On 6 October, the Università degli Studi di Brescia hosted the final event of RECIPES for Internationalisation, a constellation project of UNITA launched in 2023 with the aim of promoting the internationalisation of partner universities through practical tools designed for degree programmes, students, and university staff.
The event, organised by Professor Carmen Marchiori and Professor Corrado Paganelli, provided an opportunity to present and discuss the project’s main outcomes. These included the Handbook for Internationalisation, which brings together tools and practices for integrating the international dimension into different areas of university life, and the Self-Assessment Tool, designed to enable degree programmes to assess their level of internationalisation and identify potential pathways for further development.
Following the opening session, participants heard from Professor Roberto Ranzi, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation Affairs, and project coordinators Nicolas Meger and Ingrid Le Ru. During the morning, attendees took part in three keynote speeches addressing some of the major challenges facing the internationalisation of European higher education.
Professor Maurizio Tira, a member of the Board of the European University Association (EUA), discussed the role of the EUA in supporting the internationalisation of higher education. Amélie Bensimon, from HCERES (French High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education), explored the relationship between internationalisation and the quality of university systems. Yann-Maël Bideau, Responsible of the European Universities Alliances portfolio at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, traced the origins and development of the European University Alliances initiative.
The discussions highlighted a vision of internationalisation that goes far beyond student and staff mobility. Internationalisation also means recognising universities as one of the places where the European project takes tangible shape. The values enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — dignity, freedom, equality, solidarity, citizenship and justice — are also founding values of the university: an open community built on academic freedom, the exchange of ideas, and the circulation of knowledge.
A second key theme that emerged was the close relationship between research and teaching, one of the defining characteristics of university education. Universities are not merely places where already codified knowledge is transmitted through textbooks. Those who teach also contribute to the creation of new knowledge and bring the questions, methods and findings of their research into the classroom. Teaching and research are therefore not separate activities; rather, it is through their continuous interaction that higher education becomes capable not only of transmitting what we already know, but also of teaching students how to critically question what we do not yet know. From this perspective as well, internationalisation is essential, as connecting different scientific communities, experiences and viewpoints enriches both research and the quality of education.
Within this context, the RECIPES project charts a clear course, confirming that internationalisation is a key driver in building a higher education system that is increasingly connected, inclusive, and prepared to address the challenges of the future.
The following day, participants travelled to attend the annual UNITA WP3 meeting hosted by the Università di Torino on 7 and 8 October, where they presented the project’s results and discussed the future of higher education with members of the Alliance.
