SNHUs Global Education Movement

The Global Education Movement (GEM) is a major Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) initiative offering university degrees to refugees around the world. Created in 2017, GEM is the first large-scale online learning initiative for refugees, partnering with in-country organizations to deliver high-quality, low-cost education tailored to meet the needs of displaced learners. Currently, GEM serves over 1,500 students in five countries from Africa and Middle East. The initiative originally launched in Rwandas capital of Kigali and in the remote Kiziba refugee camp. It quickly expanded, and now operates in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Lebanon as well. GEM partners with existing organizations, NGOs, and universities to provide academic coaching, internship and on-the-job training, individualized coaching, and career counseling. Competency-based education allows for a completely new way of earning a degree, as it gives refugee students the opportunity to access the learning platf...