Summer Course on Forced Migration: Exploring the intersections between forced migration and technology
The CRS Summer Course will be held from June 3-7, 2024.
The course will be offered in a hybrid format, with some participants attending in person and some attending remotely.
For over two decades, York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies has run an internationally acclaimed, non-credit professional development Summer Course that brings together practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to learn together about the most pressing forced migration and refugee issues.
This year’s Summer Course, which is being offered in collaboration with Osgoode Hall Law School’s Refugee Law Laboratory, will focus on research, policy, and practices at the intersections of forced migration and technology.
The number of people on the move increases each year. To adapt to this trend, institutions that manage borders and refugee adjudication processes are deploying new technologies. At this year’s Summer Course, we will turn our attention to the problems and opportunities presented by new technologies for refugee status determination systems, human rights advocates, border management officials, and people on the move.
This interdisciplinary, interactive, and experiential course will explore how technology has been and can be deployed—in both rights enhancing and rights limiting ways—around the world in response to forced migration.
We will bring policy makers, adjudicators, researchers, refugees, and NGO actors together to develop ideas about how technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, can be used to increase fairness, protect rights, and help address forced migration at scale. Featuring presentations, panels discussions, and break-out sessions, participants will be invited to think critically and thoughtfully about how cutting-edge technologies can, should, and should not be used in the forced migration space.
All participants who complete the full course receive a York University Centre for Refugee Studies Summer Course Certificate.
If you would like to be kept updated about CRS, please let us know that you’d like to be added to our listserv by emailing Michele Millard at mmillard@yorku.ca.
Coming soon...
Apply Online
Applicants must submit a complete Summer Course Application Form along with a short autobiographical sketch outlining their academic and practical background with respect to refugee issues.
Funding for the CRS Summer Course is organized by participants themselves. CRS offers partial bursaries to a limited number of participants based on availability of internal funding and need. In order to organize your funding, we recommend that you obtain sponsorship from the training allocation of a project or programme attached to your organization or donors that fund professional development activities.
The CRS has observed in previous years that many applicants from the Global South have been denied visas to attend the CRS summer course (visa acceptance rates have been very low). As an organization committed to engaging collaboratively with individuals and organizations form around the world, this is a constant disappointment. As in past years, we provide a discounted online option for those who cannot join us in person.
For those planning on attending in person and who require a letter of invitation, we will issue visa support letters to each applicant after they have paid a non-refundable deposit of CAD$200. The purpose of the deposit is to defray the costs associated with processing applications and visa support letters and to demonstrate to the visa processing authorities each applicant’s commitment to the course.
If an applicant is not able to attend the course, their deposit will be used to fund bursaries for other applicants. The deposit funds will be set against your tuition, whether you attend in person or online. For applicants who make a deposit but are refused a visa and decline to attend online, deposit funds will be used to support bursaries for other online or in-person attendees from the Global South.
We recognize that tuition and the deposit may be a barrier for some applicants. We urge each applicant to examine their own financial circumstances before making a deposit. Not only can we not guarantee that each applicant will be granted a visa, we know that many people from the Global South who wish to attend will not be granted a visa. If your financial circumstances, make an application in these circumstances difficult, we urge you to take advantage of the online option. No deposits are required for the online option.
Visa Information
2024 tuition fees
In-person*:
Early bird rate: $1,075 CAD + 13%HST (deadline April 1, 2024)
Early bird for participants based in the Global South: $750 CAD + 13% HST (deadline April 1, 2024)
Regular rate: $1,500 CAD + 13%HST (deadline May 25, 2024)
*This includes coffee breaks and a light lunch. Accommodation, travel and other costs are not included and must be covered by the participant.
Attending virtually:
Early bird rate: $925 CAD + 13%HST (deadline April 1, 2024)
Early bird for participants based in the Global South: $600 CAD + 13% HST (deadline April 1, 2024)
Regular rate: $1,350 CAD + 13%HST (deadline May 25, 2024)
Payment
All payments are by credit card only. Please click on the Eventbrite logo to complete your payment once your acceptance to the program has been confirmed.
If you indicated that you require a letter of invitation for visa purposes, you can pay the non-refundable CAD$200 deposit at this secure payment site. Once we receive confirmation of payment, we will send you the letter of invitation. Please note that this is only for participants planning on attending in person, who require visa letters. You are not required to pay the balance of the registration until you have been successful in getting a visa. You don't have to worry about the early bird registration deadline - we will make it available to you at any time once you have your visa.
If you paid the non-refundable CAD$200 deposit, we will give you a code that will reduce the registration amount accordingly once you have your visa and you're ready to complete your registration.
Tuition subsidies are very limited and subject to availability. Submission deadline: February 17, 2024
At York University
Information coming soon.
Off-campus
Information coming soon.
York University is located at 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M3J 1P3
Directions
Taxi from Toronto Pearson International Airport
You can take a taxi directly from the airport to the York University Keele Campus. A taxi from the airport to the University is approximately $50 Canadian Dollars. Many taxi companies also offer a flat rate.
Driving from Toronto Pearson International Airport
Take Hwy 401 East to Hwy 400 North, exit at Finch Avenue going east, and turn left at Sentinel Road. Follow Sentinel until the end where you will find Pond Road. Turn right onto Pond Road. You are now on York University Campus. *If staying at the ELC continue on Pond Road and make a left onto James Gillies Street (the Student Services Parking Garage will be visible on the left). The Executive Learning Centre (ELC) is next door to the Student Services Parking Garage, on Fine Arts Road, adjacent to the Schulich School of Business.
Driving from Downtown Toronto
Take the Allen Expressway north to Finch Avenue. Turn left, going west on Finch Avenue to Keele Street. Turn right onto Keele Street going north to The Pond Road entrance. Turn left onto the campus via The Pond Road entrance. Take The Pond Road to James Gillies Street, the Student Services Parking Garage will be visible on the left. The Executive Learning Centre (ELC) is next door to the Student Services Parking Garage, on Fine Arts Road, adjacent to the Schulich School of Business.
Public Transit (TTC)
The subway now runs directly to York University on Line 1 Yonge-University.
* http://www3.ttc.ca for more information
Course Location
To access a York University campus map, please click HERE.
*The summer course will take place in the Kaneff Tower (#95 on the map) in room 519.
Summer Course Academic Director
Centre for Refugee Studies
York University
Kaneff Tower, Room 850
4700 Keele Street, Toronto
Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
E-mail: summer@yorku.ca