The conflict in Syria has caused 2 million people to flee and displaced a further 6.5 million people within the country.Freedom House

Clare Hall has opened applications for a scholarship for Syrians in the wake of the civil war, with the aim of fostering reconstruction and new leadership in the ravaged country.

The Global Leaders initiative offers 50 fully-funded, one year Master's courses to prospective students from around the developing world. There are nine countries in the scheme, including Iraq, Jordan, Zimbabwe and Palestine.

Global Leaders states that the scholarship is “intended for students who wish to use their education to contribute towards positive change in Syria, and who have the potential to become future leaders.” Most of the Master's programmes offered by the University will be funded by the scholarship: exceptions include Nuclear Energy, Advanced Chemical Engineering and Egyptology.

To provide the scholarship, the Global Leaders initiative has partnered with Jusoor ('bridges'), an organization of Syrian expatriates involved in providing education for refugees in the country and funding Syrian graduates abroad. Jusoor, an apolitical NGO, has previously funded Syrian graduates taking up places at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and has an ongoing presence in Lebanon’s universities.

Sana Sharrack, a British-born Syrian Medicine student at Murray Edwards, said: “There isn’t one Syrian today who hasn’t experienced loss or devastation in one way or another. Sadly, in such situations, it is the young people who often suffer the most.

“Many children have been forced to leave their homes, resulting in hundreds of thousands of children being out of school for more than three years. Syrian students sponsored by the Syrian Government to study abroad are now at risk of losing their places at university due to a halt in funding.

“I am extremely thrilled and impressed that Clare Hall has offered such a programme. I hope that other colleges, and indeed other universities, follow in its footsteps.”

According to Jusoor, Syria's university student population has roughly halved since the advent of the devastating civil war, amounting to 180,000 Syrian students whose education has been disrupted by the conflict.

The United Nations estimates that almost 200,000 people have died in Syria since the war began. 2.5 million Syrians, approximately a tenth of the pre-war population, have fled the country altogether, while 6.5 million others have been displaced within its borders.