What is a border? More than a geographical line, borders shape identities, societies, cultures, and political systems. Exploring these questions was the objective of the fourth edition of the UNITA Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) “Borders and Boundaries: Practices of Categorisation”, organised by the University of Turin in the framework of UNITA and in collaboration with Saarland University (Germany).
Over the years, the programme has become one of UNITA’s flagship educational initiatives. This edition involved students from UNITA universities and from Saarland University through the Transform4Europe Alliance, strengthening cooperation between European University Alliances.
The programme was delivered by an international team of 14 lecturers from several UNITA partner universities. Among them was Professor Elizabeth Vallet, affiliated with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), one of the international universities belonging to the UNITA Geminae Network, demonstrating how UNITA is progressively extending its academic collaboration beyond Europe.
The BIP focused on categorisation as a social practice, examining how borders and boundaries are created, negotiated, challenged, and transformed. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining history, linguistics, sociology, political science, and cultural studies, students reflected on the mechanisms through which societies define identities and organise inclusion and exclusion.
The learning experience blended an introductory online session with an intensive week in Turin, featuring lectures, workshops, collaborative activities, and intercultural exchanges. Alongside the academic programme, participants explored the city of Turin, strengthening the international dimension of the experience and creating new connections among students from different countries and university alliances.
By the end of the programme, participants had developed stronger analytical and intercultural competences, learning to critically examine processes of categorisation and bordering while working collaboratively in an international environment.
Now in its fourth edition, the BIP confirms UNITA’s commitment to offering innovative, interdisciplinary, and internationally connected learning experiences. By combining expertise from different alliances and involving partners from the Geminae global network, the programme demonstrates how European Universities can become spaces where academic excellence, intercultural dialogue, and global cooperation come together to address the complex challenges of contemporary societies.
