UEA Sanctuary Student Support
This page details key information about the support available to sanctuary scholars during their time at the University of East Anglia.
As a University of Sanctuary (UoS), we want to ensure that all sanctuary scholars feel supported emotionally and academically throughout their studies.
UEA Support Services
UEA’s Support Service offers various different types of support, including help with your studies and other difficulties, no matter how big or small. Student Advisers can provide support relating to your wellbeing, your finances, or any disability or learning difficulty.
Learning Enhancement Support
UEA’s Learning Enhancement team offer expert guidance to students on areas such as study skills and academic writing. Visit their webpage here for more information.
Zoe Jones is a Learning Enhancement Tutor with emphasis on supporting students from groups that are under-represented at university, and is happy to be approached by sanctuary students who are seeking advice or help with their studies. To contact Zoe, please email: z.jones@uea.ac.uk.
Wellbeing Support
The Wellbeing Support team offers support, advice and guidance relating to your mental health and wellbeing; this could be in the form of group sessions and workshops, one-to-one sessions, or support to access specialist services locally. For a full breakdown of the services available via the Wellbeing Centre please click here.
Your direct contacts in the Wellbeing Team are Michala Carlisle (Wellbeing Adviser) and James Riches (Wellbeing Adviser). To contact Michala, please email: m.carlisle@uea.ac.uk. To contact James, please email: j.riches@uea.ac.uk.
Wellbeing Workshops
There will be a mix of online and face to face wellbeing workshops in 2024/5. You can find the full schedule of workshops taking place here. If you would like to book any of the workshops, please email: sts.workshops@uea.ac.uk.
Student Life Support
The Student Life team in UEA’s Student Services can provide advice and guidance to students on anything that’s affecting their time at university. They work closely with other teams in Student Services and across the University to explore all options available to you. Here’s some of the ways the Student Life team can help during your time at UEA:
- Specialist support for international students through our Student Life International team
- Spiritual and faith support through UEA Faith Centre
For more information on the support available visit Student Life Team.
University of Sanctuary Monthly Drop-in Sessions
All members of the UEA sanctuary community are invited to attend the University of Sanctuary Drop-in sessions which run every month. The Drop-in sessions are an opportunity to share ideas, challenges or just say hello in a friendly and relaxed environment.
All Drop-in sessions are held in the Enterprise Centre building. Details of the Drop-in sessions taking place during 2024/5 can be found below:
Thursday 21 November, 1pm-2pm, Rm 0.07
English Language Support
The English Language Support Programme (ELSP) aims to help UEA international students develop the English language skills necessary for successful academic study.
The classes are open to all registered UEA students for whom English is not their first language and are completely free.
To find out more, please click here. If you have any queries relating to ELSP, please email : elsp@uea.ac.uk.
Careers Central Support
Careers Central offers an incredible array of free support, resources, advice and activities for all UEA (undergraduate and postgraduate) students and newly graduated (within three years) alumni. This includes many resources, workshops and online courses on a range of topics such as considering future study, volunteering, improving your CV, how to look for employment - and much, much more.
Your direct contact in the Careers Central team is Rachael Rose (Student Careers Manager). To contact Racheal, please email: r.rose@uea.ac.uk.
Postgraduate Research (PGR) Support
In addition to the first-class support offered by UEA professionals in Careers Central, Ane Sesma (Postgraduate Research Partnerships Manager) can also be approached by sanctuary students who are seeking advice on how to continue developing their skills and talent through postgraduate research studies. General PGR enquiries are supported by the PGR Service Reception, which can also be contacted via Live Chat. Further information can be found in the Postgraduate Research Service, or in Contact the PGR service.
Finding Your Way Around
If you have just arrived at UEA and would like some help to find your way around, email Liz Ferguson in UEA’s Outreach team at inclusion@uea.ac.uk to arrange a tour with a friendly current student.
Additional Help
If you need additional guidance on any of the support available listed above, please email the UEA University of Sanctuary Liaison Officer, Madi Dutton.
Guidance for UEA Academic Advisers
Please find below a summary for UEA Academic Advisers of the support available for sanctuary students.
The UEA was formally recognised as a University of Sanctuary in January 2018 in recognition of its ongoing commitment to promote a culture of inclusivity, respect and welcome to those who have been forced to migrate from their country of origin and find themselves seeking sanctuary.
The University of Sanctuary initiative is involved in a broad array of activities and programmes and supports an ever-growing number of students with a background of seeking sanctuary.
If you would like to learn more about the initiative – or have any outstanding questions – please do get in touch. We have included our contact details at the end of this summary.
What support is available at UEA for Students who find themselves - or have a background of - seeking sanctuary?
All students are supported as per the normal UEA Academic Advisor Model. However, within the mainstream student support services, the following individuals are particularly familiar with providing support to students with a background of seeking sanctuary:
- Learning Enhancement Team: Zoe Jones (z.jones@uea.ac.uk)
- Wellbeing Team: Michala Carlisle (m.carlisle@uea.ac.uk) & James Riches (j.riches@uea.ac.uk).
- Student Life team: Jane Amos (j.amos@uea.ac.uk)
- Careers Central Team: Rachael Rose (r.rose@uea.ac.uk)
- Post Graduate Support: Ane Sesma (a.sesma@uea.ac.uk)
- Sanctuary Liaison Support Worker: Madi Dutton (university.of.sanctuary@uea.ac.uk)
- Sanctuary Initiative Academic Lead: Sophie North (S.North1@uea.ac.uk)
Sophie and Madi run monthly drop-in sessions where all members of the UEA sanctuary community are invited to meet to share ideas, challenges or just say hello.
What is the role of UEA University of Sanctuary initiative in supporting students who have a background of are seeking sanctuary?
The University of Sanctuary initiative is made up of a steering group of over 50 staff from across faculties. As an initiative we are keen explore how UEA can best be a place of welcome and are always open to ideas and feedback. Within our steering group we have two paid staff; Madi and Sophie– who between them are employed the equivalent of 3 days per week to coordinate University of Sanctuary activities.
So far, the University of Sanctuaries role relating to supporting sanctuary students has been varied and included activities such as:
- Providing welcome and social events for sanctuary scholars – alongside inviting them to University of Sanctuary meetings
- Ensuring that sanctuary scholars are signposted to appropriate services
- Providing emergency financial support through a hardship fund for sanctuary scholars with urgent needs
Please do look at our website (https://www.ueasanctuary.org/) for more information or feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
I want to find out more about the University of Sanctuary – where can I look?
We love having staff and students join our team. Have a look at our website (https://www.ueasanctuary.org/) or e-mail Sophie and Madi to join a meeting. If you would like to learn more about the wider City of Sanctuary initiative (from which the “Universities of Sanctuary” movement has grown) – have a look at https://cityofsanctuary.org/]
Will I know if my Academic Advisees have a background of seeking sanctuary?
All students who arrive through the UEA sanctuary scholarship scheme (https://www.ueasanctuary.org/sanctuary-scholarships ) or through the Council for At Risk Academics (https://www.cara.ngo/) are asked by the university of sanctuary team if they would like us to inform their academic advisors about sanctuary support.
As an initiative we often reach out to students whose home country is undergoing rapid humanitarian changes. However, we are aware that many within the UEA community will come from a background of seeking sanctuary and may not be aware of specific sanctuary support available. Please do contact us and direct anyone to our initiative if you have ideas as to how we can support.
Who can I contact within the University of Sanctuary Team if I have any questions?
Madi Dutton (email university.of.sanctuary@uea.ac.uk) is the Sanctuary Liaison Officer and works for UEA University of Sanctuary initiative 2 days per week.
Dr Sophie North (email: S.North1@uea.ac.uk) is the Academic Lead and is employed by the University of Sanctuary initiative 1 day per week.
Many thanks for your time. We look forward to working with you. Very best wishes,
Sophie and Madi