UNITA alliance universities have developed a digital resource called the Self-Assessment Tool, which allows them to assess the level of internationalisation of their degree programmes. The tool offers a detailed diagnosis and provides specific recommendations for designing and implementing effective strategies to foster more global, inclusive and accessible higher education.
The presentation of the tool took place at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) during a meeting (called ‘Multiplier Event’) organized by Paloma Fernandez-Rasines (coordinator), Aneider Iza-Erviti, Rebeca Echavarri and Julia Amorena as part of the Erasmus+ project UNITA RECIPES for INTERNATIONALISATION. The meeting, held at the Arrosadia campus in the city of Pamplona (Navarra), brought together representatives of universities and entities linked to the project.
Jorge Elso Torralba, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Cooperation of the UPNA, welcomed them and highlighted the importance of the project as a key tool for the internationalisation of degree programmes, with the advantage of offering ‘a practical and accessible approach’ to put it into practice, which ‘helps to overcome cultural and geographical barriers’.
Internationalisation consultancy
The UNITA RECIPES for INTERNATIONALISATION project, launched in December 2023 for a period of three years, aims to facilitate the internationalisation of the degree programmes of the universities of the UNITA alliance through the support of a new professional figure: the internationalisation advisor. This innovative role aims to accompany the people in charge of the degree programmes through personalised support (‘coaching’) to develop competences that promote inclusive and effective internationalisation in order to reach students with fewer opportunities and to promote ‘internationalisation at home’.
With a budget of 400,000 euros, funded by the Erasmus+ programme and co-funded by MOVETIA (the Swiss Agency for the Promotion of Exchanges and Mobility in the Education Sector) and the participating universities, the project underlines the commitment of European universities involved in the improvement of higher education in a global context.
The project is coordinated by the University of Savoie Mont Blanc (France) and involves the following partner universities: Brescia (Italy), Transilvania University of Brasov (Romania), the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (Portugal) and the Public University of Navarra (Spain). In addition, ARACIS (the Romanian National Evaluation Agency) and the other universities of the UNITA alliance are partners: Zaragoza (Spain), Turin (Italy), Beira Interior (Portugal), Pau and Pays de l'Adour (France), West Timisoara (Romania), the Higher Specialised School of Western Switzerland - HES-SO (Switzerland) and the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University (Ukraine).
The self-assessment tool, a practical resource
The event held at the UPNA served to deepen the characteristics of the Self-Assessment Tool, which is designed to help degree programme directors and teaching staff to evaluate and reflect on the level of internationalisation of their academic programmes. In addition to identifying areas for improvement, the tool, based on sixteen criteria grouped into five key dimensions, suggests specific recommendations or ‘prescriptions’ for implementing changes to support a more global and accessible academic environment.
The next phases of the project include a testing phase of the tool in more than 150 degree programmes of the project's partner universities.