The Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Project aims to make educational programs available where refugees need them.

We believe that the provision of quality higher education in situ will contribute to the conditions for justice, sustainability, and peace in Kenya, Somalia, and the surrounding Eastern and Central African region.

Drawing on the expertise of Canadian and Kenyan universities, we respond to the urgent need for quality education through the provision of equitable, inclusive, gender-sensitive, and culturally-responsive university programs to refugee and local teachers and community leaders living in Dadaab, Kenya.

Our Programs


Since 2013, BHER university partners have offered accredited certificate, diploma, undergraduate, and graduate degree programs through online, on-site, and blended modes.

All academic programs are offered free to the refugee and local students serviced by BHER.

Learn More

We operate in Dadaab, Kenya— one of the world’s oldest and largest refugee encampments.

Kenya-Somalia Border. City of Thorns (x), by B. Lawrence, 2016, Picador.
Learn more about BHER

Latest News

H. Kim, 2019
H. Kim, 2019
H. Kim, 2019
H. Kim, 2019
H. Kim, 2018
Photo by M. Stella, 2019
Photo by H. Kim, 2017
Photo by H. Kim, 2019
Photo by H. Kim, 2019
Photo by H. Kim, 2019
Photo by E. Antze, 2016
  • Embracing ideological “ruptures”: My experience with transnational research
    By Riya BhatlaMarch 2026 Research Assistant Riya Bhatla reflects on ‘ruptures’ in research through her work on Borderless Graduate Education and the Politics of Knowledge Production, a SSHRC-funded Insight Development Grant project exploring both the significance of, and possibilities for, master’s programming for refugees through the experiences of BHER graduate alumni.  In the hallway of…
  • Reflections from teaching: Experience, Inquire, Contribute II
    By Mirco Stella and Hilarius KofintiJanuary 2022 Since September 2021, 39 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Educational Studies at the Faculty of Education of York University (Canada), through the BHER project, have developed and delivered community-centered workshops in their local schools. With some exceptions, the overwhelming majority of these students are refugees who are…
  • Researching the gap: Community health worker education in Dadaab
    By F. Beryl Pilkington & Isabella Mbai November 2016 York University’s Dr. Beryl Pilkington and Moi University’s Dean of the School of Nursing Isabella Mbai conducted a research project on the scarcity of health human resources to meet community health needs in the protracted refugee situation in Dadaab. Check out the summary below: Researching the…
  • IDRC policy brief: An educational model for building health care capacity in protracted refugee contexts
    An Education Model for Building Health Care Capacity in Protracted Refugee Contexts  By F. Beryl Pilkington, Isabella Mbai, Judith Mangeni, & Izzeldin Abuelaish The refugee population in Africa continues to grow as more and more people destabilized by wars and conflicts within their own countries are forced to flee to neighboring countries. The Dadaab refugee…