Spring is known as the season for new life and regrowth, during which the natural world revives and reinvigorates after the colder winter months. Reinvigoration is also an accurate description of SEET’s activities during the last six weeks.
Following the conclusion of SEET’s 2024/25 study support programme at the end of February, members of SEET gathered online for the annual general assembly to reflect on the previous twelve months. As well as approving the 2024 annual report, the agenda also encompassed a review of the organisation’s strategic priorities, and the election of new board members.
A key goal for the SEET board is to focus on attracting further diversity and experience to support a vision faithful to our values and history, whilst also preparing for future challenges and growth.
In a unanimous series of votes, Nora Diethelm (Program team lead and Co-President), Jaqueline Sun (Fundraising and Partnership team lead), Noemi Santamaria de Souza (SEET co-founder and former Program team lead), Constantin Kilcher (SEET co-founder with experience of the Program and Finance teams), and Batoul Tak Tak Paskhori, an active mentee with an invaluable perspective of SEET’s study support programme, were all elected to the board.
The following week, representatives spanning SEET’s respective operational teams met on a Saturday morning at the ETH in Zürich for a workshop focused on fundraising partnerships. After four hours of debate and group discussion, the following four objectives were agreed:
- To prioritize factors to support the successful learning and personal development of mentees on SEET’s study support programme.
- To strengthen SEET’s operational excellence by improving efficiencies and internal communication processes.
- To utilise SEET’s unique value proposition as the basis for targeting strategic partnerships, supporting mentees through networking events and the provision of products (e.g. laptops) and services (e.g. German language courses).
- To extend SEET’s footprint and educational partnerships beyond the canton of Zürich, reflecting the increasing number of Swiss-wide mentee applications.
SEET is incredibly thankful that for the forthcoming 2025/26 study support programme, we have already received financial donations from the VSETH (the umbrella organisation of all students at the ETH), Perspektive Studium, KIP Zürich, Migros Kulturprozent, Migros Mini Grants, the Ernst-Göhner Stiftung and the Vontobel Foundation. The Hasler Foundation has provided SEET with the equivalent of five study places to support refugees wishing to study Computer Science degrees.
On Friday 23 May, the ETH will once again play host to the kick-off event of SEET’s 2025/26 study support programme. Mentees and their mentors, supported by a large cohort of SEET’s volunteer-run organisation will meet for the first time together, beginning what we hope will be a mutually rewarding and enriching personal experience. Last year, our mentees came from as far afield as Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Sudan, IR Iran and China PR.
SEET believes that education is the most powerful tool to integration, change and peace. We fill the gap in the support and integration of refugees in the Swiss higher education landscape, reducing barriers and empowering them to achieve their academic goals and increase their self-determination. There is no other organisation in Switzerland that helps refugees like SEET does. If you are a private individual, or an organisation that shares our values, and wish to support refugees in Switzerland to realize their academic and professional potential, we would love to hear from you via email: seet@seet.ch
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