Q&A with PO Baptiste
As NGOs worldwide are working to ensure continuity of learning experiences for their communities, we are exploring a new approach that enables collaborative action.
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Projects insights
Empowerment through upskilling: Supporting migrant women at the Colombian/Venezuelan border
Milena, a 36-year-old single mother of two from Venezuela, is expanding her digital skillset in the hopes of starting her own company from home.
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Insights
Remote Learning on the Kiron Campus – Lessons Learned Along the Way
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, online education has become a way of life for many students.
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Meet our students
Meet Anoud: Reaching new heights through online learning
Anoud, a 19 year old from Syria, just recently packed up her belongings and moved to Montreal, Canada to start a new chapter at McGill University.
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Zaher’s Story: Becoming a technical writer [Update]
Kiron provides a free education option after public high school. But there is still the eternal question...
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Press Release
Kiron x TE Connectivity Global Mentoring Program
A new global mentoring program with TE Connectivity — a global industrial technology leader creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future.
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Our partner: SPARK – Digital and Soft Skills project
Kiron partners with SPARK, Injaz Lebanon and Berytech in order to deliver Online Mentoring on digital skills and literacy and soft skills, funded by EU MADAD and Al Fakhoora.
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Kiron in Jordan
Re-skilling in Jordan: A three-pronged approach to increasing employment
Pursuing higher education often brings a promise of better job opportunities, increased salaries, and more stability.
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Meet our students
Meet Martha: Overcoming job market barriers with Kiron
For the last three years, Martha has been adjusting to her new home in Hamburg, Germany, 9,000 km away from her homeland Nicaragua.
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Meet our students
Meet Sultan: From Kiron student to Cloud Computing Specialist
Originally from Salamiyah, Syria, 26-year-old Sultan was studying Physics at a university in his hometown, but had to migrate to Germany due to political instability.
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Case studies
Kiron x Deutsche Börse Group x Virtual Internships Mentoring Program
Together with Deutsche Börse Group and Virtual Internships, we are excited to announce a new opportunity for students to gain experience and knowledge in a variety of job sectors.
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Press Release
YUFE launches Virtual Campus
Enabling students to study at 10 European universities online.
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Meet Rania
Kiron gives hope to students who haven’t had an equal opportunity to continue their educational path because of many reasons. - Rania
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VW professional guidance program
The Volkswagen Professional Guidance Program constitutes one part of the ongoing collaboration between Kiron and Volkswagen, which aims to foster exchange between refugee students and Volkswagen employees.
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BLESS enters its third Year
Learnings and Achievements from the BLESS Project in 2019.
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Partners
Our partner: Volkswagen
Since 2016, the Volkswagen Group and Kiron have been cooperating to support refugees on their pathway to higher education. In an effort to provide Kiron students with professional opportunities while studying or early on in their working careers, Volkswagen has organized a range of workshops on relevant topics such as job market access, integration and women empowerment.
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“Access to Higher Education Institutions for Refugees” Kiron Partner Workshop Day in Berlin
On March 21st, the annual spring partner workshop was organized by Kiron as part of the INTEGRAL+ project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The workshop took place at the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt in Berlin and attracted more than 50 participants from all over Germany and Europe.
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Projects insights
Transform through education: Wafaa's story
Wafaa is a student who benefited from the Building a Learning Environment for Study Success (BLESS) project, and even sat on the panel discussion group during Women’s Week.
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Meet our students
Meet Nyima
I want to finish my course on political science with Kiron and be able to transfer to an offline university. My learning goal is to get a degree in the area of my interest, political science.
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Our project: Post-conflict skills in Zaatari camp
Kiron hosted a short course for post-conflict skills in IRD centers in Zaatari camp. Over the course of this 2-month training program, 15 students received certificates. Following this, investors introduced computer labs and increased internet access in Zaatari and nearby community centers which has increased the potential for digital self-employment opportunities.
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Meet our students
Meet Sajida
Sajida wants to advance my knowledge through attending computer science courses and I want to start studying in a German university.
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Meet our students
Meet Mayss
With Kiron, I don’t have to travel abroad to get an education from the best universities in the world.
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Press Release
Dr. Tobias Ernst becomes new CEO
Berlin, 22.02.2018 – The educational platform for refugees is repositioning its management. Dr. Tobias Ernst, who has been working part-time for Kiron since February 1st, will take over the chairmanship of the Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH as of April 1st.
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Intergal+
Two Kiron Study Weekends in One
From June 6-8, 2018, Kiron Open Higher Education held its first-ever double study weekend – a very special opportunity that brought students from four of our five study tracks together for two and a half days of learning about Kiron’s programs and transfer to university, building student community, and of course, studying, studying, studying. The event was hosted in seminar rooms in the Neues Deutschland building at Franz-Mehring-Platz, thanks to our friends at Media Residents!
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Insights
DAFI Project
The UNHCR, through the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund – DAFI, has been supporting refugees in obtaining their university degrees since 2014.
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Insights
5 hard skills to learn in 2021
The world is changing rapidly and with that comes a shift in high demand careers in the job market. The tech and digital education sectors are growing and it is important to prepare yourself if you want to stay ahead of the job market. Have a look at the 5 hard skills to learn this year and be ready to land more career opportunities!
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Meet our students
Meet Tooba
Tooba's story
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Meet our students
Meet Erepade
EREPADE’S STORY
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Kiron Team
Meet our team: Andreas
Andreas always carries a smile with him, like he could start singing at any moment. His enthusiastic and upbeat spirit reflects his passionate and caring personality. Guided by all kinds of melodies and interests, Andreas’s path took him from Indonesia to Germany, the Netherlands, Ghana, and Vienna. Andreas studied and worked in the fields of Social Psychology and Education before finally making his way to Kiron, where he started first as an Intern, then as a Volunteer, when he founded the first Kiron choir. Today Andreas successfully supports our mission as one of Kiron’s project managers.
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Get to know Thaki – an org providing sustainable educational resources to refugees
To celebrate World Refugee Day, we hosted Amplify Now, a 2-day virtual refugee conference which brought together students, organizations and industry leaders from across the globe to collaborate on solutions affecting refugees around the world.
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Case studies
Our partner: NRC – joint certificate program
The Norwegian Refugee Council Lebanon (NRC) and Kiron Lebanon have partnered in 2018-2019 to deliver blended learning programmes to 56 students, facilitated in a study center from the Lebanon Academy of Training and Development in Sidon.
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Exploring possibilities with online learning
As part of the H&M Foundation’s continued commitment to education, it partnered with Kiron Open Higher Education to support Kiron students throughout their studies. One of the main tenets of Kiron’s learning approach is the provision of MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses), which allows students to study at their own pace online. While this flexibility is key for many of our students, digital learning can also be an isolating experience. That is why we identified a strong learning community as one key factor in our students’ success. “Building a Learning Environment for Study Success” (BLESS), Kiron’s three-year project with the H&M Foundation, allows us to create an innovative and supportive learning environment for refugees to achieve study success and build community.
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Meet Atosa
Read Atosa's story
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Meet Miraç: Journey to Higher Education
Miraç is about to start his bachelor’s degree in law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Before having to leave Turkey and coming to Germany Miraç finished high school in Turkey and started studying criminology and criminal science at the National Police Academy. Miraç is the first of his extended family to study at a university, making his parents very proud. He has a keen interest in the criminal mind as well as in human rights.
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Amplify Now: Virtual Refugee Conference on World Refugee Day
At Kiron, we believe that change can only happen when everyone’s voice is heard. That’s why we are organising our first online conference dedicated to refugees around the world. Too often, international and domestic conferences about forced migration lack representation and inclusivity, and present refugees as passive recipients, not as potential change-makers and innovators.
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Insights
Kiron Digital Launches Today
Since 2015, we at Kiron have been developing our online learning platform in order to provide free educational opportunities to thousands of refugees and underserved communities around the world.
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Meet our students
Meet Mohammad
MOHAMMAD’S STORY
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Syrian Youth Assembly and Kiron
The self-organized, youth-led organization, the Syrian Youth Assembly became Kiron’s partner in June 2019. Together there is a shared commitment to re-engage Syrian youth by amplifying their voices and motivating them to become more involved and contribute to the future of post-war Syria. The nation has faced many challenges including war and conflict, which has forced many groups to follow a broken or fragmented education and employment path. Younger generations are particularly affected by this. The Syrian Youth Assembly (SYA) formed with the intention of organizing and empowering a young community to take part in humanitarian action. The SYA works to ensure a bright future for young Syrians, as well as enabling them to take part in the rebuilding of a nation. They aim to elevate the voices of the youth.
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Meet our students
Zaher’s story: Skill building as a life-long learner
I’m not a new graduate from public high school, but studying with Kiron has given me a new life.
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New Partnership: University of Duisburg-Essen
With great pleasure we are announcing a new partnership: The University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and Kiron Open Higher Education have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
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Meet Özkan: How mentorship supported his career shift
Changing careers is not always an easy decision to make. But for many who have faced displacement, it can be the only option. One of our learners, Özkan, has been living in Germany for three years after moving from Turkey due to the political unrest there. A former naval officer with two master’s degrees in Economics and International Relations under his belt, he decided to use his skills to start a career in data science.
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Foundation of German Business supports Kiron students
All SDW activities aim at providing young people with the best possible conditions for a successful start in fulfilling professional careers. Hence, we support the participants of our programs in reaching their full potential.
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Press Release
Höhere Chancen für internationale Studierende durch digitale Studienvorbereitung
Im Rahmen des Verbundvorhabens IMPactDigital entwickelt Kiron gemeinsam mit Partnern innovative digitale Maßnahmen, um den Studienerfolg von internationalen Studierenden in Deutschland zu verbessern. Das Projekt wird gefördert durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.
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Meet our students
Meet Ammar
AMMAR’S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Adan
A Poem written by Kiron Student "Adan"
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Case studies
Our partner: Berlin Economy
The Berlin economy supports the academic education of 250 refugees
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Press Release
Berlin EdTechs Pioneering a New Approach to Integration
Kiron, Lingoda & LeWagon are joining forces to spearhead a new approach to labor market integration with a groundbreaking program in tech.
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Meet our students
Meet Dania
DANIA’S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Ali
ALI’S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Anita
ANITA‘S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Saad
SAAD’S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Yazan
YAZAN’S STORY
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Partners
Our partner: HM Foundation
BLESS, a three-year collaboration between Kiron and the H&M Foundation, creates an innovative and supportive learning environment for students to achieve study success, facilitate efficient transfer processes, and implement scalable activities for students worldwide.
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Meet our students
Meet Kamal
KAMAL’S STORY
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Meet our students
Meet Soubhi
Soubhi's Story
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Meet our students
Meet Ehab
Ehab's Story
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Kiron 2019 - Learning beyond limits
2019 has been a year of tremendous progress at Kiron. We want to take this moment to share some of our exciting changes and to thank you for your help. Despite all of the big changes, our mission has remained the same: to provide refugees and underserved communities with high-quality and relevant learning opportunities, no matter where they are.
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Meet our students
Meet Ahmad: It's never too late to change careers
Two years after receiving a degree to become a pharmacist in Syria, Ahmad realized he lacked the passion to continue pursuing a job in that field.
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Insights
Kiron talks...
Our new format for a conversation on wide-open learning
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Introducing: the Kiron Campus app
Great news: the Kiron Campus app is live! Take your learning experience to the next level, wherever you go, with our new app for Android!
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Insights
Adapting to online learning during the Coronavirus pandemic
Due to the current global health emergency, your daily routine and learning habits have probably been disrupted. You have to spend more time in a confined space and don’t have access to the library or your regular public study spaces or study center. More and more people are turning to online learning in these unprecedented times. At Kiron, we want to share our best tips that we have picked up over the years for studying online, so that you can succeed as a Kiron student.
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Meet our students
Meet Abdullah
Abdullah's Story
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Meet Moataz: Transform through education
Moataz’s Story
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BLESS: final year outlook
BLESS (Building a Learning Environment for Study Success), the three-year-long cooperation between the H&M Foundation and Kiron, is in its final year and we are looking forward to many exciting initiatives designed to foster a productive and inclusive learning community.
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Meet our students
Meet Mohamad
Mohamad's Story
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The movement continues – What’s next for Amplify Now?
2 days, 31 seminars, over 5000 participants from 80 countries, 40 organisations, and over 38,000 livestream participants around the world made up one of the biggest virtual refugee conferences – Amplify Now.
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Insights
How to stay positive and productive working remotely
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most of you have probably switched to working from home. At Kiron, we have some experience with remote work and collaborating with teams around the world. We would like to share some tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way to help you find your balance and stay productive.
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We can’t do it without you!

Join us in supporting forcibly displaced persons by providing free access to education