WISDOM: OWSD programme for displaced women scientists

The OWSD WISDOM (Women in Science Displacement Outreach Master’s) is OWSD’s newest initiative and a timely response to displacement - one of the defining global challenges of our era

Rather than creating new pathways for mobility, WISDOM supports women scientists who are already refugees, having fled conflict or crisis and resettled in countries across the Global South. These women often face a difficult reality. While they may be safe, their education and careers have been put on indefinite hold.

WISDOM addresses this gap by offering fully funded Master’s scholarships, along with a supportive academic environment that allows them to restart their scientific journeys and build a future.

Video introducing OWSD WISDOM: transformative higher education for refugee women in STEM

WISDOM has also opened new avenues for collaboration and research on the links between gender, migration and science. The Programme has supported a co-hort of researchers from Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine and Peru/ Venezuela and is currently working with scholars from Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Palestine. This is building a network of researchers across the world exploring these themes and offering recommendations to policy makers on how to support professional networks and science advancement when researchers are forced to flee. This work will be explored at an international conference in Rome, Italy, in April 2026, Sustaining knowledge during crises: Gender and Displacement in Science.

At the heart of WISDOM is a new model of South–South cooperation. OWSD works directly with selected universities in host countries that have large numbers of displaced people - currently Jordan, Türkiye, and Uganda – to co-develop a framework that not only supports the scholars but also strengthens the host institutions themselves. This ensures that countries in the Global South can continue to prosper with the talents of displaced students and researchers from the region.

Each Master's programme includes a Capacity Building component to enhance the institution’s ability to respond to gender-specific and protection-related needs, ensuring displaced students are met with inclusive policies, trained staff, and effective support systems.

A student Network Building component which includes mentorship, community engagement, and long-term planning – further empowers scholars and prepares them for life after graduation.

Research for Systems Change: Gender, Education, and Migration in Science (GEMS) research initiative

Following successful implementation of WISDOM Master Programmes and the learning from collaborating with selected institutes in the Global South, part of the work within the project is now focused on the exploration of the correlation between gender, displacement and science. This has been done through the commissioning of case studies aimed at understanding challenges, supportive factors and policy recommendations related to the experiences of female researchers and scientists who are forced to flee their home countries and interrupt their professional trajectories.

Case studies from Sudan, Myanmar, DRC, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Palestine have been produced by researchers who are themselves displaced, in the majority of cases, and illustrate stories and challenges of refugee women scientists globally.

This work is essential because systems cannot be changed without understanding them, and identifying gaps in existing support mechanisms is crucial to advocate for change.

WISDOM Conference

The international Conference Sustaining knowledge during crises: Gender and Displacement in Science taking place in Rome in April 2026 will be an opportunity to foster conversations about the nexus Gender- Displacement- Science among international scholars and policy makers.

Please visit our dedicated page to register and know more.