SMART UA - JRS Europe
About JRS Europe
Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS Europe) is based in Brussels and coordinates the work of 23 national and regional JRS offices across the continent. As a non-profit and faith-based organization, it accompanies, serves, and advocates for refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced people. Its activities include advocacy at the European level, comparative research, and the coordination of transnational projects that strengthen integration, access to rights, and dignity for displaced communities.
Role in the project
As coordinator of the SMART UA project, JRS Europe is responsible for:
- Consortium coordination: managing project governance, monitoring progress, and ensuring compliance with EU rules.
- Research support: guiding methodologies and ensuring that national findings are comparable and feed into EU-level analysis.
- Capacity building: facilitating transnational exchanges and knowledge-sharing activities across Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.
- Communication and dissemination: producing project-wide communication materials, leading awareness campaigns, and ensuring visibility in EU policy circles.
- Advocacy and scaling: organizing a European-level final event and disseminating innovative practices across its network to influence policy and integration approaches.
REPORTS
In addition to leading the final European report, JRS Europe contributes to all national reports by ensuring methodological consistency, comparability across countries, and visibility at the EU level. While the Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovak reports are led by national partners, they all form part of a shared evidence base that JRS Europe helps to shape and consolidate for the transnational synthesis.
Final Comparative Transnational Report: This European-level synthesis will bring together the findings from Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, ensuring that national evidence informs EU-wide policies and practices on housing and labour market integration.
ARTICLES
SMART UA Partners Meet in Brussels for In-Person Coordination and Kick-off Meeting
JRS Europe hosted the in-person coordination and kick-off meeting of the SMART UA project in Brussels, bringing together partners to align on objectives, working methods, and next steps for implementation. The meeting provided space to share research findings, discuss workshop outcomes, review project progress, and strengthen coordination across work packages. Key challenges affecting Ukrainian refugees’ integration — including language barriers, discrimination, and difficulties in the recognition of skills — were highlighted, establishing a shared evidence base for the activities ahead.
Strengthening Employment Pathways for Ukrainian Refugees: Key Insights from the Romania Workshop
As part of the SMART UA project, a national workshop in Romania focused on strengthening employment pathways for Ukrainian refugees through coordinated and evidence-based approaches. The event brought together researchers, practitioners, civil society organizations, and public institutions to connect research findings with field experience. Discussions highlighted barriers such as language limitations, administrative complexity, and difficulties in recognizing qualification.
Strengthening Housing Stability for Ukrainian Refugees: Key Insights from the Romania Workshop
Within the SMART UA project, a national workshop in Romania brought together practitioners, researchers, civil society organisations and public institutions to discuss key challenges related to housing access for Ukrainian refugees. The workshop connected research findings with field experience, highlighting barriers such as high rental costs, limited affordable housing and administrative obstacles, while also showcasing promising practices that can support more stable and coordinated housing solutions.
Strengthening Employment Pathways for Ukrainian Refugees: Insights from the Slovak Workshop
As part of the SMART UA project, a national workshop in Slovakia focused on strengthening employment pathways for Ukrainian displaced persons through sustainable, evidence-based approaches. The event brought together practitioners, researchers, public institutions, and civil society organizations to connect research findings with field experience. The workshop series began with an expert session where research from Trnava University highlighted barriers such as language gaps, qualification recognition challenges, and uneven access to support.
Strengthening Housing Stability for Ukrainian Refugees: Insights from the Slovak Workshop
As part of the SMART UA project, a national workshop in Slovakia brought together experts, practitioners, public institutions, civil society organisations and Ukrainian students to discuss key challenges related to housing, integration and psychosocial support for Ukrainian refugees. The workshop combined research findings with practical field experience, highlighting the importance of stable housing to social inclusion and stronger cooperation among stakeholders.
Understanding Housing Pathways for Ukrainian Refugees in Romania: Insights from SMART UA Research
Within the SMART UA project, research in Romania examined how Ukrainian refugees access housing and the role of institutions, organisations and local actors in supporting them. By combining institutional mapping, housing market analysis and stakeholder consultations, the study highlights the challenges refugees face in securing stable accommodation, as well as promising practices that can strengthen housing support and long-term integration.
Employment Pathways for Ukrainian Refugees in Romania - Key Findings from the Employment Mapping and Labour Market Analysis Research
As part of the SMART UA project, research in Romania explored employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees and how various institutions and organisations support their integration into the labour market. The study combined institutional mapping with labour market analysis to highlight challenges such as language barriers, qualification recognition, and coordination gaps. It also identified effective practices, such as targeted employment counselling and better coordination between stakeholders to improve refugees’ access to stable employment.
Access to Housing for Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia: Insights from the SMART UA Project
As part of the SMART UA project, research in Slovakia explored how Ukrainian refugees access housing and the roles played by institutions, organisations, and local actors. The findings highlight the challenges refugees face, such as limited affordable housing and complex administrative procedures, while also showcasing successful practices like inclusive housing models and landlord support. The research emphasizes the importance of coordinated, community-based approaches to housing stability and long-term integration.
SMART UA at the 3rd Mutual Learning Event in Vilnius
From 23 to 25 March, JRS Europe participated in the 3rd Mutual Learning Event in Vilnius the ESF Social Innovation+ Initiative. The event brought together projects and stakeholders to exchange experiences and reflect on social innovation and inclusion, offering SMART UA a valuable opportunity to connect with other initiatives and share insights on housing and employment pathways for Ukrainian refugees.
Access to Employment for Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia: Insights from the SMART UA Project
As part of the SMART UA project, research in Slovakia examined how Ukrainian refugees access employment and how institutions, organisations and local actors respond to these needs. The findings highlight key challenges such as language barriers, administrative complexity and labour market access, while also pointing to practices that can support more stable and inclusive employment pathways.
Smart UA Employment: Capacity building workshop on employment situation for Ukrainian refugees in Hungary
As part of the SMART UA project, a capacity-building workshop in Hungary brought together researchers, practitioners, civil society organisations and public institutions to address key challenges related to the employment of Ukrainian refugees. The discussions highlighted barriers such as language skills, qualification recognition and limited coordination, while also identifying practical recommendations to support access to employment
Smart UA Employment: Capacity building workshop on housing situation for Ukrainian refugees in Hungary
As part of the SMART UA project, a capacity-building workshop in Hungary brought together researchers, practitioners, civil society organisations and public institutions to address key challenges related to housing for Ukrainian refugees. The discussions highlighted issues such as affordability, limited housing supply and fragmented support systems, while also identifying recommendations to strengthen coordinated and sustainable housing responses.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.