UEA Sanctuary Student Support
This page details key information about the support available to sanctuary scholars during their time at the University of East Anglia.
As a University of Sanctuary (UoS), we want to ensure that all sanctuary scholars feel supported emotionally and academically throughout their studies.

UEA Support Services
UEA’s Support Service offers various different types of support, including help with your studies and other difficulties, no matter how big or small. Student Advisers can provide support relating to your wellbeing, your finances, or any disability or learning difficulty.
Learning Enhancement Support
UEA’s Learning Enhancement team offer expert guidance to students on areas such as study skills and academic writing. Visit their webpage here for more information.
Zoe Jones is a Learning Enhancement Tutor with emphasis on supporting students from groups that are under-represented at university, and is happy to be approached by sanctuary students who are seeking advice or help with their studies. To contact Zoe, please email: z.jones@uea.ac.uk.
Wellbeing Support
The Wellbeing Support team offers support, advice and guidance relating to your mental health and wellbeing; this could be in the form of group sessions and workshops, one-to-one sessions, or support to access specialist services locally. For a full breakdown of the services available via the Wellbeing Centre please click here.
Your direct contact in the Wellbeing Team for 2026/7 is currently being confirmed and details will be added to the website shortly.
Wellbeing Workshops
You can find the full schedule of workshops taking place here. If you would like to book any of the workshops, please email: sts.workshops@uea.ac.uk.
Student Life Support
The Student Life team in UEA’s Student Services can provide advice and guidance to students on anything that’s affecting their time at university. They work closely with other teams in Student Services and across the University to explore all options available to you. Here’s some of the ways the Student Life team can help during your time at UEA:
- Specialist support for international students through our Student Life International team
- Spiritual and faith support through UEA Faith Centre
For more information on the support available visit Student Life Team.
University of Sanctuary Monthly Drop-in Sessions
All members of the UEA sanctuary community are invited to attend the University of Sanctuary Drop-in sessions which run every month. The Drop-in sessions are an opportunity to share ideas, challenges or just say hello in a friendly and relaxed environment.
Details about the Drop-in sessions, including the dates and location, are shared with community members via email.
English Language Support
The English Language Support Programme (ELSP) aims to help UEA international students develop the English language skills necessary for successful academic study.
The classes are open to all registered UEA students for whom English is not their first language and are completely free.
To find out more, please click here. If you have any queries relating to ELSP, please email :m.dutton@uea.ac.uk
Careers Central Support
Careers Central offers an incredible array of free support, resources, advice and activities for all UEA (undergraduate and postgraduate) students and newly graduated (within three years) alumni. This includes many resources, workshops and online courses on a range of topics such as considering future study, volunteering, improving your CV, how to look for employment - and much, much more.
Your direct contact in the Careers Central team is Rachael Rose (Student Careers Manager). To contact Racheal, please email: r.rose@uea.ac.uk.
Postgraduate Research (PGR) Support
In addition to the first-class support offered by UEA professionals in Careers Central, Ane Sesma (Postgraduate Research Partnerships Manager) can also be approached by sanctuary students who are seeking advice on how to continue developing their skills and talent through postgraduate research studies. General PGR enquiries are supported by the PGR Service Reception, which can also be contacted via Live Chat. Further information can be found in the Postgraduate Research Service, or in Contact the PGR service.
Finding Your Way Around
If you have just arrived at UEA and would like some help to find your way around, email Liz Ferguson in UEA’s Outreach team at inclusion@uea.ac.uk to arrange a tour with a friendly current student.
Additional Help
If you need additional guidance on any of the support available listed above, please email the UEA University of Sanctuary Liaison Officer, Madi Dutton.
Guidance for UEA Academic Advisers
Please find below a summary for UEA Academic Advisers of the support available for sanctuary students.
Dear all colleagues working as Personal / Academic Advisors,
The UEA was formally recognised as a University of Sanctuary in January 2018 in acknowledgement of its ongoing commitment to promote a culture of inclusivity, respect and welcome to those who have been forced to migrate from their country of origin and find themselves seeking sanctuary.
The UEA University of Sanctuary initiative is involved in a broad array of activities and programmes and supports an ever-growing number of students who are affected by displacement, conflict and war. It is widely recognised that students from a sanctuary background often face barriers to seeking support from mainstream student services. We look forward to working with you, as academic advisors, to ensure that we are holistically supporting all members of the sanctuary community.
If you would like to learn more about the initiative, have a student who you feel could benefit from the support of the initiative – or have any outstanding questions – please do get in touch.
What support is available at UEA for Students who find themselves - or have a background of - seeking sanctuary?
All students are supported through the normal UEA Academic Advisor Model, alongside having access to other more specialist support, as detailed below.
Within the mainstream student support services, the following individuals are particularly familiar with providing support to students with a background of seeking sanctuary:
Sanctuary Liaison Support Worker: Madi Dutton (m.dutton@uea.ac.uk)
Sanctuary Initiative Academic Lead: Sophie North (S.North1@uea.ac.uk)
Learning Enhancement Team: Zoe Jones (z.jones@uea.ac.uk)
Careers Central Team: Rachael Rose (r.rose@uea.ac.uk)
The sanctuary initiative currently works with student support services to provide tailored support through a variety of streams of work including:
Welcome, Orientation and Assessment : All members of the UEA sanctuary community are invited to a one-to-one welcome meeting with Sophie and Madi where bespoke plans for support and links to services are made
Peer Support, Community Development and Psychoeducation: All members of the UEA sanctuary community are welcome to monthly sanctuary drop-in sessions alongside other events and activities. If you have a student who may be interested in attending a drop-in or specialist event, please direct them to look at our webpage which includes upcoming dates, or email Madi
Sanctuary Community Led Participatory Art and Cultural Projects: Each Academic year sanctuary led community participatory art and cultural projects take place. Examples of these include “The Suitcase” and “Sanctuary in The Kitchen”. We are yet to see what projects will develop in the 2025-2026 academic year.
Training and Awareness Raising: Do let us know if you would like training within your school or faculty specifically on supporting students with a sanctuary background. Training is co-produced and delivered by members of the student and staff sanctuary community
Linking to specialist trauma-informed support services: For students needing mental health support related to past complex trauma and forced displacement a referral can be made to specialist services – please contact Madi or Sophie to discuss this. We also have a specific lead within the UEA wellbeing team.
I want to find out more about the University of Sanctuary – where can I look?
We love having staff and students join our team. Have a look at our website or e-mail Sophie and Madi to join a meeting. If you would like to learn more about the wider City of Sanctuary initiative (from which the “Universities of Sanctuary” movement has grown) – have a look at https://cityofsanctuary.org/
Will I know if my Academic Advisees have a background of seeking sanctuary?
All students who arrive through the UEA sanctuary scholarship schemes or through an affiliated sanctuary scheme such as the Council for At Risk Academics are asked by the university of sanctuary team if they would like us to inform their academic advisors about sanctuary support.
As an initiative we often reach out to students whose home country is undergoing rapid humanitarian changes. However, we are aware that many within the UEA community will come from a background of seeking sanctuary and may not be aware of specific sanctuary support available. Please do contact us and direct anyone to our initiative if you have ideas as to how we can support.
I have a student with a background of seeking sanctuary who is struggling financially, who can I direct them to?
Any UEA student who is struggling financially can be directed to the Student Life Finance Advice Team. Whilst within the sanctuary initiative we are not able to offer hardship funding, we have been able to support students with finding second hand items through requests to the wider sanctuary initiative and to local charities. Dr Bike has also been able to provide support with bike maintenance and loans.
Who can I contact within the University of Sanctuary Team if I have any questions?
Madeleine (Madi) Dutton (email m.dutton@uea.ac.uk) is the Sanctuary Liaison Officer and works for UEA University of Sanctuary initiative 3 days per week.
Dr Sophie North (email: S.North1@uea.ac.uk) is the Academic Lead and is employed by the University of Sanctuary initiative 1 day per week.
Many thanks for your time. We look forward to working with you. Very best wishes,
Sophie and Madi
