Matching event of the Digital Transition hub at UPNA
On 29 and 30 May, UPNA hosted a Matching event in Digital Transition, one of the Alliance’s hubs. Under the heading ‘Green and secure ICT for the digital society in the Anthropocene’, 22 researchers from different UNITA universities addressed various areas related to sustainable ICTs, information processing and communications, IoT, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0, among others. The aim of this meeting, which was aimed at research staff from scientific and technical areas with the same interests and willingness to work collectively on sustainable and secure digital technologies, was to strengthen and expand the UNITA research community in this particular area. In order to give continuity to the activity generated, a call for Starting Grants has been published to fund collaborative projects. These projects must respect the theme of the event and be developed by teams in which at least three UNITA universities are represented.
Matching Event of the Inclusive Societies Hub organized at UNITBV
As part of the activities dedicated to the UNITA Alliance, Transilvania University of Brașov organized a Matching Event on May 22 and 23, 2025. This event, managed by the Inclusive Societies hub, focused on the scientific topic of “Pathways to Inclusive Societies: Exploring the Role of Democracy, Institutions, Politics, Citizenship, and Information”. The main goal of this meeting was to strengthen and support the UNITA community by bringing together researchers and academic staff who shared similar or complementary interests in the field of the Inclusive Societies research hub. By organizing this event, the UNITBV team aimed to achieve several strategic objectives. The goal was to develop strong networks of UNITA researchers with interests in related thematic areas, thus facilitating the initiation of joint research projects across the entire alliance. The event was also designed to actively promote international cooperation in research and innovation and to contribute significantly to the activities of the UNITA research and innovation hub. Over the course of the two dedicated days, 29 participants were engaged in a series of dynamic and interactive activities aimed at stimulating the exchange of ideas and building partnerships. The program included a welcoming speech offered by Professor Carmen Buzea, Vice-Rector for Research of Transilvania University of Brasov, and Professor Monica Răileanu-Szeles, Co-leader of the Inclusive Societies Hub. The special guest on the first day of the event was Associate Professor Antonio Momoc, from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, University of Bucharest, who presented his research on Populism, democracy, disinformation, and polarization. Next, short ‘elevator pitch’ presentations showcased research interests of all the participants, followed by dedicated one-to-one ‘matching’ sessions to identify potential collaborators. Thematic working groups were organized for in-depth discussions and the development of concrete courses of action, along with various networking activities, both formal and informal. This event structure was designed to encourage the identification of new areas of collaboration and lay the foundations for future international cooperation projects. The aim was to amplify the impact of research and initiatives developed within the UNITA University Alliance. Furthermore, as a natural continuation of this networking event, a call for “UNITA Starting Grants” program is planned for June 2025. These grants are intended to provide the necessary funding to strengthen the research networks within the Inclusive Societies research hub, through the topics addressed.
Towards an International and Plurilingual University: From Intercomprehension to English-Medium Instruction (EMI)”. An intensive seminar organised by the University Language Centres of UNIBS and UNITO
On 9th May 2025, an intensive seminar was organized by the University Language Centers of UNIBS and UNITO in Brescia. The event was held under the patronage of AICLU (Italian Association of University Language Centers) and CEL/ELC (European Language Council) and in collaboration with LinE (Language in Education). The academic debate, which was conducted throughout the day, focused on the 21st-century university, which is increasingly oriented toward international and multilingual dimensions. The following themes were addressed: languages and internationalization in Italian universities, intercomprehension, and English Medium Instruction. Following the institutional greetings from the Rector, Professor Francesco Castelli, and from the UNITA Coordinator for the University of Turin, Professor Alessandra Fiorio Pla, the audience was offered the opportunity to listen to a series of insightful contributions from esteemed scholars. These contributions were delivered by Professor Monica Barni (Sapienza University of Rome) and Professors Elisa Corino, Sandra Garbarino, and Alessandra Molino (University of Turin). The seminar concluded with a roundtable discussion featuring Professor Marie-Berthe Vittoz (CLA – University of Turin), Professor Annalisa Zanola (CLA – University of Brescia), and three students from UNIBS. These students had the opportunity to apply intercomprehension techniques in the field during the BIP Intercomprehension for Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) organised by the University of Timișoara (UVT). The initiative, which was officiallyinaugurated in Brescia, is scheduled to continue during UNITA Week, which is to be held at the University of Turin on 16–17 September 2025.
Interview with Ukrainian Researchers During Their Stay in Zaragoza
Mariia Huliaieva and Mariia Chikarkova, Ukrainian researchers reflect on the contrast between daily life in a war-torn country and their brief academic stay in Spain. Mariia Huliaieva and Mariia Chikarkova, aged 36 and 52, are Ukrainian researchers at the University of CHNU, in the city of Chernivtsi in Western Ukraine. For them, these eleven years of war have radically changed their lives: their country is under constant bombardment, yet they have to continue with their daily lives. However, making long-term plans or thinking about the future with certainty is nearly impossible, as they cannot be sure what will happen tomorrow. They live in Сhernivtsi, a city of 260.000 inhabitants. Although their town is far from the war front, they hear sirens every day and are exposed to danger. According to their testimonies, many refugees come to their city because it seems safer but it is not at all. They claim that there are no longer safe places in Ukraine anymore: “We hear bombing sirens every day and we have to stop what we are doing, whatever, and find a safe place for us”. Despite the situation, they are doing their best to maintain their academic work and they came to Zaragoza to participate in the UNITA Matching Event on Social Inclusion and Equal Opportunities, held at the Universidad de Zaragoza on April 1–2: “Coming to Spain for a few days has been a very good experience. On the other hand, we keep reading the news from Ukraine, and it is a terrible feeling”. You say that your life has totally changed MC: It’s a very complicated topic for us because of our experiences. Because we live in Ukraine and in these circumstances. So obviously our life has completely changed after this war and it continues. We have completely another reality. MH: There is a world famous sentence about the war in Ukraine, that there are no safe places anymore in the country. We live in Chernivtsi and we think that it’s almost safe, however, we hear bombing sirens every day and we have to stop what we are doing, the lessons, whatever, and find a safe place for us. It seems that this war has no end…. Would you like it to stop now? MC: We understand that Russia wants to have all Ukraine under occupation so we have no choice, just fight. I know of many civilian victims, and I understand that if Russia comes in my region the same situation will happen again. The teachers, professors or assistants we are also targets because we don´t want this. Our aim is to teach about Ukrainian identity, about Ukrainian culture…For example, my friend at Mariupol was killed. She was killed because of her profession. She wasn’t a soldier, just a teacher. MH: We are dreaming of peace, civilization, not the war. Have you ever thought of emigrating? MC: No one wants to leave their country, obviously, because we like our country. Families with small kids are leaving the country to find safer places. Explaining war to young children is hard, and no parent wants their son or daughter to grow up in bomb shelters and basements. MH: In my area, my friends and my neighbors, who have already left, were not looking for a better life, but for a safer life. They didn’t want to move because they want to have more money, change their jobs, vehicles… No, they had a perfect job, very nice houses, flats, enough money and they were happy in Ukraine. But they moved just for life and for safe places for their children. And I know that these people dream about returning to Ukraine, but they want to be alive. And being alive and having life for their children, not under bombarding. You work at the university. How is the war affecting young people? MH: The younger generation is not as naive as I was when I was a child or student. I didn’t believe that something like that could happen in Europe in 21st century. This modern young generation is stronger, very pragmatic, clever and they understand everything that is happening now. I think that they can manage many problems, but we have to prepare a lot of psychologists, a lot of social workers, to help them and their families, especially the families where there were soldiers. At our department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Social work we are preparing psychologists, pedagogues and social workers to help them. MC: Yes, and because of this situation I think they became adults in one moment, and they rethink their values. Before the war it was something like the aim of their life is having a new model of smartphone, but nowadays most of us, including students, think happiness is to be alive. I’m a happy person because I woke up in my own apartment, so I’m happy. I’m alive. I’m at home. OK. Thanks God. How you feel these days in Spain? MC: It’s a very nice place, very kind people. It is being a very good experience. On the other hand, we are still reading the news from Ukraine and it’s terrible feeling so we can’t completely get away from our brains. Also it is so strange that people in Spain, for example, can live in their usual lifestyle. It’s so strange for us that people can drink in the streets, walking at the midnight and they look so happy. MH: In Ukraine we have a curfew in the night after 00:00 till 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. You were asking us at the beginning of our interview about if our lives have changed because of the war. Yes, it has changed because actually, even in the night we have this curfew and we can´t go out.
From Timisoara to Ceaușescu: a Master’s thesis nourished by UNITA
Thanks to UNITA mobility, Émeric Charpentier, an Art History master’s student at UPPA, has found his calling. His Master’s thesis topic: propaganda posters under Ceaușescu’s dictatorship in Romania. Un BIP comme déclencheur de vocation Tout commence par une opportunité saisie presque par hasard. En Licence 3 d’Histoire de l’art et Archéologie à l’UPPA, Émeric entend parler d’un Blended Intensive Program (BIP) organisé à l’université de Timisoara, en Roumanie. Sur les conseils d’un ami, il décide d’y participer. Ce programme européen, intitulé Intercomprehension for Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), réunit des étudiants de plusieurs universités partenaires autour de la thématique de l’intercompréhension – une approche plurilingue favorisant la compréhension entre locuteurs de langues romanes. Ce premier séjour lui laisse un souvenir marquant : « une super ambiance, des rencontres enrichissantes, des profs investis et une belle découverte de la ville ». Surtout, il en revient avec une nouvelle idée : pourquoi ne pas consacrer son mémoire de master à la Roumanie ? Le fil rouge roumain De retour à l’UPPA, il poursuit son cursus en Master 1 Histoire, Civilisations, Patrimoine. Art. et affine son projet de recherche. Passionné depuis le début de ses études par l’histoire des Balkans, Émeric choisit d’analyser un corpus d’affiches de propagande produites sous la dictature de Ceaușescu, entre 1965 et 1989. Le sujet est peu exploré : la majorité des documents qu’il rassemble sont mal datés, rarement signés, et encore largement absents des travaux universitaires. Sa démarche est à la croisée des disciplines : histoire politique, esthétique visuelle, analyse symbolique. Il s’intéresse à l’évolution graphique des affiches, à l’émergence du culte de la personnalité dans les années 70, et au particularisme roumain face aux canons soviétiques, tout en posant un regard transversal sur d’autres productions visuelles, comme les affiches de cinéma. L’intercompréhension comme outil et moteur Déterminé, Émeric commence à apprendre le roumain dès sa L3, bien avant d’envisager une mobilité longue. Grâce à UNITA, il bénéficie d’une mobilité virtuelle dédiée à l’apprentissage du roumain, qui lui permet de progresser sans avoir à quitter la France. Aujourd’hui, il évalue son niveau à A2/B1. Pas encore assez confiant pour un Erasmus, il décide néanmoins de repartir en mars 2025 à Timisoara pour suivre une deuxième fois le même BIP. L’objectif est double : approfondir les notions linguistiques et revoir les enseignants locaux, mais aussi amorcer un travail d’enquête sur place. Il commence à consulter sur place des archives d’affiches de propagande sous la dictature Ceaușescu et prépare un nouveau séjour pour renforcer son corpus. Un projet de recherche ancré dans l’expérience L’enthousiasme d’Émeric est communicatif. Son projet de mémoire, à la fois original et personnel, s’est construit naturellement grâce aux mobilités offertes par l’alliance UNITA. Sans lien personnel avec la Roumanie, Émeric est l’exemple d’un étudiant dont le parcours s’est transformé grâce aux mobilités européennes. Un bel exemple de curiosité, d’autonomie, et de décloisonnement des disciplines.
Towards a Joint European Degree: Council Sets Roadmap for Higher Education Integration
In a significant move for the future of higher education in Europe, the Council of the European Union has adopted a recommendation and a resolution aimed at laying the groundwork for a joint European degree label. These steps mark progress toward the potential introduction of a fully-fledged joint European degree by 2029. According to Andrzej Szeptycki, Polish Deputy Minister for Science and Higher Education, this initiative is central to boosting the global competitiveness and attractiveness of European universities. The two approved texts articulate a shared vision among EU member states and provide a practical roadmap to realise it. The resolution presents a strategic three-phase timeline leading up to 2029, while the recommendation defines the criteria for awarding the joint degree label. The label will be granted to joint academic programmes established through transnational collaboration involving at least two EU countries. This initiative builds on the Bologna Process and follows the European Commission’s March 2024 policy package aimed at strengthening cooperation within the EU’s higher education sector. It represents a critical step toward harmonising academic standards and fostering deeper integration across Europe’s universities. Read the full article: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/05/12/council-takes-steps-towards-a-new-joint-european-degree-label/
Cultural heritage: UniBs is hosting the second stop of the exibition “I primi custodi della memoria. Le sepolture del Paleolitico.”
The exibition “I primi custodi della memoria. Le sepolture del Paleolitico.”, showcasing the collection of casts of Paleolithic burials from the Museum of Human Anatomy at UniTO, is open at Palazzo Bettoni (Piazza Bruno Boni, Brescia) from the 30th of April to the 21st of June. This exhibition represents an outstanding collaboration between the universities of the Alliance. The casts of the Paleolithic era provide valuable insights into how populations of that time approached the death of a fellow human. Funerary practices offer a unique opportunity to explore the deeper elements of human thought during a period preceding the emergence of artistic expression. The death rituals of the Paleolithic era were not driven by material necessities but by concerns of a different nature, often reflecting beliefs about the fate of an individual—or their body—after death. For this reason, they represent a significant milestone in the social history of humanity, shedding light on the life of the deceased and their community. The inauguration took place on Wednesday, April 30th, in the presence of the Rector of the University of Brescia, Professor Francesco Castelli; the Rector of the University of Turin, Professor Stefano Geuna; Professor Giacomo Giacobini, Curator of the exhibition and Emeritus Professor at the University of Turin; Professor Angelo Mazzù, Project Coordinator and Full Professor of Mechanical Design and Machine Construction at the University of Brescia; and Associate Professor Irene Giustina, Professor of Architectural History at the University of Brescia and representative of the UNITA Cultural Heritage working group (hub). The exhibition was first hosted by the University of Turin from January 16 to April 26, 2025. During this period, it welcomed over 6,400 visitors, averaging 75 attendees per day. The final day, Saturday, April 26, saw the highest attendance, with 508 visitors. As a traveling exhibition, it will be hosted in turn by several universities within the UNITA Alliance, further strengthening collaboration and fostering shared cultural engagement among partner institutions. The exhibition at the University of Brescia can be visited until June 21, 2025, from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM and from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM.
International PhD in Digital Humanities between Turin, Genoa, and Pau: an excellent achievement within the UNITA Alliance
Titled From Basque to Francoprovençal: promoting regional or minority languages through the design of a European digital museum, the doctoral dissertation by Marie Domengès received top honors in a joint supervision program between the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), the University of Turin, and the University of Genoa. The research was conducted as part of the PhD program in Digital Humanities – Digital Technologies, Arts, Languages, Cultures, and Communication. In particular, the research explored how museums — often overlooked in the efforts to safeguard regional or minority languages — can highlight multilingualism and contribute to the preservation, promotion, and transmission of less-used local languages, which are often at risk of extinction. In her work, supervised by Professors Laurence Roussillon Constanty (UPPA) and Silvia Pireddu (University of Turin), Dr. Domengès carried out a study on 26 museums in France and Italy, especially in cross-border areas, to observe early multilingual approaches within these cultural institutions and identify attempts to promote regional or minority languages. She further delved into the subject through a four-month case study in two museums: the Musée Basque et de l’histoire de Bayonne in the French Basque Country, in Bayonne, France and the Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di tradizione in Fénis, Italy. The goal was to understand how these institutions work to safeguard the Basque and Francoprovençal languages. Dr. Domengès proposed best practices for the creation of multilingual and educational materials that could be used to inclusively and accessibly promote and enhance linguistic and cultural heritage. This research not only contributes to the recognition and promotion of regional and minority languages but also perfectly aligns with the founding principles of the UNITA Alliance, which fosters cooperation among European universities to address global cultural, educational, and scientific challenges. The PhD program in Digital Humanities, combining digital technologies, arts, languages, cultures, and communication, enabled Marie Domengès to engage with the challenges and opportunities of a multilingual approach to cultural heritage communication. This international doctoral initiative, involving several European universities, once again highlights the importance of academic cooperation in a global context and represents another step forward in the integration and strengthening of international collaboration within the UNITA Alliance.
15 projects selected for the UNITA Starting Grants on Cultural Heritage and Green Energies
15 projects have been selected in the framework of the UNITA Starting Grants for Research on cultural heritage and green energy for a sustainable future, involving faculty members and researchers from ten partner universities within the UNITA Alliance. These initiatives bring together international research groups composed of scholars, post-docs, and PhD students, focusing on Cultural Heritage and Green Energies. The goal is to strengthen transnational academic collaboration and promote innovation. The call, launched to encourage the creation of new projects or the consolidation of existing collaborations, requires participation from at least three UNITA universities per proposal and has a maximum duration of 12 months. Ten projects have been selected within the Cultural Heritage field, addressing topics such as the enhancement of intangible heritage, multilingual rural literature (Literature about/in the village), the use of digital tools for sustainable tourism (Smart Rural Heritage), and the historical memory of conflicts (Sharing historical interpretations of rural heritage). Five projects have been approved in the Green Energies category, focusing on innovative themes such as bioelectrochemical systems for sustainable hydrogen production (BIOHYDROMILL), energy self-sufficiency for isolated rural activities (IDEA-ERA), and energy-conscious communities in mountainous regions (Redefining sobriety in mountainous areas). These projects mark a significant step forward in building a shared research network among European universities in the UNITA Alliance, with a strong impact on local communities and the challenges of ecological and cultural transition. A new edition of the UNITA Starting Grants for Research is open until May 12, 2025, for projects in: All details are available on the UNITA website
UNITA Blended Intensive Program: the “One Step Beyond” international entrepreneurship course in Turin
More than 30 participants including doctoral students, master’s students, researchers and professors from different UNITA alliance universities gathered in Turin to participate in the Blended Intensive Program “One Step Beyond: an entrepreneurial course within the UNITA alliance.” The program, created to promote entrepreneurship within international academic contexts, kicked off with an initial online training phase, during which lecturers from partner universities delivered introductory lectures and activities. The course then got into full swing in Turin, with an intensive in-presence workshop that led to the emergence of five interdisciplinary and international teams, composed in a balanced way – including from a gender perspective – of participants from different universities in the alliance. Guided by mentors and experts, the teams combined skills and creativity to develop innovative entrepreneurial projects, with the goal of turning promising ideas into concrete, sustainable and high-impact solutions. At the end of the course, five innovative projects were developed on social and environmental issues, specifically: sustainable agriculture, rural tourism, housing for seasonal workers, digital nomadism, and cervical cancer prevention. The experience concluded at the “Campus Luigi Einaudi” with a final event open to the public, during which the teams presented their pitches to a jury of experts from the academic and corporate worlds. The three most deserving projects awarded for originality, feasibility and innovative potential were: The initiative – promoted by in the framework of the UNITA action “Inter-territorial Interfaces for Innovation” – represented a unique opportunity to foster collaboration among European universities, promote entrepreneurial spirit among young people, and strengthen the link between research, teaching, and the world of work.