UNITA A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY by UNITA UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

UNITA A FACTORY FOR THE

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

University Associated Partners

UNITA A FACTORY FOR THE

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel

VISIONS Università di Torino Stefano Geuna

Universidade da Beira Interior Mário Lino Barata Raposo

Universidad de Zaragoza José Antonio Mayoral Murillo

Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour Laurent Bordes

Université Savoie Mont Blanc Philippe Galez

Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara Marilen Gabriel Pirtea

SCENARIOS Università di Torino Multilingualism, intercomprehension and language policies

Universidade da Beira Interior European Universities as drivers of a strong and environmentally sustainable economic growth

Universidad de Zaragoza The European University as a tool of inclusion and integration against economic and social inequalities

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Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour Research and innovation for the European University: overcoming the gap between center and periphery

Université Savoie Mont Blanc Mobility for all: the new forms of mobility we want to offer

Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara Education: the best investment for Europe's future

UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATED PARTNERS Transilvania University of Brașov

Università di Brescia

Instituto Politécnico da Guarda

Universidad Pública de Navarra

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Introductory statement on the state of play of EU policy in the area of higher education Supporting the development of European Universities, seeing them advancing on their path of European transformation and building powerful ties with their environment is very important for the European Commission. This is why I am very honoured that the UNITA alliance asked me to contribute to the first issue of this Magazine. UNITA is one of the 41 European Universities selected under Erasmus+ so far. I am grateful that UNITA is teaming up with the European Commission to make higher education transformation a reality. I would like to seize this opportunity to highlight the role of universities, and in particular the pioneering European Universities, to build the future of Europe. As we know, Europe, in a quickly changing world, is facing major challenges — climate change, the digital transformation and aging population — at a time when it is also hit by the biggest global health crisis in a century. In this context, our society needs more than ever the contribution of its universities: they have an essential role to play in Europe’s post-pandemic recovery and in shaping sustainable and resilient societies and economies. But to play this role, they need our support. How can we support universities to deploy their whole potential to address challenges? At the European Commission, one of the underlying principles behind our actions is that transnational cooperation makes us stronger and more creative. It is by enabling deeper transnational cooperation, that we will make higher education institutions across Europe ready for the future and equip students and learners with skills needed in the new reality. This is the vision stated in the European strategy for universities recently adopted. This strategy aims at supporting and enabling all types of higher education institutions to adapt to changing conditions, to thrive, to take a leading role in making our society greener, more inclusive and more digital.

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This strategy proposes a series of concrete actions towards four key objectives. The first objective is to strengthen the European dimension and facilitate transnational cooperation in higher education and research. Our second objective is to consolidate universities as lighthouses of our European way of life, with supporting actions focusing on quality and relevance for future-proof skills, diversity and inclusion, as well as democratic and academic values. With this strategy, we thirdly aim at empowering universities as key actors of change in the twin green and digital transitions through actions promoting whole institution approaches for greener and connected universities. The fourth is to reinforce universities as drivers of Europe’s global role and leadership. In the preparation of this strategy directed at all higher education institutions, the Commission has had many consultations with Members states and representatives of the higher education sector. European Universities alliances have been an important source of inspiration. By sharing their innovative ideas and practices, they have greatly contributed to the reflection, while their feedbacks on some challenges they are facing when implementing their transnational activities have also helped to define initiatives we are now proposing to take transnational cooperation to the next level, such as the proposed joint European degree and the legal statute for alliances. All across Europe, European Universities alliances attract a lot of attention. I take UNITA as an example. Through your ambitious cooperation, you are becoming a university of the future. You are rethinking in a new European way your engagement with your surrounding environment. Your ambition is not only to strengthen the European dimension of your education, research, innovation and your communities, but also to provide new opportunities of European cooperation for your public and private partners and stakeholders. I know how much the UNITA alliance is attentive to engage with the environment. UNITA universities share the strategic objective to further synergies with local actors in priority areas for the smart specializations of your respective regions, namely renewable energies, cultural heritage and circular economy. I strongly believe in the relevance of this approach: it is by being united and learning through cooperation, and by engaging with the social and economic environment that European Universities will make Europe stronger to address present and coming challenges. As such, they can become a source of inspiration for the wider higher education sector. Mariya Gabriel European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

VISIONS

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÀ DI TORINO 8

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Stefano Geuna

Rector Università di Torino Founding the first 17 European alliances in 2019 was an important first step towards creating a European Universities system. Since then, 24 new alliances have joined the original group in an unstoppable process of enlargement. What was originally a dream has become a living project now helping consolidate our continental identity. UNITA — Universitas Montium is one of the first alliances to turn that dream into a vision. Our model is based on three central aspects: be present in cross-border rural and mountain areas to develop opportunities, share Romance languages and excel in researching strategic fields for national and international development such as renewable energy, cultural heritage and the circular economy. These are all fundamental prerequisites in our mission to define a university model which innovates teaching, research and disseminates excellence. Today, UNITA is working passionately to turn this vision into reality. We can now imagine multiple, closely tied and connected universities leading the new European public domain, because research and teaching are social human events without borders. So, what is a fully European university? This is our goal and to achieve it, the alliances must acquire a new legal entity and operate autonomously. This kind of entity helps to overcome barriers due to national regulations while ensuring autonomy of the universities and offering an instrument for innovation to the alliances. Secondly, European Universities must be able to offer students international study programmes and issue their own European degrees.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

The Erasmus Programme has been the heritage of young Europeans since 1987, and nowadays Erasmus+ mobility programmes offer significant numbers of students the opportunity to have an international education. Nevertheless, we have the moral duty to go further. We must increase funding for student and researcher mobility so that these opportunities are guaranteed without inequalities. Above all, we need to make international study and research experience a full part of the curriculum studiorum. So we are working to increase mobility within EU countries, strengthening integration between regions and macro-regions, but at the same time we are not giving up on reinventing mobility from Europe to the rest of the world. Finally, in a perspective that we hope is not too far away, we cultivate the objective of an EU university budget for research and advanced education. This would mean sharing European university and research policies and having adequate budgets to implement them. The European university is a fundamental need, because the greatest challenges in scientific knowledge and technological and cultural transfer are global to us all. The University of Europe is no longer just a dream. UNITA is an example of the way our universities are key levers for implementing the Next Generation EU Plan: to achieve a sustainable and technologically advanced society. EU policies supporting the post-Covid-19 economic recovery are an extraordinary opportunity for change on our continent. The university assumes the historic responsibility of leading change, starting by reinventing itself.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSIDADE DA BEIRA INTERIOR 12

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Mário Lino Barata Raposo Rector Universidade da Beira Interior

The European integration process is now increasingly tangible and significant for the European Union. In fact, the Europe of Knowledge today, is a widely valued concept and irreplaceable factor of Europe's growth, resulting in true European citizenship and improved citizen living standards. Faced with globalisation challenges, Europe has developed a strategy to strengthen the multitude of knowledge dimensions: scientific, technological, cultural, social and intellectual — all designed to foster productivity and competitiveness and offer innovative solutions to meet these challenges. Initiatives have been developed to strengthen strategic alliances between Higher Education Institutions internationally and promote European Universities’ ability to support their students while studying in other EU countries. This way they benefit from European Universities complementing one another as well as promoting greater cohesion and cooperation between students, teachers, researchers and support staff. As an integral part of the project, the University of Beira Interior has enjoyed creating a common, open, multicultural and digitally connected space to facilitate student, teacher, researcher and staff mobility. Associated partners’ active involvement has resulted in the creation of a true communion of European interests and values, leading to a differentiating identity that develops and improves the competitiveness and attractiveness of the courses on offer. UBI’s participation in UNITA is a window of opportunity for it to relaunch internationally, clearly impacting its values and positioning

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

and enabling knowledge created across borders to be disseminated as well as attracting talented students, teachers and researchers. The UNITA — Universitas Montium network aims to offer an innovative example of partnerships and integration, supported by teaching and research excellence and citizen and stakeholder involvement. It is also very important to remember that the alliances’ evaluation and selection criteria includes the level of ambition, the universities’ ability to transform and how easily their results can be replicated. So, in light of its UNITA responsibilities, UBI is committed to working with partner universities in developing long-term strategies; preparing for the alliance’s new era; jointly applying for European projects; searching for partnerships in other international networks; marketing the alliance; creating a joint identity; promoting summer schools; preparing co-tutelle programmes; developing mechanisms to facilitate academic community mobility; searching for solutions for UNITA Alliance’s future sustainability; developing efforts to commit the Portuguese Government to simplifying legal barriers and obtaining greater funding for Alliance participation.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA 16

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José Antonio Mayoral Murillo

Rector Universidad de Zaragoza

The University of Zaragoza was convinced, from the very beginning, of the importance of taking part in the European Universities Initiative, an ambitious programme aimed at building a more integrated and better Europe for the next generations. We accept the challenge of introducing deep transformations in our formative model, including a more person-centered and inclusive education, new modalities of lifelong learning as micro-credentials, and the promotion of multilingualism at all levels, resorting to new methods as inter-comprehension (esp. among Romance languages). We want to give an additional boost to our deep commitment to promote innovative economic and social changes in our regions, particularly in our rural mountain cross-border territories. Anyway, the deepest transformative impact in our institution is the progressive assimilation of the idea that we must progress towards forms of closer interuniversity collaboration and integration. The changes prompted by our participation in the UNITA alliance will change the vision of our main missions: training, research, and innovation, strengthening the concept of European citizenship as a cornerstone of university life. Regarding education, the integration of the offer of the UNITA universities will allow us to build flexible self-tailored learning paths for our students, favoured by virtual, blended, and physical, long, and short mobilities. Rural mobility, an original initiative of our University successfully introduced in our alliance, is about promoting the presence of European students in not very populated rural

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

areas, thus enhancing in them the European feeling of belonging, offering students new internship possibilities, and contributing to the transformation of our territories. Research is also being favoured: new clusters of research groups in the initial interest areas (Circular Economy, Renewable Energies and Cultural Heritage) are already a reality, and parallel initiatives as the Re-Unita project (SwafS) will help to optimize the use of our equipment. Furthermore, we are generating new joint research activities and joint PhDs. Knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship are also clue for the alliance: we plan to establish a new Joint Innovation Hub, sharing ideas and promoting interuniversity initiatives opened to a wider European market and focusing on the transformation of our rural territories. We are aware that the UNITA alliance should be more than a sum of several individual universities sharing research and education programmes: we should be able to build a new structure with its own Governance body. We are committed to show to our staff and students the benefits of these deep changes, and we are starting to explore innovative options in this direction that will need the support of legal innovations at the European level, paving the way for a true common governance: our firm commitment is to identify barriers and to propose initiatives to overcome them.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÉ DE PAU ET DES PAYS DE L’ADOUR 20

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Laurent Bordes

Rector Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour With the accelerated growth of globalization, our universities are challenged to develop their education, research, and innovation missions in a fertile but complex multi-scale context driven by societal challenges, encompassing local, regional, national, and increasingly international levels. For UPPA, facing societal challenges of energy and environmental transitions through the involvement of socio-economic partners and the international opening constitute the DNA of the university to be performant in education, research, and innovation. Increasing our international visibility allows us to attract talented students and staff, willing to train and develop professionally while at the same time enriching our academic ecosystem and our territory with new skills and fostering our cultural diversity. Moreover, offering an international experience to all our students and to our academic and administrative staff allows us to develop our spirit of openness, to enrich our representation of the world, to diffuse cultural diversity, and to exploit all the opportunities offered by the European citizenship or experiences lived outside the borders of Europe. The internationalization process usually involves a first phase of discovery, naturally initiated by the desire of people from two different institutions to know each other, as well as to learn or work together. A positive result of this first experience generally leads to the formal establishment of a cooperation project between the two institutions. The formalization of an international cooperation represents a commitment to co-operate, to share resources and to

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

make efforts to achieve specific internationalization goals set by the two institutions. Our European alliance UNITA goes far beyond the scope of cooperation and conducts us to the highly ambitious development of international collaboration, where global objectives and the means to achieve them are perfectly shared, as we are allied to build a common vision of our European university of the future. For UPPA, the UNITA alliance represents an ecosystem of common trust, where we share our best practices for co-designing and codeveloping innovative solutions to increase our attractiveness and accelerate our internationalization. We share and are able to mobilize our skills and resources to respond with agility and seize the opportunities offered to implement our common policies ensuring our development in Europe as well as overseas. What is more, we are all actively involved in this vibrant and transformational collaboration. It does not only concern the governance level of our institutions, but also our undergraduate and postgraduate students, our academic staff and researchers, our administrative services, and our partners, whether public or private, national, or international. This is a profound transformation that we have collectively initiated within the UNITA alliance and that integrates our students and staff thanks to the sharing of values, principles, knowledge, and objectives, within the framework of a genuine international collaboration. We are convinced that the values of multiculturalism and multilingualism carried by UNITA are powerful factors of enrichment at an individual and collective level lying at the very heart of each member university’s mission, as indeed of European citizenship.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÉ SAVOIE MONT BLANC 24

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Philippe Galez

Rector Université Savoie Mont Blanc European Universities alliances are not three years old yet, but they already occupy a prominent place in the European higher education and research area. To be convinced of this, we only need to imagine for a moment being deprived of them. Europe would immediately seem more distant, our field of action narrower and our possibilities more limited. We would miss this new horizon to which we quickly got used. We would miss our ambition to build a new common home for the benefit of our students, our staff, and an open, confident, and forward-looking Europe. We would miss the colleagues from partner universities, whom we so enjoy meeting every three months, and the prospect of meeting new ones when the enlargement of our UNITA alliance becomes effective. UNITA has achieved a great deal in a very short time. But more importantly, it holds exciting promises for the future. The promise that a student from Timișoara will be able to build their study path in Turin, Pau and Covilhã as easily as in their home university, that a researcher from Chambéry will be able to travel to Zaragoza overnight to carry out an experiment on some special equipment. The promise that a young student-entrepreneur from Pau will be able to follow a course on innovation management given in Turin, after having participated in a PITON project in Annecy. The promise that a technician from a laboratory in Zaragoza will be able to go to Brescia or Brassov to attend a training program lasting several months without any administrative problems. The promise that we will be able to organise joint and simultaneous ceremonies to award the new and expected European diplomas, recognised by all. The promise that common laboratories can be created. The promise that our territories, reaching beyond their own universities, will establish

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

a dialogue and share experiences on subjects of common interest: mountains and rurality, European citizenship, sustainable economic development, etc. These promises in the more or less long term outline the European university that we hope for. An open, participatory, and inclusive university, able to offer its own highly visible degrees and developing joint research at the highest level of excellence. A university that becomes the new professional horizon for our staff and the home university of our students. Université Savoie Mont Blanc is fully committed to this dynamic. To do this, it must accelerate the transformation of its courses to offer more opportunities for mobility to its partners. It must also share the evidence that the construction of a European university does not only concern the services dedicated to international relations but the whole university, which must transform itself with the perspective of progressive convergence with its partners. In this sense, UNITA is an accelerator of transformations. It is also a precious help to carry them out, since we can rely on the beneficial experience of our partners.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIȘOARA 28

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Marilen Gabriel Pirtea

Rector Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara

For the West University of Timișoara the main impact of belonging to a European University has been to successfully gather the community of students, academics, and administrative staff around a unique vision for institutional development: a ground-breaking alliance of six universities in which diverse elements complement each other and where similar institutions lay the grounds to look at the future in an integrated manner; a UNITA model of increasingly collaborative teaching, learning, research, and outreach actions towards our ecosystem is developing. The feeling of pride of belonging to a European University has grown stronger as this model has been adopted and tested by more students and staff, with international mobility playing an essential role in a UNITA community building process. Being an active part of the transformative processes leading to a European Higher Education Area has impacted the individual paths of our community members; bold initiatives: newly designed types of virtual exchanges and mobilities have offered international experiences to students and staff in the difficult context of the pandemic. International students from the countries of the alliance have had the chance to work in local communities of rural Banat, Romania, supporting their path towards sustainability and cultural heritage preservation; the training of teachers and students to use the inter-comprehension method for communication has created new opportunities in the educational environment and beyond; the UNITA actions dedicated to European citizenship have made our community more aware of the role and responsibility of universities

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

in strengthening European identity and values; the Teaching and Learning Network has offered our colleagues a platform for debate, as well as a framework conducive to professional development and creation of innovative solutions for current challenges; the role of our University in the region, as well as at national level, has gradually become more complex. WUT has initiated and is leading a national network of Romanian universities which are part of European alliances, a network which has become a unique partner for dialogue with national stakeholders in the fields of higher education and research. We firmly believe that our Erasmus+ European Universities projects come with opportunities, as well as responsibilities, at local, regional, national, and European level. The UNITA alliance and the UNITA experience have motivated the West University of Timișoara to contribute to European efforts concerning integrated international virtual campuses, to develop new structures such as the WUT Living Lab, to develop more flexible study paths, to support and invest in co-supervised doctoral theses. We are the first university in Romania to implement the European Student Card. Our openness to the secondary education and business environment has been resized and our new research projects are more connected to our ecosystems. Our efforts to support the further rollout of the European University initiative are two-fold: changes within the university are being implemented, and changes outside the university are being facilitated. The university is no longer an ivory-tower, and we are ready to embrace the future European University where education and knowledge is available to all, across every border.

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UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

SCENARIOS

UNIVERSITÀ DI TORINO

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

MULTILINGUALISM, INTERCOMPREHENSION AND LANGUAGE POLICIES Following the Bologna Process, internationalization has profoundly impacted an increasingly large part of universities’ life and programmes through physical mobility, knowledge transfer and growth of global citizenship. But Europe is also experiencing a paradox — on one hand Universities promote multilingualism, and on the other they encourage one lingua franca — English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) — to take over the others. We will demonstrate that another way is possible. Students, teachers and administrative staff can be trained to communicate with each other in their mother tongues through pluralistic approaches and with particular focus on inter-comprehension (IC). WP3’s work is already producing excellent results in terms of openness to linguistic and cultural diversity, autonomous and learner-centred language learning and motivation in language learning.

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Multilinguismo, intercomprensione e politiche linguistiche Elisa Corino, Marcella Costa, Sandra Garbarino CONTACT: Emanuela Barbero — Alice Traverso Bernini | unita@unito.it

A seguito del Processo di Bologna, la dimensione dell’internazionalizzazione ha toccato profondamente un’ampia porzione della vita e della struttura delle università. Il fenomeno ha coinvolto la mobilità fisica (principalmente degli studenti, ma anche del personale accademico e occasionalmente del personale amministrativo); il riconoscimento dei risultati degli studi; il trasferimento internazionale della conoscenza; e una tendenza internazionale generale volta a promuovere la crescita del cittadino globale. Oltre a questi temi che sono principalmente legati alla promozione della circolazione di persone, conoscenze e idee, cruciale è il riconoscimento (e il rispetto) della diversità linguistica e culturale nazionale che tuttavia si pone in contrasto con una realtà di monolinguismo nel plurilinguismo e la paradossale promozione dell’English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) come unica soluzione per una comunicazione omogenea e super partes. Nel contesto attuale, in cui le società sono caratterizzate da una sempre crescente superdiversità linguistica e culturale, le nuove alleanze universitarie europee non possono più limitarsi a ricorrere all’uso dell’inglese come lingua franca e mezzo di comunicazione dei saperi disciplinari. Più voci rilevano le criticità del contesto EMI: innanzitutto il livello linguistico degli studenti è causa di importanti difficoltà nell'affrontare le complessità delle discipline. E il deficit linguistico si ripercuote inevitabilmente sui contenuti e sulle modalità di erogazione dei corsi, in quanto l'insegnamento in

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

una lingua diversa dalla lingua madre richiede strategie di semplificazione e accomodamento, strategie di adattamento che spesso risultano in una ridotta coerenza dei contenuti e nel mancato raggiungimento da parte degli studenti di competenze di rielaborazione. A ciò si aggiungono le oggettive difficoltà di un corpo docente impreparato a usare una lingua imperfettamente posseduta per trattare argomenti complessi in contesti pedagogici. Per questi motivi, ma anche per il fatto che lingue differenti permettono una maggiore apertura alla diversità e al confronto, alla scoperta della ricchezza del panorama linguistico e culturale, all’accettabilità dell’altro da sé e alla ricerca di nuove strade per il progresso scientifico, la sfida di UNITA è di preservare e valorizzare il patrimonio linguistico e culturale delle Università partner attraverso gli approcci plurali, con particolare riferimento ai principi dell’intercomprensione (IC). Pratica ancestrale, impiegata correntemente dalle popolazioni dei diversi paesi d’Europa ancora prima della creazione delle lingue nazionali, l’intercomprensione permette di stabilire una comunicazione paritetica tra persone di lingue diverse che possono esprimersi liberamente ciascuna nel proprio idioma, nazionale o regionale che sia, e che possono far tesoro di tutto il loro bagaglio linguistico, utilizzandolo come risorsa a cui attingere per comprendere e farsi comprendere. Al giorno d’oggi proporre un plurilinguismo attivo attraverso l’intercomprensione vuole dire avere la consapevolezza che nel nostro mondo si stanno sviluppando nuove pratiche di interazione e nuove literacies complesse. Se nelle nostre società complesse la riforma del metodo scientifico è inseparabile da una riforma del pensiero, essa stessa inseparabile da una riforma dell’insegnamento, anche l’apprendimento delle lingue dovrà evolvere. In questi termini, gli orizzonti dell’educazione linguistica, mirata a fornire un’alfabetizzazione in lingua materna e in almeno una lingua straniera, dovranno adattarsi alle nuove esigenze di garantire un’alfabetizzazione plurilingue, abbracciando una prospettiva complementare che prenda in considerazione la molteplicità del reale e il plurilinguismo potenziale di tutti gli individui. E tale educazione deve abbracciare tutti i livelli del curriculum verticale, arrivando a toccare in modo significativo anche — e soprattutto — la fascia più alta della formazione: quella dell’università e dei suoi attori. Formare alla comunicazione plurilingue in intercomprensione i protagonisti odierni e futuri del mondo della ricerca vuole anche dire permettere e favorire un dialogo più completo e olistico tra le discipline, in una prospettiva che consideri la diversità non solo come una tematica ma come un principio epistemologico, politico e ontologico. In questo modo, ricche di saperi veicolati da terminologie specifiche, talvolta difficilmente

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traducibili in altre lingue sebbene provenienti da una stessa matrice latina, le diverse discipline non potranno che trarre benefici dall’arricchimento permesso da questo approccio. Benefici che, all’interno dell’alleanza UNITA, iniziano ad affiorare già dopo un anno di sperimentazione, in termini quantitativi e qualitativi. Le cifre ci dicono che ad oggi sono stati già implementati diversi sillabi per la formazione all’IC degli studenti del Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature straniere e Culture moderne, degli studenti delle diverse discipline che si apprestano a partire per l’Erasmus, degli insegnanti di lingue che si formano alla didattica dell’IC e degli insegnanti non linguisti che accolgono studenti stranieri all’interno delle loro aule. Durante il primo anno di attività diversi caffè e atelier linguistici hanno riunito in un’unica aula virtuale gli studenti e gli insegnanti di IC delle diverse università partner. E per garantire una formazione base a chi non rientra tra le categorie precedenti, è stato creato un corso interamente online di Elementi di IC inserito sulla piattaforma di autoapprendimento e orientamento open access Start@unito. In tre semestri di attività didattica si sono avvicinati all’IC numerosi studenti e docenti. L’azione di formazione per formatori, prima esperienza strutturata di questo genere nel mondo dell’IC, ha dato frutti positivi, con 25 docenti formati all’interno dell’Alleanza che hanno così potuto iniziare percorsi didattici autonomi nelle istituzioni di appartenenza (si noti nel grafico in appendice l’aumento dei corsi di IC offerti nelle università partner nell’A.A. 2021-22). I corsi di 30 ore per gli studenti Erasmus in procinto di partire per la mobilità o appena partiti hanno permesso di introdurre principi di comunicazione plurilingue e interculturale in classi formate da studenti in mobilità tra le diverse università partner, ai quali è stato attribuito un open badge di IC con un obiettivo comunicativo. E i corsi e laboratori in offerta formativa curriculare hanno coinvolto numerosi studenti di lingue che hanno lavorato in aula per scoprire, sviluppare e potenziare le strategie di IC, e online per realizzare lavori collaborativi in gruppi multilingui in una prospettiva COIL. Alla fine del percorso formativo gli studenti segnalano come queste formazioni abbiano permesso loro di aprirsi alla diversità linguistica e culturale: “la diversità è il nostro maggior valore e non deve essere temuta”; “riconoscere una lingua non studiata come amica, e non come sconosciuta”; “è interessante notare come l'IC aiuti percepire una lingua come amica e non nemica, l'IC potrebbe davvero creare più coesione non solo europea ma mondiale”; “ce cours éduque aussi à l'ouverture d'esprit et amène à

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

découvrir les différentes cultures derrière chaque langue”; e a un apprendimento motivante, più autonomo e incentrato sull’apprendente: “j'ai compris par moi-même qu'en écoutant attentivement, on peut arriver à céer des liens rentre les langues romaines [sic] et c'est encourageant”; “foi de imensa importância, aprender e compreender na teoria algo que fazemos inconscientemente”. Certo, questo approccio innovativo può all’inizio scoraggiare: “Au début de ces cours je voulais abandonner mais finalement je suis contente d'être arrivée jusqu'à la fin”. Tuttavia, nelle testimonianze degli apprendenti leggiamo che il cambiamento che si crea in chi scopre gli approcci plurali, e in particolare l’IC, è tale che molti si chiedono perché questa non sia più diffusa e si impegnano autonomamente a diventare essi stessi testimoni e portavoce delle tecniche acquisite, inserendole nelle loro pratiche didattiche (“Se un giorno insegnerò mi impegnerò in prima linea per far conoscere l'IC: è un peccato così poche persone la pratichino e la conoscano”), o progettando una tesi sugli approcci plurali. La dinamica creata in soli tre trimestri permette già di immaginare che da qui alla fine del periodo progettuale moltissimi dei protagonisti di UNITA potranno interagire parlando ciascuno nella propria lingua e padroneggiando tutte le strategie necessarie per la comunicazione in IC. E sicuramente la ricerca-azione accompagnerà le sperimentazioni in atto, permettendo di produrre sillabi testati e affidabili, nonché buone pratiche per la comunicazione plurilingue internazionale.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

2021 2022

UNITO UBI UPPA

5 1 1 1 4 4

USMB

5 2

UVT

6 4

Tab. 1: Numero di corsi di intercomprensione offerti negli atenei UNITA

REFERENCES: Bonvino E. & Jamet M.C. (eds.) (2016), Intercomprensione: lingue, processi e percorsi – SAIL, vol. 9. De Carlo M. & Anquetil M. (2019), Un Référentiel de compétences de communication plurilingue en intercompréhension — REFIC, in EL.LE, 8 (1), pp. 163-234. De Carlo M. & Garbarino S. (2020), Intercomprehension. Strengths and Opportunities of a Pluralistic Approach, in Piccardo, E., Germain Rutherford A. & Lawrence, G. (ed. By), The Routledge Handbook of Plurilingual Language Education, London: Routledge. Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France (2016), Références Intercompréhension (available online https://www.culture.gouv.fr/). Escudé P. & Janin P. (2010), Le point sur l'intercompréhension, clé du plurilinguisme. Paris: CLE international. Janin P. (2016). L’intercompréhension, une ancienne pratique d’échange, une clé pour l’avenir, Repères DoRiF, Hors-série : LANGUES ET CITOYENNETÉ – COMPRENDRE LE MONDE POUR AGIR DANS LA SOCIÉTÉ, DoRiF Università, Roma, marzo 2016. Meissner F.-J., Meissner C., Klein H.G. & Stegmann, T.D. (2004). EuroComRom. Les sept tamis. Lire les langues romanes dès le début. Aachen: Shaker-Verlag.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSIDADE DA BEIRA INTERIOR

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES AS DRIVERS OF A STRONG AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH European human development standards must be redesigned if we are to meet UN sustainable development objectives. Thus, Universities helping develop a sustainable economy should support not only current businesses in their transition towards sustainability, but also the next generation of businesses. University start-ups are fundamental in this process and can assume both economic indipendence and sustainability. One of the most immediate forms to foster and activate innovation is by stimulating open innovation practices, which the European Union increasingly gives attention to. Actually, science has reached such a high level of complexity that it is often impossible for a business to be sustainable if it only has its own resources to rely on. European Universities, and UNITA — Universitas Montium in particular, are playing an important role in changing this by contributing to new ways of thinking, through converting innovation and science into economic development. The INNOUNITA Project, funded through the EIT-Initiative pilot program, as well as local initiatives like the UBIMedical Incubator, offer good examples for a sustainable and multidisciplinary approach to tackle these challenges.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

As Universidades Europeias enquanto indutores de um crescimento económico forte e ambientalmente sustentável José Páscoa CONTACT: Francisco do Adro | unita@ubi.pt

De modo a atender aos objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável das Nações Unidas, e da sua Agenda 2030, é necessário alterar os paradigmas de desenvolvimento humano na Europa (United Nations General Assembly, 2015). É importante que este desenvolvimento, que também se quer económico, se integre de forma íntima com as preocupações ambientais. É precisamente para estimular a evolução nesta direção que a União Europeia introduziu as suas políticas focadas na economia circular e no pacto ecológico. Neste contexto a mudança geracional deve ser promovida pelas instituições de ensino superior e, de forma mais direta, pelo programa de Universidades Europeias. E a UNITA não é aqui exceção. É importante assumir de forma clara a construção de um futuro comum sustentável e, em particular, este novo provir deve permitir reduzir o impacto negativo que até aqui se tem verificado sobre a qualidade de vida e o bem-estar das gerações futuras. No entanto, o processo no sentido de se atingir a sustentabilidade não é conseguido de forma imediata e através de um mero contrapeso entre os impactos positivos, em determinados domínios, e os negativos noutros. É necessário incorporar uma visão mais holística, mais global, e que é necessária para resolver o problema de forma realista, e isso implica associar de forma concorrente as dimensões económica, social e ambiental (European Commission, 2017). Assim, as Universidades que pretendam contribuir para o desenvolvimento de uma economia sustentável devem apoiar, não só a transição para a sustentabilidade das atuais empresas, mas também contribuir

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

de forma muito forte para uma nova geração de empresas, muitas provindas de start-ups universitárias, que mais facilmente assumem a dupla dimensão económica e de sustentabilidade como fundamentais. É neste contexto que a inovação é a palavra ubíqua, e mágica, que permite construir o futuro a partir do tempo presente. Não há dúvida de que são necessárias soluções inovadoras para atender aos grandes desafios que se nos colocam, sejam eles de ordem social, ambiental ou económica (Becker et al, 2018). As universidades europeias constituem-se assim como instrumentais para a regeneração de regiões mais frágeis, e aqui indo muito para além da pura transferência de tecnologia, e mais em direção à cocriação de conhecimento de forma a conduzir, dessa forma, o próprio desenvolvimento económico na direção que se pretende. E essa condução tanto pode ser feita de forma mais direta, ou tática, com as empresas, ou de forma mais estratégica através do contributo para o estabelecimento das estratégias de especialização inteligente das regiões. Para atingir este desiderato a autonomia institucional das universidades europeias é um valor em si, pois permite-lhes ter uma visão mais abrangente de modo a promover a tão desejada mudança societal, designadamente no sentido de conseguir obter uma sociedade mais inclusiva, inovadora e pensadora! Chegados a este ponto particular concluímos que é muito importante provocar, e ativar, a inovação. Uma das formas mais imediatas de o fazer é através do estímulo a práticas de inovação aberta, um aspeto a que a União Europeia tem dado uma atenção crescente. Em boa verdade, a ciência atingiu níveis de complexidade tão elevados que a sua translação não é amiúde possível apenas com os recursos próprios das empresas, mesmo de grande dimensão. Estas práticas permitem assim ultrapassar limitações intrínsecas e promover o desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas. Embora, e na realidade, as empresas de “velha geração” sejam muitas vezes renitentes em adotar estas práticas, pois estão sempre muito ciosas dos seus segredos. Mas a concorrência dos outros polos de desenvolvimento mundial tem levado, mesmo as mais conservadoras, a não se basearem apenas nos seus recursos internos. Isto é, a inovação de origem interna é reconhecida como insuficiente, e esta constatação é ainda mais premente no quadro das PMEs, sem dúvida mais frágeis ao nível dos recursos e conhecimentos. É, portanto, essencial procurar ideias e recursos oriundos de fontes externas de forma a complementar a sua base de conhecimentos interna, sem esquecer que tem de jogar este jogo de forma competitiva de modo a ultrapassar a concorrência. Isto também significa que a sobrevivência destas empresas advém, essencialmente, da forma como elas se conseguem adaptar mais rapidamente a viver no ambiente de inovação aberta. Neste contexto é ainda importante notar que é essencial que a inovação aberta enfatize o papel dos

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

recursos endógenos no próprio processo de inovação. É por essa razão que na aliança UNITA, e ao nível da I&D, os três temas chave são: energias renováveis; economia circular; e património cultural. Os projetos colaborativos, tal como a União Europeia os concebe, constituem-se como uma das melhores ferramentas para estimular, financiar e, desta forma, promover ativamente a inovação aberta. É precisamente isso que a União Europeia estimula com os diversos tipos de projetos que financia no quadro do Horizonte Europa, mais conhecidos como consórcios de I&D e, de uma forma mais pragmática, com as ações do Instituto Europeu de Inovação e Tecnologia (EIT, 2018). Neste ambiente as universidades europeias, e a UNITA – Universitas Montium em particular, têm um papel importante a desempenhar. Elas devem contribuir para introduzir as novas formas de pensar a inovação e a contribuição da ciência para o desenvolvimento económico. Neste domínio está em curso o projeto InnoUNITA, o qual é financiado através do Programa Piloto EIT-Initiative. Nesta parceria torna-se possível reunir diversas atividades, desenvolvidas pelos parceiros da UNITA, de modo a promover e apoiar a inovação e o empreendedorismo na estrutura interna das universidades parceiras e na sua comunidade estudantil, bem como a sua translação para o ambiente económico que as envolve. Isto é conseguido mobilizando atividades de promoção do empreendedorismo, e de alteração de mind-sets, no sentido de incrementar o impacto das universidades no ecossistema de inovação, em particular no das regiões transfronteiriças e de montanha onde se integram. Este é um bom exemplo da forma como a UNITA—Universitas Montium permitiu construir novos projetos, sempre bem alinhados com a necessidade de reforçar a capacidade do programa de trabalhos original. Não devemos esquecer que esta aliança inclui universidades de montanha, em regiões transfronteiriças, que são geralmente territórios mais deprimidos economicamente. Neste contexto o peso relativo das várias Universidades da UNITA para o desenvolvimento económico dos seus territórios é muito elevado e, portanto, estas constituem-se com um bom exemplo de aplicação das políticas europeias no estímulo ao desenvolvimento económico sustentável. Neste domínio o trabalho em rede, feito pelas seis universidades, é um bom estimulante para aumentar os níveis de ambição de inovação. Devemos ainda atender a que, e para atingir este desiderato, é importante assumir uma abordagem multidisciplinar, como a que é efetuada no UBIMedical da Universidade da Beira Interior, uma das universidades parceiras UNITA (UBIMedical, 2022). O desenvolvimento da colaboração entre as start-ups e as universidades pode ocorrer de diferentes formas. Essa cooperação pode materializar-se na forma de colaboração em trabalhos de I&D, e também no desenvolvimento de hackathons por parte de

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

estudantes, bem como na procura conjunta por financiamento público à Inovação pré-competitiva. Um bom exemplo disso é o programa europeu de Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH). Como é óbvio, os modelos de colaboração dependem dos objetivos que as duas partes pretendem atingir. A prestação de serviços de I&D é adequada para empresas que se focam em resultados de curto prazo, ou na resolução de um problema complexo de forma gradual. Por outro lado, as atividades orientadas para os estudantes, tais como as competições, os hackathons, e as internships, são mais adequadas para as empresas-start-up que pretendem atrair talento, uma vez que estas atividades são uma boa oportunidade para identificar pessoas com boas qualificações e elevado potencial de evolução. Neste sentido, e como é óbvio, as start-ups estão geralmente interessadas em crescer, e desenvolver os seus mercados, de modo a atingir os seus objetivos de sustentabilidade própria. E isso implica, geralmente, o estabelecimento de uma colaboração com as seis universidades europeias da UNITA, que possuem um grande capital de recursos, e que estão abertas a sua mobilização em rede em prol da construção do futuro comum. Não devemos esquecer que, nestes territórios de montanha e transfronteiriços, as universidades são instituições singulares, providas de bons recursos humanos e equipamentos que podem ser disponibilizados às start-ups. Além disso, as universidades europeias possuem um enorme capital social, o qual lhes advém muito por via das suas redes, tanto de ação como de prestígio, como é o caso das universidades da aliança UNITA.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

REFERENCES: Becker B.A. & Eube C. (2018). Open innovation concept: Integrating universities and business in digital age. In Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, vol. 4, iss. 12, pp. 1-16. EIT, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (2021). EIT Regional Innovation Scheme 2018, https://data.europa.eu/. European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication, (2017). White paper on the future of Europe: reflections and scenarios for the EU27 by 2025, https://data.europa.eu/. UBIMedical (2022), http://www.ubimedical.ubi.pt/. United Nations (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Implementing inclusive policies —

THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY AS A TOOL OF INCLUSION AND INTEGRATION AGAINST ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INEQUALITIES

t c a r t s b a a c n ma

Implementing inclusive policies starts with accessing study and research as well as overcoming inequalities between cities and rural and mountain areas which are two of UNITA’s main objectives. In fact, several projects have been launched with this purpose and some are worth mentioning for their integration potential: rural mobility, inter-comprehension between related languages, PhD scholarships, projects aimed at innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas or reflecting on highlanders’ perspectives on European citizenship.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

La Universidad Europea como un instrumento de inclusión e integración para superar las desigualdades económicas y sociales Francisco Beltrán Lloris CONTACT: Kermit Macpherson | unitacontact@unizar.es

La mayor parte de los estados miembros de la Unión Europea ofrecen a sus ciudadanos posibilidades de formarse en sus universidades públicas que resultan económicamente asequibles en comparación con las instituciones de enseñanza superior de otros países o con las universidades privadas. Pese a ello siguen existiendo brechas sociales que afectan particularmente a ciertos sectores, como las poblaciones rurales, y que UNITA pretende contribuir a reducir. Para ello pretende poner en marcha una serie de actividades que se desarrollan en diferentes ámbitos: movilidad, formación permanente, investigación e innovación y reflexión sobre la noción de ciudadanía europea y la construcción de una Unión Europea más inclusiva, sostenible e igualitaria. Las universidades de la alianza UNITA mantienen un profundo compromiso con las regiones rurales y montañosas en las que se emplazan, concretamente en torno a la Serra da Estrela (Universidad de Beira Interior), los Pirineos (Universidades de Zaragoza y Pau et les Pays de l’Adour), los Alpes (Universidades de Savoie Mont Blanc y Torino) y las Montañas de Banato (Universidad del Oeste de Timișoara). Este compromiso informa muchas de las acciones de su proyecto común, claramente orientadas hacia el desarrollo de estos territorios, en convergencia y colaboración con los Miembros Asociados del proyecto como, por citar solo dos ejemplos, el Gobierno de Aragón que ha introducido en 2021 ayudas a los

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

estudiantes procedentes de zonas rurales despobladas para financiar sus desplazamientos hasta los centros universitarios, o bien la Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza que aporta fondos para financiar movilidades cortas y prácticas de estudiantes internacionales en zonas rurales, la denominada UNITA Rural Mobility. La Unión Europea ha adquirido en los últimos treinta y cinco años plena conciencia de la relevante contribución que la movilidad entre universidades de diferentes países aporta no solo a la formación de estudiantes, profesorado y personal de administración y servicios, sino también a la consolidación del sentimiento de pertenencia a Europa y la necesaria actualización permanente que la noción de identidad europea requiere. Este ha sido uno de los grandes logros del European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students, más conocido como programa Erasmus, creado en 1987 en el que la European Universities Iniciative se inscribe con la finalidad de llevar la colaboración entre las universidades europeas a un estadio de mayor integración. Sin embargo y pese a las ayudas que este programa facilita para la movilidad del estudiantado, no todas las familias pueden permitirse financiar el gasto que supone una estancia de un semestre o de un curso completo en otro país. De ahí que para ser aún más inclusivos resulte necesario, como el propio programa Erasmus+ ya ha empezado a hacer, no solo aportar más fondos y complementarlos con ayudas públicas y privadas, sino diversificar las posibilidades de movilidad mediante otras modalidades menos costosas y suministrar medios y herramientas que faciliten los desplazamientos y los hagan asequibles para el mayor número de estudiantes posible. Las movilidades virtual y combinada así como las de corta duración son posibilidades que puede contribuir a brindar experiencias de formación académica y de maduración personal e intercultural a personas que por razones económicas o de otra índole no puedan permitirse periodos largos de movilidad presencial. La movilidad virtual es una herramienta potencialmente muy eficiente en este terreno, pues no exige un desembolso adicional en viajes y estancia, y, además, permite no solo complementar la formación del estudiantado, sino también compartir recursos entre las universidades potenciando así su eficiencia y sostenibilidad. Requiere, sin embargo, de una inversión en el reforzamiento del campus virtual y un elevado grado de coordinación entre las universidades para armonizar calendarios, horarios y modalidades de impartición en el que UNITA está trabajando mediante herramientas informatizadas y la generación de vías de comunicación directa entre los responsables de gestionarla. En el terreno de la movilidad, el innovador programa UNITA Rural Mobility resulta una herramienta particularmente inclusiva, pues al estar orientado a la realización de prácticas en entornos rurales,

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

no solo ofrece a los estudiantes nuevas oportunidades laborales en empresas, asociaciones e instituciones, sino que cuenta con una financiación aportada por colaboradores externos y miembros asociados que subvenciona la mayor parte o todos los gastos de viaje y estancia y, además, en zonas con precios muy asequibles. Se trata además de movilidades cortas y que pueden desarrollarse en periodos vacacionales, de manera que los estudiantes pueden hacerlas perfectamente compatibles con su formación regular. Adicionalmente, este programa pone en contacto a los estudiantes con unas sociedades rurales, en muchos casos en proceso de despoblación y ‘periferización’, pero que ofrecen también nuevas oportunidades de trabajo y en las que los universitarios actúan como embajadores de nuestro común proyecto de construcción europea. La capacitación lingüística es otra herramienta que puede facilitar la realización de movilidades formativas en universidades de lengua diferente. Por ello, junto a las formas tradicionales de enseñanza de idiomas y con el objetivo de fomentar el multilingüismo y, en particular, el empleo de las lenguas romances además del inglés no solo entre el estudiantado, sino también entre el personal docente, investigador y administrativo se ha fomentado el método de la inter-comprensión entre lenguas afines, romances en particular, como un paso previo a las experiencias de movilidad y como una herramienta que facilite la comunicación, independientemente de la enseñanza formal del idioma, en la gestión, la docencia y la investigación. Esta herramienta está siendo puesta al servicio de la comunidad universitaria y de la sociedad en forma de cursos y micro-credenciales. Facilitar el acceso a la investigación del estudiantado, independientemente de sus recursos económicos, es otras de las preocupaciones de la alianza que, con esta finalidad, incluyó en el proyecto diversos contratos predoctorales que se han multiplicado respecto de las previsiones iniciales gracias a varias convocatorias adicionales y abiertas a todos los estudiantes UNITA lanzadas por varias universidades a cargo de fondos propios o nacionales, a las que se unirán próximamente otras. El fomento de la innovación, de la transferencia del conocimiento, del emprendimiento y de la empleabilidad, particularmente dirigidos a los territorios rurales, es una de las líneas de fuerza del proyecto, de ahí que las acciones relacionadas con la investigación y la innovación se hayan centrado inicialmente en tres áreas con un gran potencial transformador en estos ámbitos y alineadas además con la sostenibilidad y el reto verde: el Patrimonio Cultural, las Energías Renovables y la Economía Circular. Estas acciones, más allá de las actividades encaminadas específicamente a la investigación, procuran proyectarse también hacia la formación y hacia la transferencia, en este caso con los espacios rurales y montañosos

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

como objetivo prioritario de las propuestas de innovación dirigidas a contribuir en la reducción de las desigualdades con los espacios urbanos. De ahí, que varias de las actividades de formación desarrolladas desde los UNITA Research & Innovation Hubs se planteen como propuestas de formación permanente en formato de micro-credenciales dirigidas a las poblaciones rurales, de manera que puedan contribuir a la actualización formativa y la capacitación de las personas que desarrollan su vida laboral en estos territorios. Los espacios rurales tienen también un especial protagonismo en la oferta de prácticas que se ofrecerá desde las bases de datos disponibles en los Liaison Services así como en las actividades de interacción desarrolladas por investigadores, estudiantes, empresas e instituciones en torno a los Coworking Spaces. Estos pretenden facilitar la empleabilidad y el emprendimiento de los estudiantes, incluido un concurso internacional de ideas para el emprendimiento en zonas rurales, financiado por uno de los miembros asociados, que contribuya a poner de manifiesto las nuevas oportunidades que ofrecen estos territorios, especialmente en el ámbito de la puesta en valor del patrimonio cultural, del desarrollo de energías verdes y de la generación de circuitos económicos más sostenibles. Otro objetivo de la alianza UNITA es la integración de las perspectivas de las poblaciones rurales y montañesas de las regiones en las que se asienta sobre la noción de Europa, sobre la pertenencia a la Unión Europea y el ejercicio de la ciudadanía europea, combinada con las percepciones de las mismas imperantes en las comunidades universitarias y entre los grupos de migrantes asentados en nuestras regiones. El objetivo es fomentar la tolerancia y el respeto a la diversidad así como enriquecer y actualizar estas nociones desde dos perspectivas complementarias como son las comunidades universitarias, particularmente europeístas, y las poblaciones rurales y los grupos de migrantes que perciben la noción de Europa desde una perspectiva diferente.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

REFERENCES: Buiskool B.J. & Hudepohl M. (2020), Research for CULT Committee — Virtual formatsversus physical mobility, Concomitant expertise for INI, European Parliament, 16 March 2020. Deliverable 3.6, https://www.ubi.pt/.

Inter-comprehension

competence

framework,

European Commission (2020) A European approach to micro-credentials, Final Report, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. ORDEN CUS/684/2021, de 7 de junio, por la que se convocan las becas de movilidad enlos campus universitarios en Aragón para el curso académico 2021/2022, in Boletín Ofcial de Aragón, 129, 17 June 2021.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÉ DE PAU ET DES PAYS DE L’ADOUR

One Testo abstract

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY: OVERCOMING THE GAP BETWEEN CENTER AND PERIPHERY

t c a r t s b a a c n ma

One of the UNITA project’s objectives is to develop innovative and collaborative research through sharing human resources and infrastructure and disseminating excellence throughout society in accordance with Open Science commitments. There are three major themes: renewable energies, circular economy and cultural heritage. To encourage joint projects and connect research and areas, several projects have been launched, including: creating a cartography, setting up three Research and Innovation Hubs, awarding PhD scholarships and organising summer and winter schools.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

Recherche et innovation au sein de l'Université Européenne : combler le fossé entre centre et périphérie Sabine Forero Mendoza CONTACT: Emilie Desconet | unita@univ-pau.fr

Les activités de recherche développées dans le cadre de l’Alliance UNITA se développent autour de trois thématiques centrales, choisies en raison de leur caractère innovant, mais aussi de leur pertinence pour des universités qui sont toutes situées dans des régions de montagne et des zones transfrontalières, et qui sont implantées sur des territoires ruraux : énergies renouvelables, économie circulaire et patrimoine culturel. Ces trois thématiques sont susceptibles de concerner, à des titres divers, l’ensemble des champs disciplinaires représentés dans les six universités de l’Alliance et donc de recouper un vaste pan des recherches et des activités de formation qui y sont menées. Elles sont également fédératrices, autrement dit singulièrement propres au déploiement de réseaux de recherche internationaux et à la mise en commun des ressources humaines et des infrastructures. Leur résonance actuelle se prête à la diffusion des données et des résultats scientifiques dans l’ensemble du corps social. Dans la mesure où l’Alliance offre un cadre propice au multilinguisme et à la pratique de la pluridisciplinarité, elle favorise le partage de la connaissance et des ressources éducatives dans ces différents domaines, sous un mode ouvert et participatif. Durant la première année de développement du projet, des actions ont été menées pour recenser les activités de recherche existantes et identifier les chercheurs engagés sur des lignes communes ou sur des terrains connexes, en lien avec les trois thématiques définies. C’est l’université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour qui a lancé et conduit

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

ces actions, puisqu’elle est leader du groupe de travail consacré à la recherche (Work Package 4). Un premier appel à manifestation d’intérêt (AMI) a été lancé en janvier 2021. À partir des réponses obtenues, on a pu procéder à l’établissement d’une cartographie numérique permettant d’identifier les réseaux de recherche, les projets en cours, les ressources humaines, les équipements et, le cas échéant, les entreprises et institutions associées. Ont été ainsi répertoriés : 90 activités de recherche correspondant à la thématique des énergies renouvelables, 110 pour celle de l’économie circulaire et 260 dans le domaine du patrimoine culturel. Comme le prévoyait le projet, trois Hubs dits de recherche et d’innovation (R&I Hubs) se sont structurés autour des trois thématiques, de manière à regrouper efficacement les différents acteurs impliqués et à mieux repérer et coordonner les projets de recherche adaptés aux besoins de développement durable des territoires de l’Alliance et aux stratégies régionales de spécialisation. Des séminaires organisés à Pau, Chambéry et Timișoara au mois de juillet 2021, et à Turin, Covilhã et Saragosse au mois d’octobre suivant, ont réuni des acteurs des réseaux de recherche : ensemble, ils ont réfléchi au mode de fonctionnement qu’ils souhaitaient mettre en place pour que les échanges et les collaborations puissent s’opérer dans les meilleures conditions possibles, de la façon la plus fluide et la plus productive. Pour animer les Hubs, des directeurs ont été nommés au mois de novembre dernier, à l’occasion du dernier Governance Board. Des groupes de travail (Action groups) comprenant des équipes de recherche et des parties prenantes — entreprises et institutions privées ou publiques, implantées régionalement — qui partagent les mêmes intérêts, seront bientôt constitués. À la tête de chaque Action group, sera placé un coordinateur. Les Hubs travaillent de concert à déterminer une stratégie initiale de 5 ans pour encourager le développement de lignes de recherche communes à des équipes issues des différentes universités de l’Alliance, mais complémentaires entre elles. Un deuxième appel (AMI) a été lancé le 31 janvier 2022. Il sera ouvert jusqu’au 15 Mars et il devrait permettre de compléter les données déjà rassemblées et d’accroître le nombre de partenaires susceptibles de proposer des projets de recherche collectifs. La cartographie, qui prendra en compte ces évolutions, sera mise régulièrement à jour afin de refléter de la manière la plus fidèle la réalité des collaborations. Mise à la disposition des étudiants et personnels membres de l’Alliance, elle sera rendue publique afin que les réseaux de recherche puissent se renforcer et que leur visibilité s’accroisse. Avec la mise en place des Hubs peuvent s’établir et se développer des ponts entre les activités de recherche et celles dédiées à la formation. Certes, cette articulation est constamment faite dans les universités, mais il est certain que le cadre défini par l’Alliance

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

UNITA contribue à la rendre plus étroite et plus solide et à lui donner une dimension internationale. À tous les niveaux du cursus, licence, master et doctorat, les étudiants sont et seront associés à des activités par lesquelles ils peuvent prendre la mesure de l’état de la recherche dans les champs correspondant aux trois thématiques de l’économie circulaire, des énergies renouvelables et du patrimoine culturel : ils sont ainsi informés des questionnements soulevés, des hypothèses proposées, des méthodes utilisées, des travaux menés et des réponses apportées. Cette liaison entre recherche et formation est notamment opérée par le biais d’écoles thématiques, qui correspondent à des temps cours de formation intensive (Summer et Winter Schools), au moyen de la création de micro-crédits et grâce à l’octroi de bourses doctorales pour des thèses dirigées en co-tutelle. Deux écoles thématiques ont déjà été organisées à l’université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour. La première « Le polar en langue romane, un patrimoine culturel émergent » s’est déroulée du 29 septembre au 3 octobre 2021. Les étudiants ont abordé des aspects théoriques liés au roman policier en langue romane (conférences, tables rondes) et ont pris part aux différentes activités programmées dans le cadre du festival « Un aller-retour dans le Noir » qui célébrait alors sa 12ème édition (rencontre avec des écrivains, débats, lectures publiques, séances de cinéma). La deuxième, sur le thème du patrimoine immatériel (« Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel en Pays de Béarn »), a eu lieu du 8 au 12 novembre 2021. Elle a réuni une vingtaine de participants de niveau licence et master, ainsi que des doctorants et des enseignants-chercheurs de cinq des six universités de l’Alliance (Timișoara, Turin, Saragosse, Beira et Pau). Les participants ont pu comparer leurs méthodes d’approche et les confronter aux directives internationales puis, dans le cadre méthodologique de la recherche-action, ils ont été amenés à réaliser un travail de terrain par petits groupes auprès d’acteurs culturels du Pays de Béarn et, plus particulièrement, de l’association « Carnaval Pantalonada » (enquête orale, reportage photographique et captation vidéo). Plusieurs bourses pour des thèses doctorales ont déjà été accordées par les universités de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour et de Savoie Mont Blanc et, depuis la rentrée universitaire 2021, huit étudiants bénéficient d’une co-tutelle pour conduire leurs recherches : trois dans le domaine du patrimoine culturel, deux dans celui de l’économie circulaire et trois dans celui de l’énergie renouvelable. Ces bourses s’ajoutent à celles qui sont distribuées au titre des échanges transfrontaliers entre les universités de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour et de Saragosse, d’une part, et les universités de Savoie Mont Blanc et Turin, d’autre part. Pour la prochaine année universitaire, de nouvelles bourses doivent être attribuées par les autres universités membres de l’Alliance. L’un des objectifs primordiaux de l’ensemble des activités de recherche développées au sein d’UNITA est de contribuer à la vie

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

des territoires. Les zones rurales peuvent être victimes d’un certain isolement ou même d’inégalités en matière d’accès à la culture, aux services et aux équipements. Mais elles constituent aussi un laboratoire privilégié pour l’expérimentation et l’innovation et pour le développement des usages liés aux nouvelles technologies. Parce qu’elles sont particulièrement concernées par les questions environnementales et par la préservation des ressources naturelles, elles offrent aussi un terrain d’observation et d’essai dans certains secteurs d’activité en plein renouvellement (agriculture, tourisme, artisanat, notamment) et collaborant pour définir une stratégie commune de bio-économie. Fortement ancrées dans leurs territoires respectifs, les diverses universités qui composent l’Alliance UNITA ont pour ambition d’offrir des modèles aptes à décloisonner les approches et d’indiquer des directions pour des politiques en faveur du développement territorial et d’une économie respectueuse de l’environnement et des richesses locales (en particulier dans le domaine du patrimoine culturel). L’Alliance est ainsi appelée à jouer un rôle fédérateur et leader pour le développement durable des zones rurales, en accord avec le Pacte vert pour l’Europe (European Green Deal) et les Objectifs de développement durable (Sustainable Development Goals) retenus pour l’agenda 2030. Par l’intermédiaire des réseaux de recherche, que les coopérations établies au sein d’UNITA permettent de structurer, de dynamiser et d’amplifier, des relations étroites avec les différents acteurs des écosystèmes locaux peuvent et pourront être établies. L’engagement pris par l’Alliance en faveur de la science ouverte, pour rendre la recherche scientifique et les données qu’elle produit accessibles à tous et à tous les niveaux de la société, converge dans la même direction. Des ressources communes seront mises à disposition, notamment au travers de la publication d’articles en accès libre et de l’organisation d’événements scientifiques et culturels visant un large public. Par ce biais, les liens entre le monde universitaire (les étudiants et les chercheurs) et les populations seront multipliés ou renforcés. Mais d’autres actions plus spécifiques, telles que la création de micro-certificats à destination des apprenants tout au long de la vie et l’ouverture d’un « bureau de liaison », chargé de promouvoir l’entreprenariat et l’emploi dans les territoires, vont œuvrer dans le même sens.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

REFERENCES: UNITA Research and https://www.youtube.com/.

Innovation

activities

Cartography,

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Whittle, M. & Rampton, J. (2020). Towards a 2030 vision on the future of universities in Europe, Publications Office, https://data.europa.eu/. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Monachello, R., Warin, C., Iagher, R., Science with and for society in Horizon 2020: achievements and recommendations for Horizon Europe, Delaney, N.(editor), Tornasi, Z.(editor), Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, open science: early knowledge and data sharing, and open collaboration, Publications Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÉ SAVOIE MONT BLANC

Abstract titolo intervento 1

MOBILITY FOR ALL: THE NEW FORMS OF MOBILITY Following WE WANT TO OFFER

The benefits of international mobility for both students and staff no longer need explanation, but if the Erasmus+ programme wants to be truly successful, the EU needs to expand it and make it accessible to everyone. This is a major challenge for European university alliances. What types of innovative mobility can they offer so as many people as possible can benefit from international experiences and build a European inter-university campus? Since its beginning, the UNITA alliance has created new types of mobility to meet this challenge: virtual mobility, rural mobility and short mobility (summer schools, Erasmus+ blended intensive programmes, etc). Following a major survey into obstacles to mobility, new tools are now available to the UNITA community, i.e. hubs of success, a cartography and mapping courses offered in all alliance universities, welcome guide and accommodation exchange. UNITA also offers more immediate forms of internationalisation that do not necessarily require mobility, such as COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning), language tandems and cafés, etc.

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La mobilité pour tous : quels nouveaux formats de mobilité offrir Marx Chhay, Laurence Vignollet CONTACT: Amandine Fleurier | unita.office@univ-smb.fr

Les bénéfices d'une mobilité à l'international ne sont plus à démontrer pour les étudiants qui en font l'expérience. C'est pour eux la possibilité de développer des compétences qui les préparent à vivre dans un monde globalisé. Ils améliorent ainsi leur adaptabilité, leur autonomie et la plupart du temps leur maîtrise d'une langue étrangère. Ces mobilités sont un vecteur extraordinaire de développement du sentiment d'appartenance à l'Europe avec plus de 4 étudiants sur 5 qui déclarent, après leur mobilité, se sentir plus européen. Elles développent aussi l'ouverture aux autres et promeuvent la diversité en Europe. Du point de vue des personnels académiques, la satisfaction est toujours très bonne, voire excellente. Même s'ils souhaitent que ces périodes soient mieux reconnues et plus fréquentes, ils font état, pour la grande majorité d'entre-eux, du renforcement de leur motivation au travail et de l'apport dans leurs missions quotidiennes de ce qu'ils ont appris. Pour autant, si le programme Erasmus+, plébiscité par les citoyens européens, est un véritable succès avec, depuis sa création en 1987, 12 millions de personnes qui ont pu en bénéficier, la volonté de l'Europe est d'amplifier ce programme, en faisant en sorte qu'il soit accessible à tous. C'est un des défis lancés aux alliances d'universités européennes : quelles nouvelles formes de mobilité peuvent-elles proposer pour, d'une part, permettre au plus grand nombre de bénéficier d'expériences à l'international et, d'autre part, construire un véritable campus inter-universitaire ?

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Si l'élan qui a accompagné la création d'UNITA s'est traduit par une augmentation importante des mobilités physiques des étudiants et des personnels entre les universités de l'alliance, des réticences subsistent. Pour y répondre, les partenaires ont lancé une enquête auprès de toute la communauté universitaire pour identifier les obstacles à la mobilité. Sans attendre les résultats de cette enquête, ils ont souhaité expérimenter de nouvelles formes de mobilité : les mobilités virtuelles, les mobilités rurales ainsi que des mobilités de très courte durée. La pandémie a accéléré la mise en ligne des activités de formation. Les approches pédagogiques ont dû s'adapter au format «online» grâce à l’aide d’outils numériques dédiés, afin d’en exploiter les avantages. UNITA a permis de multiplier de telles possibilités pour les étudiants de l'alliance en offrant des mobilités virtuelles. La mobilité virtuelle est un dispositif consistant à suivre à distance une activité pédagogique proposée par une université partenaire. Elle peut s’inscrire dans une phase de préparation à une mobilité longue, de renforcement linguistique ou de personnalisation d'un parcours de formation. C'est une forme d'internationalisation très inclusive car elle ne nécessite pas de mobilité physique. Ces cours à distance offrent aux étudiantes et aux étudiants un accès à des cours non proposés dans l’établissement d'origine de l'étudiant ou dans une langue qui n'est pas la sienne. Chacun des cours s’adresse simultanément à un certain nombre d’apprenants potentiels sans être contraint par l’espace physique d’un amphithéâtre. Enfin, lorsque le cours est dispensé en mode asynchrone, il s’adapte au rythme de l’apprenant. La première édition proposait au printemps 2021 un catalogue d’une vingtaine de cours en mobilité virtuelle. Pour l’année académique 2021-2022, le catalogue s’est étoffé avec une offre d’environ 250 activités pédagogiques. Ces activités embrassent toutes les disciplines et concernent les 3 cycles universitaires. UNITA propose même des cours de remise en forme en mobilité virtuelle ! Les étudiants ont la possibilité de suivre un cours international en substitution à un cours de son programme pédagogique régulier ou en supplément de ce dernier. Un contrat d’étude est formalisé à l’instar d’une mobilité physique longue, induisant la reconnaissance de l’activité. Les premiers retours d’expérience de la part des étudiants et des enseignants soulignent l’intérêt des mobilités virtuelles. Les défis identifiés relèvent d’une part de l'intégration de ces activités dans les parcours des étudiants, et d’autre part de la coordination des calendriers et emplois du temps académiques. Cependant, les contraintes d’emploi du temps induisent un taux de désistement non négligeable : les bons taux de suivi concernent les cours asynchrones ou les cours suivis par les doctorants. Une meilleure adaptation de l’offre passe par l'identification

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

des besoins des départements d’enseignement auquel le dispositif des mobilités virtuelles pourrait en partie répondre. Le partage d’expérience avec certains partenaires internationaux des universités de l’alliance (GEMINAE) va aussi contribuer à renforcer la qualité et la diversité des mobilités virtuelles UNITA. D'après le comité européen des régions, les zones rurales représentent près de 30% de la population de l'UE et 80% de son territoire, pour autant, elles font face à de nombreux défis : le vieillissement de leur population, des revenus inférieurs à la moyenne, une fracture digitale, un fort impact du changement climatique, etc. La Présidente de la Commission Européenne déclare vouloir y prêter une attention particulière : "Rural areas are the fabric of our society and the heartbeat of our economy. They are a core part of our identity and our economic potential. We will cherish and preserve our rural areas and invest in their future". C'est dans ce contexte qu'UNITA propose de développer un nouveau concept : les mobilités rurales, sur la base d'une innovation créée en 2018 par l'Université de Saragosse en collaboration avec le conseil de sa province (les programmes "Desafío" et "Arraigo"). Ce programme ambitionne de contribuer au développement durable des territoires de l'alliance. Il représente une possibilité formidable pour les étudiants car il leur offre l’occasion de développer des compétences et améliorer leur employabilité au travers d'expériences dans des institutions publiques et privées en zone rurale. D'ailleurs, plusieurs étudiantes et étudiants se sont vus proposer un emploi localement. C'est aussi une chance pour ces territoires de pouvoir accueillir ces jeunes : une façon de rajeunir ponctuellement la population, de faire connaître leurs territoires et les rendre plus attractifs. Dès 2021, UNITA a étendu ce concept et proposé des "UNITA Rural Mobilities" (URM), ajoutant la dimension internationale au concept initial. En 2021, ce sont plus de 30 étudiants d'UNITA qui ont pu bénéficier d'une expérience dans les territoires de l'alliance : à Armeniş (Roumanie) pour le développement d'un projet d'économie solidaire et sociale, le "WeWilder Campus" ; à Ostana (Italie), pour contribuer au développement d'un modèle de régénération d'un territoire alpin ; dans la Serra de Estrela (Portugal) pour la construction de chemins de trail ; ou à Cubel, Daroca, Herrera de los Navarros, Quinto (Espagne) pour des projets en lien avec le développement touristique ou l'agriculture durable. De part leur courte durée (3 à 4 semaines), et leur positionnement pendant l'été, ces mobilités physiques sont une chance pour les étudiantes et étudiants qui ne peuvent pas effectuer des mobilités plus longues. Les premières expériences de mobilités rurales ont démontré l'intérêt des étudiants comme des acteurs des territoires concernés pour ces mobilités. L'appétence des étudiants, avec

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

plus de 4 fois plus de candidatures que d'offres en 2021, motive les acteurs du territoire à proposer d'autres formules, comme des stages plus longs (entre 2 et 6 mois) avec des objectifs élargis. La nouvelle campagne sera lancée en mars 2022 avec plus de 200 offres pour les étudiants de l'alliance. Une évaluation scientifiquement fondée de ces expériences sera menée. Elle ambitionne d'évaluer la valeur de ces expériences pour les étudiants et pour les organisations, mais aussi leur contribution à la revitalisation des territoires. Les mobilités courtes constituent un autre cadre d’expérience internationale. Moins complexe à préparer qu’une mobilité physique longue, la souplesse de ce format permet de s’adresser aussi bien aux étudiants qu’aux personnels enseignant ou administratif. Plusieurs modèles d’activités UNITA liées à la formation s’inscrivent dans ce cadre : les classiques écoles d'été ou d'hiver et des mobilités mixtes qui associent une partie à distance et une partie en présentiel. Les premiers pilotes d’écoles thématiques ouvertes au niveau Master, dans chacun des trois domaines privilégiés d'UNITA (les énergies renouvelables, l’économie circulaire et le patrimoine culturel) vont avoir lieu durant l’été 2022. Dans le cadre du nouveau Programme Intensif Mixte Erasmus+, de nouvelles mobilités mixtes seront aussi expérimentées au printemps 2022. Par ailleurs, un cours collaboratif international inspiré du COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning ou GNL, Globally Networked Learning) mais auquel sera associée une période intensive est prévu au printemps 2022. L'alliance a lancé très tôt une enquête auprès de tous ses étudiantes, doctorants et personnels sur les obstacles et les freins à une mobilité internationale. Cette enquête a recueilli plus de 13000 réponses dont la grande majorité concerne des personnes qui n'ont pas effectué de mobilité mais qui se déclarent partantes si les obstacles qu'elles identifient étaient levés. Les partenaires analysent aujourd'hui ces résultats, et il apparaît clairement qu'une alliance peut apporter des réponses différenciantes. La meilleure connaissance mutuelle des membres d'une alliance et la confiance qui règne entre eux permettent d'apporter des réponses qu'une université ne pourrait pas proposer à son niveau. Il s'agit par exemple de créer un guichet unique pour tous les étudiants de l'alliance, soutenu par le réseau des "Hubs de la réussite" UNITA (des équipes de conseillers et conseillères qui accompagnent les étudiants tout au long de leur expérience en mobilité) présents dans chaque université. Pour faciliter la construction des parcours de formation internationalisés, des outils comme une cartographie des cours dispensés dans toutes les universités de l'alliance sont développés. Aussi, des services d'échanges de logement ou de "job

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

étudiant" sont envisagés car ils s'adressent aux membres d'une même communauté académique. Ce ne sont que quelques exemples, et, in fine, pour celles et ceux qui ne peuvent vraiment pas effectuer une mobilité, UNITA s'attache à développer d'autres formes d'internationalisation des parcours de formation des étudiants. Il s'agit par exemple de déployer des innovations pédagogiques telles que les cours internationaux collaboratifs (COIL ou GNL), les tandems linguistiques ou les cafés des langues. Toutes ces activités permettent de développer des compétences interculturelles et une ouverture aux autres. Tous les dispositifs décrits ici montrent bien, s'il faut encore le prouver, qu'une alliance d’universités européennes permet réellement à tous d'internationaliser son parcours de formation ou son parcours professionnel, gage d'une meilleure employabilité, dans le temps, d'une ouverture aux autres et du renforcement du sentiment européen.

REFERENCES: Agence Erasmus + France, (2019). Les apports de la mobilité Erasmus + pour les apprenant·es, les personnels et les organisms in L'observatoire Erasmus+, vol.12. Collaborative Online https://coil.suny.edu/.

International

Learning

(COIL),

Sunny

Coil,

European Commission, EU rural areas in numbers, Key data for rural areas today, broken down by topic, https://ec.europa.eu/. Galland-Beaune, N. & Ledroit V. (2022), Erasmus+ en 10 chiffres, Touteleurope.eu, https://www.touteleurope.eu/. Globally Networked Learning (GNL), https://yorkinternational.yorku.ca/. Miglietta M., (2022) Recovery in rural areas can only happen by working together on their needs, The EU's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives, https://cor.europa.eu/.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIȘOARA

The development s

EDUCATION: THE BEST INVESTMENT FOR EUROPE'S FUTURE Developing the European Area of Education by 2025 is the objective for this ambitious project based on everyone having access to student-centred excellence in education. It is the result of extensive, meaningful cooperation between Universities and was the starting point in UNITA University Alliance’s vision and pivotal in its long-term strategy. Consequently, the West University of Timișoara (UVT) developed the Reflective-Collaborative Learning Model which was adopted as a teaching and learning brand. It then became part of UVT development strategy and the system for ensuring education quality. One of UNITA Alliance’s main results in the first year was creating a network of structures that support each university’s teaching and learning processes. There are three key areas: developing professors’ teaching skills in student-centred education, developing students’ learning skills and integrating new technologies in education. Secondly, student-centred education is supported by Hubs of Success which are physical and virtual spaces where UNITA students benefit from mobility counselling at partner universities. Thirdly, strengthening strategic partnerships in education and implementing the vision of competitive, innovative and attractive European education would not be possible outside an interconnected university campus. The UNITA inter-university virtual campus aims to make all Alliance universities’ education and research resources accessible for the UNITA academic community’s benefit.

a c n a m ract t s ab

o t o f a c n a m 64

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

EEDUCAȚIA: CEA MAI BUNĂ INVESTIȚIE ÎN VIITORUL EUROPEI Mădălin Bunoiu, Theofild Lazăr, Vlad Cherecheș CONTACT: Andra Dragotesc | unita@e-uvt.ro

Dezvoltarea Ariei Europene a Educației până în 2025 este un proiect ambițios care pornește de la ideea că accesul la educație este deschis tuturor, iar beneficiile pe care le aduce învățarea continuă se transpun în nivelul de dezvoltare a unei societăți și în starea de bine individuală (https://education.ec.europa.eu/). Spațiul european al învățării creează astfel contextul în care fiecare persoană implicată poate circula liber pentru a studia în orice instituție de învățământ superior, în acord cu aspirațiile și interesele sale de dezvoltare profesională și personală. Pentru ca acest spațiu al educației să se dezvolte, cooperarea extinsă și aprofundată dintre universități este prima condiție care trebuie îndeplinită. Nu orice cooperare, însă, asigură o învățare de profunzime și un set de competențe profesionale și transversale relevante pentru abordarea unor probleme complexe, ci este nevoie de acea cooperare care se bazează pe valori reciproc asumate: diversitate, incluziune, non-discriminare, excelență și competitivitate. Acestea reprezintă totodată principiile care stau la baza constituirii rețelelor de alianțe de universități europene, care devin astfel principalii actori ai schimbării și facilitatori ai progresului. Excelența în predare și învățare este unul dintre aspectele care conturează strategia europeană pentru educație și direcționează politicile instituțiilor de învățământ superior, prin avansarea unei viziuni de transformare a universităților în spații deschise de învățare, de sprijin și inspirație pentru întreaga comunitate, în care traseele educaționale să fie flexibile, curricula personalizată și în care metodele de predare să aibă un caracter inovativ.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Numeroase studii științifice (Entwistle, 2009; Uiboleht et al., 2018) susțin legătura dintre predarea centrată pe activitatea studenților și rezultatele acestora din urmă, reflectate atât în performanțe academice intradisciplinare, cât și în dobândirea unor competențe transversale. Educația centrată pe student este principala paradigmă pe care se construiește universitatea noastră, dar și alianța UNITA. Astfel, în Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara, promovarea educației centrate pe student a fost asumată la nivelul întregii comunități, printr-un sistem pedagogic coerent, fundamentat științific și empiric, în care fiecare profesor poate să predea într-un mod care trezește pasiunea și dezvoltă capacitatea fiecărui student de a-și folosi calitățile personale pentru o învăţare de profunzime. Patru valori stau la baza sistemului pedagogic dezvoltat în universitatea noastră: colaborarea, reflexivitatea, implicarea și spiritul antreprenorial. Pentru a susține dezvoltarea seturilor de competențe asociate cu aceste valori, a fost dezvoltat un model inovativ de instruire denumit Modelul învățării reflexiv-colaborative. În strategia de dezvoltare instituțională a Rectorului Universității de Vest din Timișoara, acest model a fost adoptat ca brand instituțional de predare și învățare, devenind elementul central al sistemului de asigurare a calității educației în UVT (Ilie și colaboratorii, 2020). Demersurile operaționale realizate în acest sens sunt coordonate de la nivelul Prorectorului responsabil cu strategia academică și relația cu studenții și sunt susținute de trei centre suport: Centrul de Consiliere și Orientare în Carieră (CCOC https://ccoc.uvt.ro/) Centrul de Dezvoltare Academică (CDA https:// cda.uvt.ro/) și Departament pentru Managementul Calității (DMC https://dmc.uvt.ro/). La nivelul consorțiului UNITA, în care universitatea noastră este partener alături de alte 5 universități europene, paradigma educației centrate pe student a constituit un punct de plecare în proiectarea viziunii alianței și a strategiei sale pe termen lung. Dezvoltarea educației de excelență, bazată pe cercetare și centrată pe studenți, reprezintă una dintre liniile directoare ale viziunii alianței privind viitorul educației în Europa. Alianța își propune să consolideze excelența și inovația în predare și învățare, începând cu diplomele de licență și master în cele trei domenii prioritare ale energiilor regenerabile, patrimoniului cultural și economiei circulare. Această abordare va oferi universităților Alianței medii de învățare vibrante și va crește atractivitatea lor în Europa, dar și pe alte continente, în special în Africa și America. Mai mult, instituțiile de învățământ superior din UNITA vizează creșterea impactului lor asupra teritoriilor rurale și montane ale Alianței, prin mobilitățile studenților, prin doctorate în co-tutelă și printr-o strânsă conexiune între predare și cercetare, între teorie și practică. Educația inovativă centrată pe student nu vizează, însă, doar segmentul învățării, ci și pe cel al predării, deoarece relația care se stabilește

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

între profesor și student va da măsura succesului actului educațional. Transmiterea de cunoștințe nu vizează doar ce se transmite, ci și cum se transmite, iar acest fapt capătă o nouă dimensiune în vremurile pe care le trăim, marcate de educația online. Alianța UNITA a știut să transforme provocarea vremurilor într-o oportunitate de a gândi diferit, creativ, dincolo de tiparele cunoscute, prin dezvoltarea unui mediu educațional inovativ, conectat la tendințele lumii viitorului, în care studenții să găsească răspunsuri la nevoile lor, să își construiască trasee de învățare diverse și flexibile, în care fiecare experiență de învățare să fie recunoscută, iar profesorii să dezvolte noi metode de predare, inovative și adaptate nevoilor studenților. Pași importanți au fost făcuți până acum în cadrul Alianței, pentru a transforma viziunea în acțiune. Unul dintre rezultatele concrete ale primului an de existență a alianței UNITA este crearea unei rețele a structurilor care sprijină în fiecare universitate procesele de predare și învățare. Sunt vizate trei domenii cheie: dezvoltarea competențelor pedagogice ale cadrelor didactice în paradigma educației centrate pe student, dezvoltarea abilităților de învățare ale studenților și integrarea noilor tehnologii în procesele educaționale. Constituită în prima jumătate a anului 2021, rețeaua își propune să construiască o comunitate de experți care să împărtășească practicile educaționale de succes și să creeze noi contexte de învățare pentru creșterea calității și echității în educație. Formată din specialiști din toate cele șase universități, rețeaua este coordonată de Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara. Această structură sustenabilă sprijină eforturile universităților în creșterea unor generații de absolvenți care să poată aborda probleme complexe și să vină cu soluții inovative, printr-un set de competențe profesionale și transversale și printr-o atitudine creativă și constructivă. Experiența anterioară și diversitatea expertizei universităților partenere asigură un fundament puternic pentru perfecționarea continuă a personalului didactic. Împreună, universitățile partenere, prin grupurile de lucru dezvoltate, abordează tematici educaționale de actualitate, propun teme de dezbatere, promovează mobilitatea cadrelor didactice în alianță, colaborează pentru dezvoltarea de conținuturi educaționale și creează un set comun de instrumente de evaluare continuă a nevoilor profesorilor în ceea ce privește cunoștințele și deprinderile necesare procesului de predare. Până în prezent, rețeaua a organizat două serii de sesiuni de pregătire pentru cadre didactice. Dacă prima a fost dedicată pedagogiilor centrate pe studenți, cea de-a doua a abordat utilizarea noilor tehnologii în procesul educațional. Ambele sesiuni au avut formatori de la toate cele șase universități din cadrul alianței care, printr-un demers colaborativ, au dezvoltat conținuturi interactive, bazate pe experiențele diverse ale membrilor rețelei.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

O altă acțiune care vine să sprijine educația centrată pe student este constituirea a ceea ce în UNITA se numește Hubs of Success. În aceste spații fizice și virtuale, studenții UNITA beneficiază de consiliere privind mobilitățile fizice și virtuale la universitățile partenere, au oportunitatea de a alege acele trasee de învățare cu gradul cel mai înalt de compatibilitate cu profilul lor de interese, abilități și trăsături personale, astfel încât experiența de învățare să fie relevantă și formativă. Adaptarea la o nouă cultură instituțională, deprinderea unor tehnici de învățare și de management al efortului, dezvoltarea rezilienței, a strategiilor rezolutive și a unor competențe de autoreglare emoțională reprezintă un alt segment pe care aceste hub-uri se dezvoltă. În acest mod, ne asigurăm că studentul este pregătit pentru asimilarea nu numai a unor cunoștințe de specialitate, dar și a unor valori și atitudini care să-i permită să lucreze, să creeze și să se dezvolte într-un mediu multicultural. Întărirea parteneriatului strategic în educație și implementarea viziunii unei educații europene competitive, inovative și atractive nu ar fi posibilă în afara unui campus de universități interconectate. Campusul virtual inter-universitar UNITA își propune să facă accesibile toate resursele educaționale și de cercetare ale universităților din alianță, în beneficiul tuturor comunităților academice membre. Până în 2023, campusul va deveni punctul unic de intrare pentru studenții UNITA și pentru oricine este interesat de activitățile de învățare, de formare, de rezultatele cercetării și de resursele online deschise din cadrul alianței. Pe termen lung, platforma va susține tot mai multe servicii și le va oferi studenților inclusiv oportunitatea de a se înscrie la programele de studii oferite de către UNITA. Prin urmare, scopul campusului virtual nu este doar de a oferi acces celor care nu ar putea frecventa un campus fizic al uneia dintre universitățile UNITA, ci și de a oferi o experiență de învățare continuă complexă, diversificată și bogată, prin care studenții și profesorii să acceseze resurse din oricare dintre campusurile UNITA. Suntem pe drumul schimbării, dar suntem conștienți totodată că aceste schimbări, pentru a atinge nivelul de ambiție propus la început de drum, trebuie să fie sustenabile, iar sustenabilitatea este asigurată, în afara motivației puternice și angajamentului alianțelor universitare, prin susținere legislativă și voință politică. Suntem încrezători că eforturile întreprinse în ultima vreme pentru a dezvolta un cadru comun al unei strategii de susținere a inițiativelor care pornesc dinspre alianțele de universități europene vor da roade și că împreună vom găsi soluții la aspectele care încă nu au fost rezolvate, spre exemplu entitatea legală, diplomele europene comune ori acordarea de micro-credite.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

Educația reprezintă cea mai bună și mai sigură investiție a unei societăți în propriul său viitor, iar colaborarea în educație devine instrumentul prin care valorile europene sunt asimilate și împărtășite. În acest context, alianțele de universități europene au privilegiul și responsabilitatea de a deschide drumul acelor schimbări care să facă din Europa un model de creștere economică și de prosperitate socială.

REFERENCES: European Commission. (2016). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Improving and modernising education. Brussels: European Commission. Entwistle N. (2009). Teaching for understanding at university. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Ilie M. D., Bunoiu M. O., Iancu D. E., Mladenovici V., Smarandache I. G. & Cherecheș V. (2020). Promoting student-centred forms of learning across an entire university: The West University of Timişoara project. În Sijbolt Noorda, Peter Scott and Martina Vukasovic (eds.). Bologna Process beyond 2020: Fundamental Values of the EHEA. Bologna: Bononia University Press. Uiboleht K., Karm M. & Postareff, L. (2018). Relations between students’ perceptions of the teaching-learning environment and teachers’ approaches to teaching: a qualitative study. In Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(10), 1456-1475.

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATED PARTNERS

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRAȘOV

Rector

Ioan Vasile Abrudan

Transilvania University of Brașov decided to join UNITA Alliance because our strategy and priorities are perfectly in line with UNITA’s values and vision. As a university located in a mountain area, with a strong RDI focus on renewable energies, cultural heritage, and circular economy, speaking a Romance language and promoting linguistic diversity, we believe that UNITBV may be a reliable partner for the Alliance, contributing to its transformational process for a European University.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

Transilvania University of Brasov (UNITBV) was founded in 1948 and is the largest comprehensive public university in the central region of Romania. UNITBV’s key points of interest and expertise includes renewable energies conversion systems to be implemented in build environment, transport, or consumer products, with a strong focus on renewable energy mixes for nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) and nearly Zero Energy Communities (nZEC). A second topic aligned with UNITA project, in which UNITBV has relevant expertise is the used of mixed-reality gamified experiences (based on Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, 3D reconstruction and photogrammetry, haptics, holography etc.) in preserving cultural heritage. UNITBV’s research is focused on sustainable development and is supported by the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the university's Research & Development Institute, one of the largest research platforms in South-Eastern Europe. While UNITBV history incorporated the scientific, industrial, and cultural traditions of the region, its focus is currently defined by aspirations for innovation, inclusiveness, and relevance for the contemporary society.

THE UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE •

20.255 students

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721 full-time teaching staff

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100 bachelor programmes

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71 master programmes

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18 PhD programmes

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43 domains of science in the major fields of engineering, social sciences, humanities, arts, medicine, mathematics, and sports

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITÀ DI BRESCIA

Rector

Maurizio Tira In the frame of the strategy on Universities of the European Commission, the University of Brescia shares with UNITA a precise vision and challenge. As University Associated partner, we are strongly committed to contribute to the Alliance: we believe it is a great opportunity to exchange good practices, strengthen our European dimension and foster new joint degrees.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

The University of Brescia (UNIBS) is a public research and teaching institution, located in a medium-sized city that is a champion of technological innovation in Italy. We are a driving force in a wealthy and economically well-developed region, ranking third among the most important provinces in the manufacturing sector in Europe and fifth among the most productive Italian provinces in terms of GDP. The University of Brescia aims at attaining strong international achievements and a position of leadership in the East Lombardy area by offering education, training and research in its 4 macro-areas. The commitment of the University of Brescia in UNITA is focused in the energy transition and development of the bio-economy in mountain and rural areas, encouraging rural mobilities and internships for students, granting them microcredentials and putting inter-comprehension into practice.

THE UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE •

15.000 students

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600 professors and researchers

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educational programmes in 4 areas: Economics, Law, Engineering and Medicine, with Bachelor’s and Master’s (MSc) degrees, PhD programmes and Schools of Specialisation

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120 active international cooperation agreements

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150 bilateraI agreements within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTO POLITÉCNICO DA GUARDA

Rector

Joaquim Brigas Instituto Politécnico da Guarda — IPG, accepted the Universidade da Beira Interior invitation to join the alliance UNITA — Universitas Montium, expecting to create more synergies aiming the sustainable development of the rural, mountain and peripheric territories. By joining UNITA, IPG reinforces its internationalisation strategy and states its position within the European context. This project will enhance the development of research centres and the planning of specific cartography models, created in a regional context, which will contribute to projects developed by students, teachers and researchers may expand to a wider context, at an international level. IPG is committed to work together with the partner institutions in a development strategy based on sustainability, circular economy, renewable energies and cultural heritage.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (IPG) is a public institution of Higher Education, oriented to Education, Research activities, Services to the community and Cultural, Scientific and Technical exchange. It recognises internationalization as a key-element to obtain a highquality level of Education and Research and as well as to promote the institution in the academic world more and more competitive and modernised. IPG was created in 1980 and in 1985 began its academic activities being one of the oldest polytechnic institutes in Portugal. International cooperation represents a factor of the utmost importance in IPG’s institutional strategy, being involved in several European projects, mainly in the framework of Erasmus+ KA1 and KA2 Actions. Since Education and Research are decisive to develop a more inclusive, cohesive and competitive Europe, IPG believes to be in the right track.

THE UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE •

4 Schools offer a wide range of studies, from short cycle to 1st and 2nd cycle of studies (bachelors and masters), in scientific areas such as Education, Communication, Sports, Engineering, Advanced Technologies, Management, Health Sciences and Tourism

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1 Research Unit located in Guarda main campus, comprising a multidisciplinary team

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3.200 students

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250 teachers/researchers

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA DE NAVARRA

Rector

Ramón Gonzalo García We are deeply honoured to join an alliance whose goals and values match so well those of UPNA. Becoming part of UNITA implies a significant step forward in UPNA’s mission of contributing to the sustainable progress of its surrounding environment. We are eager to connect our own regional ecosystem to the UNITA network, thus helping to build a more cohesive, diverse, and inclusive Europe.

UNITA — UNIVERSITAS MONTIUM

Navarre is a cross-border, peripheral, mountainous region. UPNA has a long-lasting experience in university alliances as a member of the Campus Iberus consortium and the G9 group of universities. Navarre is a European hub for Renewable Energy, home of many large international companies, and one of the main centres of VW company. UPNA has strong ties with all of them. One of UPNA’s main goals it to study and promote Navarre’s rich cultural heritage, which includes the Basque language and culture. Highly internationalized, UPNA can contribute to the alliance as a pole of attraction from Latin America, origin of around 20% of its master students. Created in 1987, UPNA is a relatively small public university in the highly industrialised northern Spanish region of Navarre. With academic activity covering all branches of knowledge — engineering, science, health sciences, social sciences, law, arts, and humanities — it is a markedly technical university. UPNA is characterized by its commitment to regional development, an aspect in which it is a national leader. Its leading-edge research in many fields aims to stimulate the economic and social progress of its environment and the conversion of research into innovation. Its academic programs are also tailored to the needs of the university’s ecosystem. UPNA has a strong international component, with more than 25% of its undergrad students engaging in physical mobility.

THE UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE •

9.277 students

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1.001 teaching & research staff

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499 administrative staff

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7.953 bachelor

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867 master

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457 PhD

UNITA: A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Pubblicazione a cura di UNITA Office dell’Università degli Studi di Torino Progetto editoriale e redazione Cristopher Cepernich Anna Rita Buono Igor Piumetti Responsabili contenuti editoriali Emanuela Barbero Marcella Costa www.univ-unita.eu/ Graphic Design Comunicazione Istituzionale e Organizzativa Stampa AGT Aziende Grafiche Torino

Marzo 2022

University Associated Partners

UNITA A FACTORY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

Articles inside

Transilvania University of Brașov

Instituto Politécnico da Guarda

Education: the best investment for Europe's future

we want to offer

Research and innovation for the European University: overcoming the gap between center and periphery

The European University as a tool of inclusion and integration against economic and social inequalities

Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour Laurent Bordes

Università di Torino Stefano Geuna

European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel

Universidad de Zaragoza José Antonio Mayoral Murillo

Marilen Gabriel Pirtea

Universidade da Beira Interior Mário Lino Barata Raposo

Université Savoie Mont Blanc Philippe Galez