The platform aims to enable Syrian students to resume their university studies in Portugal under an emergency scholarship program.  

The Global Platform is an international endeavour to provide emergency scholarships to Syrian students and enable them to acquire professional qualifications. Furthermore, it also aims at forging collective political will and to mobilise concerted action aimed at promoting Higher Education in Emergencies at large and to place it high on the international agenda.

The Initiative was launched in 2013 by Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, with the support of a core group of institutional partners, namely the Council of Europe, the League of Arab States, the International Organization of Migrations (IOM) and the Institute of International Education (IIE).