CONNECT UNITA: the Time-Spatial-Linguistic Teaching and Learning Travel Machine
This project aims to design and deploy CONNECT-UNITA solutions that enable the interconnection of students and teachers of the universities that are part of the European UNITA alliance. CONNECT-UNITA proposes solutions to build technological infrastructures that enable the interconnection of classrooms and learning management systems. Our solutions include digital components and methodological approaches that enable pedagogical innovation for teaching and learning by facilitating interaction between teachers and students in any language, from anywhere and at any time. L’objectif principal de ce projet est le développement d’une plateforme collaborative et d’une méthodologie pour l‘innovation dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage qui non seulement vise à atteindre le succès dans l’acquisition de connaissances et de compétences mais permet également de briser les barrières de la distance géographique, linguistique, temporelle et sociale favorisant ainsi l’inclusion et la coopération internationale. Progrès réalisés Durant ces trois années, les progrès avec les résultats ci-dessous ont été réalisés : Création d’un Living Lab international d’enseignement et d’apprentissage pour les enseignants et les étudiants de l’alliance UNITA, ainsi que pour la communauté internationale, grâce à la co-conception et la coproduction des enseignements, orientés à la fois au transfert et à la multiplication des compétences en matière d’innovation technologique et pédagogique ainsi que sur les thématiques prioritaires pour l’alliance UNITA (patrimoine culturel, énergies renouvelables et économie circulaire). Le living lab d’enseignement et d’apprentissage permettra également le développement de mobilités virtuelles entre les membres du consortium UNITA ainsi que d’autres membres externes et offrira un espace de coopération en matière d’innovation pédagogique et numérique. Prochaine étape : évènements à venir Tous les partenaires de Connect UNITA organise de manière simultanée une présentation finale (Final Multiplier Event) de vulgarisation des résultats du projet Connect UNITA portant sur l’intégration des innovations numériques et pédagogiques pour favoriser la collaboration internationale au sein de l’alliance européenne UNITA. Cet évènement aura lieu le 30 janvier 2025 à 14h dans les différentes universités de l’alliance UNITA, partenaires du projet (UBI, UPPA, USMB, UVT, UNITO et UNIZAR) et nous souhaitons aussi une participation des partenaires locaux et régionaux, issus de l’industrie et des établissements d’enseignement. To know more: http://connect.univ-unita.ubi.pt
The first meeting of the Renewable energy for transport vehicles project it has been a success
UNITA researchers from the project Renewable energy for transport vehicles had a successful first meeting at the University of Zaragoza. “It was great. The meeting was quite useful. We were looking at the possibilities of working on renewable electric mobility and we also shared the tasks for the following meetings”, answered Ángel Bayod, researcher at the University of Zaragoza. This project has received a Starting Grant from UNITA in order to begin working together on research into renewable energy in the automotive sector. During the workshop, the project members and collaborators from each university presented their research areas. “The researchers were very kind. I feel like we’re going to work well together”, continued Angel. The meeting also included a discussion on the types of renewable energy applied to transport vehicles. “We achieved the objectives of getting to know each other and sharing the topics. At the University of Zaragoza, for example, we are going to work on the photovoltaic part”, explained him. The meeting was attended by researchers Radu Tarulescu and Stelian Tarulescu, Lecturer from Universitatea Transilvania Brasov (UTBV), Frederico Miguel Freire Rodrigues and Kateryna Shvydyuk from Universidade de Beira Interior in Portugal (UBI), Ángel Bayod and Amaya Martínez (UNIZAR), and also featured a presentation from the Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara (UVT). In addition to the presentations and discussion, the UBI’s work on plasma-enhanced vertical axis generators was presented and UNIZAR provided insights into the possibilities and requirements of photovoltaic systems associated with electric vehicle chargers. Ángel Bayod, researcher at the University of Zaragoza, presenting the project to his colleagues The project continues The working team will meet in person at two additional meetings during 2025, the first one in Timisoara and the second one in Brasov. The results will be shared at conferences and academic journals to jointly advance research on the possibilities of mobility associated with renewable energy. UNITA’s Starting Grant initiative, in which the project is integrated, consists of awarding research start-up grants to strengthen collaboration between at least three UNITA universities through the implementation of new projects or the consolidation of existing projects. The maximum amounts in the last edition were €15,000 for projects with three partners, and €25,000 for those involving five or more partners.
ESA 2025 applications are now open
The European Student Assembly (ESA) is the flagship initiative of the EUC Voices Erasmus+project. This annual event brings together approximately 250 selected European students to discusscritical themes concerning the European Union. The event will take place in Strasbourg on 26-28 May 2025, but selected students qwill be engaged incommon online activities since february 2025. Students form UNITA Universities are encouraged to apply as participants or coordinators to jointhe Assembly and contribute to a discussion panel of their choice. Selection CriteriaApplicants are evaluated based on: The home university of each applicant will select the participants. Panel Coordinators, who play a key role in the European Student Assembly, are chosen for theirstrong motivation and prior experience as group leaders in similar initiatives. Why join? Participate in ESA in Strasbourg for a unique opportunity to represent students from across Europe,engage in meaningful debates, and contribute to shaping policy recommendations directly at theEuropean Parliament. The deadline to apply is the 1st december. Apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/6TgV5ctPWD More info: https://www.eucvoices.eu/it/node/56 Information session
A Successful Interuniversity Exchange Between Timișoara and Turin
At the end of November 2024, the Center for Romance Studies of Timișoara (CSRT), affiliated with the West University of Timișoara (UOT), organized, through its literary circle La Pléiade, an interuniversity exchange activity in partnership with the University of Turin (UniTo), Department of Humanities. Financé par le Ministère roumain de l’Éducation dans le cadre du programme FSS International Student – Next Step in Education, ce projet poursuivait deux principaux objectifs : d’une part, renforcer la collaboration éducative et scientifique entre les deux universités par l’échange de méthodes pédagogiques innovantes dans l’enseignement supérieur ; d’autre part, promouvoir l’internationalisation des activités impliquant des étudiants de licence, de master et de doctorat. Le groupe d’étudiants de l’UOT, coordonné par les professeurs Ramona Malita et Claudiu Gherasim, a participé à une série d’activités enrichissantes organisées par leurs collègues italiens, les professeurs Paola Cifarelli et Monica Pavesio, à Turin. Une semaine riche en activités La semaine du 18 au 23 novembre 2024 s’est révélée particulièrement fructueuse, avec : La rencontre doctorale a confirmé le solide partenariat avec l’École doctorale de Turin dans le domaine des sciences humaines. Une thèse sur la littérature française contemporaine (doctorant : Claudiu Gherasim) est actuellement co-dirigée par Ramona Malita et Paola Cifarelli, avec le soutien de Monica Pavesio. Un accueil chaleureux et des perspectives prometteuses L’équipe de Timișoara a été chaleureusement accueillie par les professeurs Marcella Costa et Alessandro Mengozzi, directeurs des départements des langues modernes et des sciences humaines à l’UniTo, respectivement. Tous deux ont exprimé leur appréciation pour cette initiative et leur espoir de voir des projets similaires prospérer à l’avenir. Ils ont souligné comment de tels échanges renforcent la visibilité internationale des deux universités et du consortium universitaire européen UNITA auquel elles appartiennent. Cet échange constitue un exemple réussi de coopération interuniversitaire, démontrant comment l’éducation et la recherche peuvent prospérer grâce à des collaborations internationales innovantes.
Community of practice for European universities alliances and beyond
In a significant step towards realising the full transformational potential of the European Universities initiative, the FOREU4ALL community of practice has officially started its operations. The community will bring together all 64 European Universities alliances and other higher education stakeholders like student organisations and university associations. A platform for peer learning and dissemination FOREU4ALL is a community of practice that connects European universities and the wider higher education sector, fostering closer cooperation. Its two main objectives are: Concrete steps towards a more collaborative future To achieve its objectives, FOREU4ALL will Visit the Linkedin of the FOREU4ALL project: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foreu4all/
From East to West, the RandoPat series of BIPs travels across UNITA
The series of Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) ‘RandoPats/HeriTrails’ (‘Randonnées du Patrimoine / Heritage Trails’) was brilliantly launched in Romania two years ago by ‘Mushrooms, herbs and raw food : practices and beliefs’, UVT, 7-11 November 2022.This was followed, in summer 2023, by an equally successful second edition in France: ‘Sur les Chemins de Roland’, UPPA, 12-16 June 2023. In November 2024, we reached Portugal: Randopat-Heritrail 3: ‘Cultural Heritage Food & Craft in Serra da Estrela : mushrooms, cheese and wool ’, UBI 11-16 November 2024. The planning of RandoPat-Heritrail 3 began, indeed, two years ago, by discussions had during the RandoPat organized by our UVT colleagues. We thought we could develop some of the themes, in particular the use of mushrooms in local cultures, this time moving to another UNITA territory, i.e. Serra da Estrela. Our UBI and IPG colleagues then thought to consider also other traditional local resources, namely cheese and wool, in particular from the perspective of their valorisation in cultural tourism. The programme conceived by our UBI host, Cristina Estevao, with the invaluable help of our IPG colleague Rui Cerveira, was a very rich one, allying high quality lectures by academics, specialists and cultural tourism professionals, to hands-on workshops and fieldwork, in the true spirit of the RandoPat series, whereby the idea is to learn by walking and interacting together in local landscapes. In RandoPat-HeriTrail 3 we also repeated, mutatis mutandis, a successful feature of the ‘Sur les Chemins de Roland’. In fact, to this epic adventure took part not only literature and history students, but also a group of nine photography students from the Art & Design Department of the Universitatea de Vest din Timişoara, who reacted to the texts on which we worked together, by taking photographs, throughout the week, then used to create a video exhibition inaugurated at the Médiathèque André-Labarrère on the final day. In RandoPat-HeriTrail 3, we made room again for an important visual and photographic component, having with us throughout the whole week Luis Vaz, UBI Researcher and Freelance Photographer, who visually documented the autumn school by photos and videos. His final, edited video, recapitulating the week, gives a perfect gist of the whole experience. I thus invite you to first watch Luis’s video. Then, the following photos with captions will help you decipher at least some of the intriguing images about which you may ask yourself some questions! Luis Vaz’s video on Randopat-Heritrail 3: ‘Cultural Heritage Food & Craft in Serra da Estrela : mushrooms, cheese and wool ’, UBI 11-16 November 2024: DAY 1 [Cf. images of people hammering (mycelium) in a trunk and preparing a compost with mycelium, which they then took away to grow mushrooms once back home] DAY 2 DAY 3 Visit and workshop at the Wool Museum. DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 Miscaros Festival at Alcaide In conclusion, RandoPat-HeriTrail 3 proved to be an extremely enriching experience, allowing participants to get in touch with local realities and to reflect on them using the conceptual tools provided by a tremendous array of specialists. The interaction with local communities can be continued online via the following padlet, to which everybody is encouraged to contribute: Cultural Heritage Villages And, if you want to be kept informed on forthcoming RandoPats, you are most welcome to join the Randopat WhatsApp Group Text and some photos by: Giovanna Hendel Cultural Heritage Hub Coordinator Video and some photos by: Luis Vaz UBI Researcher & Freelance Photographer
The European Alliance UNITA Stimulates Community Development Through “Matching Events”
This innovative format, inspired by traditional speed dating, enables participants to meet quickly and effectively around specific themes. Le dernier matching event « recherche » a été organisé par l’Université Savoie Mont Blanc les 05 et 06 novembre derniers sur la thématique des énergies vertes. Il a réuni environ 50 chercheurs issus des 12 universités, membres de l’Alliance UNITA. Chaque participant a pu se présenter et rencontrer des collègues de l’alliance pour échanger autour de leurs activités propres et idées de projets collaboratifs. Ces séances de matching ont été complétées par des travaux en groupe autour de projets collaboratifs à l’échelle de l’alliance. UNITA soutient par ces événements la recherche et l’innovation en Savoie et Haute-Savoie sur six domaines clef pour le développement territorial : les énergies vertes, l’économie circulaire et l’environnement, le patrimoine culturel, la santé globale, la transformation digitale et les sociétés inclusives. Pourquoi un tel format ? Les défis de la recherche moderne nécessitent des approches interdisciplinaires et transnationales. Le “speed dating des chercheurs” est une réponse pratique et dynamique à ce besoin, facilitant les échanges rapides et directs entre experts de différents domaines et cultures académiques. En seulement deux jours, ces rencontres peuvent aboutir à la formation de groupe de travail « transuniversitaires » et transdisciplinaires, qui seront soutenus par des appels à projets spécifiques et des subventions d’amorçage. Un levier pour l’intégration européenne en recherche. Ce type d’événement s’inscrit dans la stratégie de construction d’une communauté de chercheurs européens capable de répondre aux grands enjeux de demain. Grâce à ces rencontres, les chercheurs peuvent non seulement développer des projets collaboratifs, mais aussi poser les bases d’une intégration plus profonde entre les universités partenaires, tout en stimulant l’innovation à travers des échanges enrichissants.
International curricula through UNITA: two double degree agreements between the Universities of Turin and Timisoara
On Tuesday, December 3 at 12 p.m. the University of Turin hosted a signing ceremony for two agreements on double degree in Pscychology and Law between the University of Turin and the Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara (UVT), in the presence of the consul general of Romania in Turin. The cooperation was developed in the framework of the Internationalization of curricula through UNITA event, held in Turin in March and November 2023. Martedì 3 dicembre, alle ore 12 nel Palazzo del Rettorato dell’Università di Torino, si è tenuta la cerimonia di firma dell’accordo sui doppi titoli accademici tra l’Università di Torino e l’Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara (UVT), in Romania. Sono intervenuti: Stefano Geuna, Rettore dell’Università di Torino e Cosmin Dumitrescu, Console Generale di Romania a Torino. L’accordo coinvolge i Dipartimenti di Giurisprudenza e Psicologia. L’obiettivo, come previsto dal Piano Strategico 2021 – 2026 e dall’art 6 dello Statuto dell’Università di Torino, è potenziare l’internazionalizzazione dell’Ateneo, favorendo con specifici provvedimenti e attraverso l’individuazione di idonee risorse finanziarie la possibilità degli studenti di partecipare ai programmi di mobilità internazionale. L’accordo a mobilità strutturata con rilascio del doppio titolo in Giurisprudenza tra l’Università di Torino e l’Università di Timisoara durerà cinque anni, a partire dall’a.a. 2024/2025. Il percorso permetterà l’ottenimento di quattro titoli: Global Law and Transnational Studies (L-14) e European Legal Studies (LM-90) erogati dall’Università di Torino; Drept European și Internațional / European and International Law e Master in European Union Law, erogati dall’Università di Timisoara. Ogni anno 10 studenti UniTo e 10 studenti UVT potranno essere selezionati per partecipare al programma, che consentirà di trascorrere due dei cinque anni di studio all’estero. Lo scopo principale è fornire un percorso formativo che renda gli studenti competitivi sia a livello nazionale (italiano e rumeno) sia nel contesto internazionale. Un focus specifico sarà infatti dedicato a tematiche europee e transnazionali. Il percorso di studio internazionale in Psicologia è previsto per due anni, a partire dall’a.a. 2024/2025, da attuarsi tramite un programma di mobilità strutturata incoming e outgoing, nell’ambito del corso italiano volto al rilascio del titolo di laurea magistrale in Scienze del Corpo e della Mente (LM-51) e del corso rumeno volto al rilascio del titolo di Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. Al programma parteciperanno due studenti provenienti dall’Università di Torino e due studenti provenienti dall’Università di Timisoara. Gli studenti di Torino trascorreranno un anno a Timisoara, mentre gli studenti di Timisoara trascorreranno un anno a Torino. Il percorso di studio, oltre al rilascio del titolo di laurea magistrale in Scienze del Corpo e della Mente, è volto all’ottenimento della licenza professionale di Psicologo in Italia. Il corso rumeno invece prepara ai seguenti sbocchi professionali: psicologo e psicologo clinico, oltre alla possibilità di iscriversi ad un programma di educazione di terzo livello (PhD, master di III livello, ecc). Read the full article: https://www.otto.unito.it/it/articoli/doppi-titoli-accademici-accordo-tra-le-universita-di-torino-e-timisoara
Green Day Event
On December 11th, on the occasion of International Mountain Day, the UNITA Universitas Montium Alliance organizes the GREEN DAY initiative, an event that will involve all the universities of the Alliance to bring their communities closer to UNITA’s actions in the field of sustainable development. In particular, it aims to promote awareness of the efforts of universities to improve their ecological footprint and spread the culture of sustainability. Each university will approach the theme with different workshops and seminars on sustainability in various fields. During this day, at the specific time (14:00 PT | 15:00 FR/IT/SP/CH | 16:00 RO), there will be a Talk on “Water Mountains” with Prof. Pedro Gabriel de Almeida, a common activity for all the universities, which will connect via Zoom to attend this conference. At the end of the event, a QR code will be available to participate in a quiz with questions on the theme. Anyone who answers all questions correctly will win a UNITA kit provided by the UNITA Office of their university. The quiz will be available until 23:59 CET.
Energypolis Campus Visit
On November 7, 2024, HES-SO Valais-Wallis welcomed researchers from the UNITA alliance and HES-SO for a visit to the Energypolis Campus, one of the 28 campuses of the HES-SO, in Sion, Switzerland. On November 7, 2024, researchers from HES-SO and the UNITA alliance gathered at the Energypolis campus in Sion for a day filled with discoveries and scientific exchanges focused on renewable energy and sustainable technologies. This campus, renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities, provided participants with the opportunity to explore collaborative projects and consider pathways for future partnerships. The day began with a presentation of the School of Engineering (HEI), followed by a guided tour of the Energy Neighborhood Platform. Directly integrated into the building’s energy solution, this platform offers a real-scale view of research facilities dedicated to optimizing energy consumption. Participants then explored the Hydro Lab, a testing hall filled with pipelines where electricity production turbines are assessed. This visit highlighted research on material fatigue and cavitation, both crucial for improving energy efficiency. The tour continued with the presentation of Fabulle. This association, integrated within the school, includes a living lab focused on energy and represents a model of open innovation where companies and users collaborate to develop sustainable solutions. The day concluded with a visit to the Gridlab, a laboratory dedicated to electrical grids where energy distribution infrastructures are tested. The session showcased how these installations address tomorrow’s energy challenges. This visit strengthened ties between researchers from HES-SO and the UNITA alliance, while offering an overview of the cutting-edge initiatives and research at the Energypolis campus aimed at a sustainable energy future.