Widening participation in higher education has been a matter of priority for the Swedish government during recent years. One consequence has been an increase in policy and practice activity at national, regional and institutional level. Higher education institutions have a dual role with regard to widening participation: to help those from under-represented groups by countering the effects of socio-economic and educational disadvantage, and to provide a learning environment that enables them to realise their potential. From January 2002 to December 2004 the Swedish government spent SEK 120 million on approximately 100 projects relating to widening participation. One of these projects, Insatsledare som studieguider (Project Leaders as Guidance Counsellors), was undertaken at Södertörn University College. The aim of the project was to establish cooperation between Södertörn University College and local schools and communities, particularly in the so-called segregated areas of the Stockholm region. The purpose was to gather relevant facts about the transition between school and working life for young people who have been raised in urban communities where immigrants make up a majority of the population. These communities are often described as segregated suburbs.