UA academic and administrative staff have actively participated to a study visit within the framework of the “Demos” capacity building project on the design and implementation of a Master Degree in Democratic Governance and Human Rights, funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the EU. The study visit took place in the University of Alicante (Spain) from March 15 – 17, 2022, and brought together a consortium of partner universities from Lebanon (Lebanese University and UA), Morocco, Tunisia, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece.
The design and implementation of the Master programme in Social Innovation at University of Alicante was presented. The programme aims at shaping a diverse student body and turning learners into active agents of social change, by engaging them in a market study, helping them to develop their critical thinking skills, enabling them to become successful and inspiring social innovators who can contribute to the betterment of society. Best practices and challenges were shared about the management and delivery of such programmes, as well as the student profiles and the process of students’ selection while stressing on the impact of interdisciplinarity and digital literacy.
Other key topics that were tackled were about gender equality, human rights and work-family balance which should be respected, protected and at the core of the University policies. Equality units in Spain are part of the University administration and council centres, aiming to reinforce the gender mainstreaming in teaching and research, promote gender equality awareness campaigns, and raise awareness on such matters among the governing bodies, as well as the academic and administrative units.
Furthermore, a joint session was hosted by Casa Mediterraneo, a public consortium led by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose main aim is to foster mutual knowledge and to bring Spain and the other Mediterranean countries closer together on different areas such as culture, economy, climate change, gender equality, higher education, scientific and technological innovation. During this session, a round table was organized and the discussion revolved around the role that Mediterranean Universities can play in the protection of human rights, the research lines of the DEMOS Research Units, the strategy of dissemination and the possible collaborations with EU partners and Civil Society Organizations.
The implementation of online training and innovative teaching methodologies in DEMOS was also a main focus during one of the sessions that were dedicated to the active learning and interactive strategies, such as collaborative learning, problem-based learning and project-based learning, practical application, and gamification.
Finally, a round table was organized by Utrecht University and University of Amsterdam in order to reflect about internationalization, the experience of working with a diverse student population, and the development of intercultural competences. Markers of identity, namely Social Identity Wheel were used with the objective of raising awareness on how to manage the growing diversity in the classrooms.