Paving Pathways for Refugees: Amala inspires purpose-led learning in the IB Systems Transformation course
The innovative course’s initial guiding question focuses on developing solutions for refugees to integrate and thrive.
By UWCSEA Communications Team
3 October 2024
Jessi, Grade 11, participates in a systems mapping exercise, where she visualises complex patterns and information with fellow IBDP students.
“One of the UWC values that closely aligns with me is compassion. Having solidarity and being empathetic with others is important. The Systems Transformation course offers an opportunity to make a real change. Its objective is not just for the future, but now. Partnering with Amala is a way to start helping others and create a domino effect.”
Jessi (fourth from the right) wears the traditional costume of Peru on UWC Day with friends from UWCSEA's diverse community.
Back home in Peru, Jessi remembers seeing dozens of new people in her neighbourhood. At the time, she lived in Huaycán, a town nestled in the valleys of an ancient archaeological site in the capital, Lima. It was the height of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and thousands of refugees were pouring into Peru, settling in cities and towns like the one Jessi lived in.
Jessi, now a Grade 11 scholar at UWCSEA Dover, wonders how she can support refugees in her hometown, especially youth, to integrate into the local community—and eventually, help build pathways for their futures. She is one of 54 students embarking on the two-year IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) course, Systems Transformation: Leadership for Change, that aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage in real-world solutions to relevant and significant issues.
UWCSEA, following UWC Atlantic, is the second UWC College to offer this new IB Diploma pathway. At the Systems Transformation course launch at East Campus on 30 August, Eivind Lodemel, one of the course designers, announced the guiding question for the first of three units: ‘How do we improve available pathways for refugees as they enter into entrepreneurship, further education, or employment?’
Developed in partnership with the IB, this innovative and ambitious course prioritises authentic assessment and student agency, where students can cultivate Leadership, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Project Management skills. As part of the IB’s multi-year review of its post-16 course, this pilot pathway—and the students embarking on it—have the potential to change the face of IBDP.
Louie Barnett is passionate about giving refugees opportunities to thrive in their further education.
Louie shares with students why refugees' access to entrepreneurship, further education, and employment matters.
A partnership with Amala that empowers students to make a difference
In partnership with Amala Education, the first Systems Transformation unit focuses on making positive change in refugee communities through effective student projects that drive new initiatives in awareness and advocacy.
“The partnership is an obvious connection as we try to break down the walls of the classroom and engage students in authentic partnerships for real-world learning,” Eivind says. Amala is a school for refugees with deep roots in the UWC Movement—its founders, Polly Akhurst (UWC Atlantic ‘06) and Mia Eskelund Pedersen (UWC Mahindra College ‘07), are alumni.
Louie Barnett, the education lead at Amala and guest speaker at the course launch, is deeply passionate about providing refugees access to post-secondary education. In collaboration with Eivind, co-course designer Clayton Chmiel, and their teams, Louie developed the unit’s focus on students creating resource packs, toolkits, and country profiles to support refugees when they graduate from Amala. This means providing refugees access to further education, employment, and entrepreneurship in the countries they have migrated to.
“The UWC mission is to use education as a force to unite people, nations, and cultures. There’s that element that you can support refugees in overcoming barriers and bringing people together; it’s a force for good to do that. It’s a challenged community, so overcoming those barriers is pretty important," Louie says.
As the Systems Transformation course focuses on project-based learning, the course aims to create opportunities for students to learn from industry partners like Amala. To facilitate interactive learning, UWCSEA is hosting a series—’Changemaker of the Month’—where guest speakers can connect with students at the East and Dover campuses.
“This features a range of people in Singapore who go beyond and do important work to transform systems and create positive change. It’s something we are especially excited about, as this will allow students to engage directly with inspiring role models and develop a nuanced understanding of the skills and competencies needed for this work,” Eivind says.
Elsa is excited to collaborate in the Systems Transformation course.
"It was super exciting to be one of the Systems Transformation pioneers. Working cross-college with peers from UWCSEA East was an incredible opportunity to collaborate on this new learning journey."
—Elsa, Grade 11, UWCSEA Dover
Kyle shares his ideas with fellow Systems Transformation students.
"It was amazing to meet like-minded peers from UWCSEA Dover and East campuses as we begin this exciting journey. It's thrilling to be part of something transformative. I'm excited about the next two years ahead."
—Kyle, Grade 11, UWCSEA East
Why developing pathways for refugees matters
Focused on making positive change and forming solutions with real-world impact, the Systems Transformation course aims to develop the competencies and skill sets needed for students to take on independent projects. This starts with a series of scaffolded, teacher-led projects in Grade 11, which are conducted together with interactions with experts and industry partners like Amala.
“As this first project is a scaffolded introduction to the core curriculum, we have developed our initiatives based on requests and input from Amala. Each project will have its own legacy that we hope will live on for a long time to come,” Eivind says.
For students like Jessi, it’s an exciting opportunity to engage in innovative, design-oriented thinking. At the course launch, for example, students participated in a systems mapping exercise where they visualised complex information and identified patterns relating to refugee success.
Jessi listens to a fellow Systems Transformation student's presentation on potential pathways for refugees.
“We learn to investigate, research, and create new solutions. The course doesn’t limit students in what we can do; it encourages us to engage our creativity and gives us the tools we need to act and make our ideas real,” Jessi says.
The Systems Transformation course is more important now than ever: as the world becomes more volatile and unpredictable, it’s pertinent that UWCSEA’s IBDP students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to navigate an ever-changing environment.
In Jessi’s hometown of Peru, the refugee crisis is unrelenting. Today, more than 1.5 million Venezuelan refugees living in Peru—nearly 35% of them are under 19—need access to entrepreneurship opportunities, further education, and employment. To Jessi, the partnership with Amala empowers her to make the first step in understanding the needs of refugees.
“It’s an initiative that’s important as the focus is on education. The fact that Amala uses education as a tool and resource for refugees to navigate for themselves is so intelligent, and is the better way to help them,” Jessi says.
“You’re giving them tools and opportunities. The UWCSEA mission is to use education as a force to unite people, so that connection with Amala is important and that the work we students do makes a difference,” she adds.
The Systems Transformation: Leadership for Change is a two-year Standard Level course equivalent to two IBDP subjects. In the following unit of the course, students will embark on a new guiding question relating to sustainability, in partnership with Global Green Connect. On November 15, Systems Transformation students will attend the unit’s launch at Dover Campus. We look forward to shaping the future of IB learning together.