Integration of Immigrants and Refugees for Practitioners
The aim of the program is to provide students with a unique opportunity to deepen their understanding of the role of psychological knowledge in the criminal justice system. The program host professors from both UK and US Universities facilitate interactive debates with guest lecturers, practitioners, and fellow students.
June 29th - July 4th, 2025
Integration of Immigrants and Refugees for Practitioners
The Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners provides privileged access to expertise and practical understanding shared by three senior experts with decades of insight and experience from private, government, and academic sectors. Gain a comprehensive and directly applicable understanding of how to plan for and implement programs to integrate immigrants and refugees effectively into the labor market.
Objectives
The program is based on a broad intellectual framework. We strongly believe that the multidisciplinary approach of the summer school is the key to better understanding the underlying drivers as well as impacts by addressing the full set of political, economic, technological and environmental aspects connected to development cooperation, that we can conceptualize a successful way forward.
We will look into the frictions between globalization, development and sustainability created by international trade, multilateral system of global rules, and business and NGO activities in developing countries
Through case studies, participants will understand how development and sustainability function in a real-world context and how different concepts actually work in practice. This objective will be achieved by using real-life situations and looking into various aspects of development moving towards creating social development and businesses that are sustainable both financially and environmentally.
Program Outline
- Global Environmental Challenges. (A Model of the Environment, Biodiversity, Water, Climate Change, Ozone Layer Depletion, Desertification, Deforestation, Natural Resources and Energy Resources, Environmental Security).
- Sustainable Development, Sustainable Retreat, or Collapse and Regeneration? (Three Scenarios for Development, Contours of Regeneration, From Regeneration to Transformation).
- Responsible Consumption and Food Waste (Consumption patterns and trends, Food waste, Planetary boundaries, Impacts on food security).
- Legal requirements for reporting on sustainability today and tomorrow (reporting requirements, GRI, G4).
- Why do companies care about sustainability? Business losses and benefits
- The history and future of global climate governance
Case Study 1: Eco-tourism – a human-gorilla dichotomy? Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda
A political ecology analysis of the impact of ecotourism on gorilla conservation and local development in the case study of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
Case Study 2: Matibabu Foundation, Kibera and Siaya County, Kenya
In 2004, on the realization that the root cause of the Kibera slums’ degrading situation was due to poverty and the endless influx of people from the rural areas (especially western Kenya) in search of employment in Nairobi. He decided to address this challenge by registering Matibabu Foundation, a health NGO that creates a healthy, productive and prosperous society in a marginalized and hard-to-reach rural population in Siaya County, western Kenya. Matibabu stands in Swahili for health and/or treatment. To date, The Matibabu Foundation has created jobs to 55 staff, provided health services to over 60,000 people in Siaya County, initiated Prevention with positives (PwP) and Psychosocial Support Center (PSC) to reduce stigma and to support the HIV victims. The Matibabu Foundation has also entered into a partnership with the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) to provide health services to minority migrant populations in Eastleigh, Nairobi. www.matibabukenya.org
CNN movie about Matibabu Foundation – Youtube
Case study 3: Maendeleo, Agricultural Microcredits / Agricultural Assistance, Tanzania
Maendeleo was founded by teachers and students from Palacky University, Czech Republic, in 2011. The NGO provides microcredits to farmer groups in villages in the Utengule/Usangu area. Today they run four complex projects including training and farming support. As Maendeleo was founded by research and students they are trying to ensure rigorous assessment of their activities.
About Program
The Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners provides valuable and directly applicable input and training to decision-makers in private enterprises, policymakers at different levels of government, NGO practitioners, academics, young professionals and students alike.
Featuring practice-relevant training sessions and site visits, the Program will allow for a continued, week-long conversation and sharing of experiences between participants and trainers.
Participants will leave with practical models that can be tailored and applied at their workplaces and in their home communities, learning not only from the trainers but also from each other.
Topics:
- Immigration realities in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere compared
- Practitioner insights and lessons from recent immigrant and refugee arrivals in Europe and Canada and elswhere
- Foundations of immigration and integration programs and practices
- How to respond and effectively adapt to changing policy and labour market requirements and challenges?
- Creative solutions to language acquisition and labour market attachment
- How to foster and maintain innovative and effective partnerships between employers, governments and civil society groups at local, state and national levels?
*Please note that the course content may be subject to change. While the main topics and modules are outlined, there may be adjustments to provide the most relevant and up-to-date training content.
🎯 Objectives
🗒 Program Outline
🕒 Schedule
📅 Important dates
🎯 Objectives
Practitioner insights into Canada’s recent reception and integration of Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian and other arrival groups will be shared to illustrate how innovative partnerships between private and public entities and creative solutions to employment, housing and language training have worked to quickly integrate large volumes of newcomers with little lead time in small, medium and large communities and enterprises.
Our Prague Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners will provide participants with privileged access to expertise and practical understanding shared by three senior experts with decades of insight and expertise from private, government, and academic sectors. Participants will learn from the promising practices that have worked and have been strengthened and tailored to various migrant populations but will also learn about the programs and policies that did not work and why.
Our highly experienced expert trainers will provide valuable and directly applicable input and training to decision-makers in private enterprise, policymakers at different levels of government, NGO practitioners, academics, young professionals and students alike. The expertise and hands-on experience of our trainers will be provided in formats that will inform and strengthen the labour market integration of immigrants and refugees in Europe and elsewhere, based on new ideas, pathways and alternative models of public and private sector collaboration.
The Prague Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners will feature a mix of practice-relevant training sessions and site visits to enrich the participants’ overall learning experience, and to allow for a continued, week-long conversation between participants and trainers.
🗒 Program Outline
Day 1, Sunday (arrival day*)
Late afternoon registration; Welcome; Course overview and introductions
*Arrival and registration of all participants by 17:30; Summer program will start at 18:00, allowing participants to meet travel requirements from their home destinations.
Day 2, Monday
Course overview and introduction; Immigration realities in Canada and Europe compared; Foundations of Canadian immigration and integration programs and practices.
Day 3, Tuesday
How to respond and effectively adapt to changing policy and labour market changes and challenges? Practitioner insights and lessons from recent immigrant and refugee arrivals in Canada.
Day 4, Wednesday
Site visits and insights into local integration practices (Prague/Czech Republic) – An opportunity for participants to compare migration-related experiences and responses, to reflect on learnings, and to interact with trainers in an informal setting.
Day 5, Thursday
Sharing of applicable stakeholder advice (I): How to foster and maintain innovative and effective partnerships between employers, other private sector entities, government agencies at the local, state and national levels, and with other NGO partners; How to entice private donations and solicit volunteers; How to encourage the private sector to address skills upgrading in the workplace for immigrants and refugees; How can the public sector encourage private sector engagement?
Day 6, Friday (departure day*)
Sharing of applicable stakeholder advice (II) and Conclusion of Summer Program: Private sector engagement and innovation providing creative solutions to reception, skills development, employment and housing, using best practices from Canada, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
*Summer program ends at 15:00, allowing participants to meet travel requirements to their home destinations.
🕒 Schedule
Day 1
- 17:30 — Registration
- 18:00 — Welcome. Course Overview and Introduction
Day 2
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Introduction
- 10:00 – 10.30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — Immigration Realities Compared: Canada and Europe
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Recent Policy Challenges and Labour Market Changes: Canada and Europe
- optional: Sightseeing Tour
Day 3
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experiences
- 10:00 – 10:30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — Foundations of Canadian Immigration Programs and Practices (I)
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Foundations of Canadian Integration Programs and Practices (II)
- 15:30 – 16:00 — Coffee Break
- 16:00 – 17:30 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experience
Day 4
- 09:00 – 12:00 — Thematic Site Visit: Government institution
- 13:00 – 16:00 — Thematic Site Visit: NGO
- optional: Evening Boat Tour
Day 5
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Practitioner insights and lessons from recent immigrant and refugee arrivals in Canada
- 10:00 – 10:30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — How to respond and effectively adapt to changing policy and labour market requirements and challenges?
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Creative solutions to language acquisition and labour market attachment
- 15:30 – 16:00 — Coffee Break
- 16:00 – 17:30 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experiences
- 20:00 Farewell Dinner and Networking
Day 6
- 09:00 – 10:00 How to foster and maintain innovative and effective partnerships between employers, governments and civil society groups at local, state and national levels?
- 10:00 – 10:30 Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 How to entice private donations and solicit volunteers? How to encourage the private sector to address skills upgrading in the workplace?
- 12:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 Closing session: Reflection and Sharing of Practical Advice
- 15:30 Departure of participants
📅 Important dates
- Earlybird application deadline – March 1st
- Final Application deadline – May 1st
- All participants will be informed about the admission decision by May 31st
- If accepted, the program fee must be paid within 7 days after receiving an acceptance letter
- June 29th – Arrival/ registration
- July 4th – Departure
🎯 Objectives
Practitioner insights into Canada’s recent reception and integration of Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian and other arrival groups will be shared to illustrate how innovative partnerships between private and public entities and creative solutions to employment, housing and language training have worked to quickly integrate large volumes of newcomers with little lead time in small, medium and large communities and enterprises.
Our Prague Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners will provide participants with privileged access to expertise and practical understanding shared by three senior experts with decades of insight and expertise from private, government, and academic sectors. Participants will learn from the promising practices that have worked and have been strengthened and tailored to various migrant populations but will also learn about the programs and policies that did not work and why.
Our highly experienced expert trainers will provide valuable and directly applicable input and training to decision-makers in private enterprise, policymakers at different levels of government, NGO practitioners, academics, young professionals and students alike. The expertise and hands-on experience of our trainers will be provided in formats that will inform and strengthen the labor market integration of immigrants and refugees in Europe and elsewhere, based on new ideas, pathways, and alternative models of public and private sector collaboration.
The Prague Summer Program for Immigration Practitioners will feature a mix of practice-relevant training sessions and site visits to enrich the participants’ overall learning experience and to allow for a continued, week-long conversation between participants and trainers.
🗒 Program Outline
Day 1, Sunday (arrival day*)
Late afternoon registration; Welcome; Course overview and introductions
*Arrival and registration of all participants by 17:30; Summer program will start at 18:00, allowing participants to meet travel requirements from their home destinations.
Day 2, Monday
Course overview and introduction; Immigration realities in Canada and Europe compared; Foundations of Canadian immigration and integration programs and practices.
Day 3, Tuesday
How to respond and effectively adapt to changing policy and labour market changes and challenges? Practitioner insights and lessons from recent immigrant and refugee arrivals in Canada.
Day 4, Wednesday
Site visits and insights into local integration practices (Prague/Czech Republic) – An opportunity for participants to compare migration-related experiences and responses, to reflect on learnings, and to interact with trainers in an informal setting.
Day 5, Thursday
Sharing of applicable stakeholder advice (I): How to foster and maintain innovative and effective partnerships between employers, other private sector entities, government agencies at the local, state and national levels, and with other NGO partners; How to entice private donations and solicit volunteers; How to encourage the private sector to address skills upgrading in the workplace for immigrants and refugees; How can the public sector encourage private sector engagement?
Day 6, Friday (departure day*)
Sharing of applicable stakeholder advice (II) and Conclusion of Summer Program: Private sector engagement and innovation providing creative solutions to reception, skills development, employment and housing, using best practices from Canada, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
*Summer program ends at 15:00, allowing participants to meet travel requirements to their home destinations.
🕒 Schedule
Day 1
- 17:30 — Registration
- 18:00 — Welcome. Course Overview and Introduction
Day 2
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Introduction
- 10:00 – 10.30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — Immigration Realities Compared: Canada and Europe
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Recent Policy Challenges and Labour Market Changes: Canada and Europe
- optional: Sightseeing Tour
Day 3
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experiences
- 10:00 – 10:30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — Foundations of Canadian Immigration Programs and Practices (I)
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Foundations of Canadian Integration Programs and Practices (II)
- 15:30 – 16:00 — Coffee Break
- 16:00 – 17:30 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experience
Day 4
- 09:00 – 12:00 — Thematic Site Visit: Government institution
- 13:00 – 16:00 — Thematic Site Visit: NGO
- optional: Evening Boat Tour
Day 5
- 09:00 – 10:00 — Practitioner insights and lessons from recent immigrant and refugee arrivals in Canada
- 10:00 – 10:30 — Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 — How to respond and effectively adapt to changing policy and labour market requirements and challenges?
- 12:00 – 14:00 — Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 — Creative solutions to language acquisition and labour market attachment
- 15:30 – 16:00 — Coffee Break
- 16:00 – 17:30 — Group Reflection, Sharing of Experiences
- 20:00 Farewell Dinner and Networking
Day 6
- 09:00 – 10:00 How to foster and maintain innovative and effective partnerships between employers, governments and civil society groups at local, state and national levels?
- 10:00 – 10:30 Coffee Break
- 10:30 – 12:00 How to entice private donations and solicit volunteers? How to encourage the private sector to address skills upgrading in the workplace?
- 12:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break
- 14:00 – 15:30 Closing session: Reflection and Sharing of Practical Advice
- 15:30 Departure of participants
📅 Important dates
- Earlybird application deadline – March 1st
- Final Application deadline – May 1st
- All participants will be informed about the admission decision by May 31st
- If accepted, the program fee must be paid within 7 days after receiving an acceptance letter
- June 29th – Arrival/ registration
- July 4th – Departure
Schedule
Day 1
- 12.00 – 18.00 Registration
- 19.00 – 19.30 Orientation / Ice Breaking Session
- 20.00 Welcome Dinner
Day 2
- 09.30 – 10.00 Introduction
- 10.00 – 11.15 Lecture 1
- 11.15 – 11.30 Coffee Break
- 11.30 – 12.45 Lecture 2
- 13.00 Lunch
- 15.00 Tours of Prague
Day 3
- 09.30 – 10.45 Lecture 3
- 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break
- 11.00 – 12.15 Lecture 4
- 12.15 Lunch
- 16.00 Pragulic Tour
Day 4
- 09.30 – 10.45 Lecture 5
- 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break
- 11.00 – 12.15 Lecture 6
- 12.15 Lunch
- 14.00 – 15.15 Lecture 7
- 15.15 – 15.30 Coffee Break
- 15.30 – 16.45 Lecture 8
Day 5
- 10.00 Free Day (Choose from 4 whole-day trips)
- 19.00 Dinner
- 21.00 Boat Tour
Day 6
- 09.30 – 10.45 Lecture 9
- 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break
- 11.00 – 12.15 Lecture 10
- 12.15 Lunch
- 14.00 – 15.15 Leccture 11
- 15.15 – 15.30 Coffee Break
- 15.30 – 16.45 Lecture 12
- 17.00 Guest Lecture
Day 7
- 09.30 – 10.45 Lecture 13
- 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break
- 11.00 – 12.15 Lecture 14
- 12.15 Free Time
- 18.00 FAREWELL PARTY
Day 8
- Departure
- 19.00 Happy Hour
ENJOY
Exciting Day Trips
DEVELOP
Your Language Skills
GAIN
A Cultural Experience
Summer Program on Integration of Immigrants and Refugees for Practitioners
Enhance Your Learning Experience With These Trainers
Corinne Prince
See Corinne's Bio
Corinne Prince is a former Director General at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. She brings more than three decades of experience working in several departments of the Canadian federal government, including Human Resources Development Canada. Over her career, she led the development and implementation of important programs, including Foreign Credential Recognition, Labour Mobility, Temporary Foreign Workers, Labour Market, Career and Essential Skills programs, and Canada’s Settlement and Resettlement programs. Between 2021 and 2023, Corinne lead Canada’s efforts to settle more than 40,000 Afghan refugees and more than 300,000 Ukrainians. She received three Deputy Minister’s awards for her work with government stakeholders, the private sector and civil society. Corinne has a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary. She was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1994.
Patrick MacKenzie
See Patrick's Bio
Patrick is the CEO of the Vancouver-based Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia, which works with private sector partners to provide immigrants and refugees access to the labor market and meaningful employment. Patrick has made a career in public service, working in policy and program areas aimed at supporting many of Canada’s most vulnerable communities through economic and social development. Previously, he spent eleven years working for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada at its national headquarters in Ottawa and its regional office in Vancouver. Throughout his career, Patrick has worked with partners on matters affecting Indigenous and immigrant populations, ranging from immigrant economic integration to credential recognition and labor mobility. Patrick has seen first-hand what works in various sectors and has adapted integration models for Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians alike.
Martin Geiger
See Martin's Bio
Martin Geiger (PhD, University of Bonn) is an Associate Professor of Politics of Migration and Mobility at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) and an internationally recognized academic specializing in labor migration and newcomer integration, innovation and development, and global governance. As a member of several think tanks and international networks of expert practitioners (e.g., International Metropolis Network), he holds strong expertise in working as a knowledge facilitator with non-academic audiences, including government, NGO, and corporate sectors. His current projects with stakeholders in Canada and other countries include providing applicable research advice on different aspects of labor migration, including migrant talent acquisition and retention and the labor market integration of diverse newcomer groups. In 2019 and 2020, Martin was invited to the Paris Peace Forum as a speaker and session moderator on topics of talent migration, development, and innovation.
