UNITA – Universitas Montium
UNITA - Universitas Montium is one of the 64 European alliances funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative. The University of Turin coordinates this ambitious project, which involves from November 2023, 12 European Universities in 7 countries and the legal entity UNITA GEIE and aims to have a transformative impact on teaching and research, as well as on the relationships between the university and the territory, with the purpose of proposing excellent, student-centered education from a European and transnational perspective.
Launched in 2020 with a 10-year development horizon, one of the main objectives of the project is to create an inter-university, transnational ‘campus’ which promotes student, teaching and administrative staff mobility as a vehicle for international and intercultural education within the European Higher Education Area.
A new mobility format envisaged by the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme, consisting of a blended mobility involving at least three Alliance Universities. The mobility will take place in virtual and face-to-face mode, according to a schedule defined by the exchange contacts from time to time. To participate, you must respond to a call for applications available on the dedicated page.
UNITA publishes yearly a catalogue of courses offered by the Alliance universities in virtual mode. This form of mobility, which is recognised in a student's career by the conclusion of a learning agreement, is designed to explore teaching at a distance in another European University, to gain an international experience that could prepare for a physical mobility project, to broaden one's educational curriculum through activities that are not offered at the home university. To apply, you must respond to a call for applications available on the dedicated page.
An innovative form of short-term mobility, involving a training placement in rural or mountain areas within the territories of the partner universities. The destinations planned for each year are available on the dedicated page.
Collaborative Online International Learning involves an integrated mobility experience within a standard course and virtual co-presence of teachers and students from participating universities.
Internship opportunities in research institutions and companies located in the territories of UNITA universities. See the catalogue of proposals and related details.
Additional exchange and mobility opportunities for students, faculty and administrative staff are regularly posted on the UNITA-Universitas Montium website.
Additional exchange and mobility opportunities for students, faculty and administrative staff are regularly posted on the UNITA-Universitas Montium website.
As part of the UNITA Alliance, the Universities of Turin and Savoie Mont Blanc have developed a new model to promote and facilitate the internationalization processes of teaching among member universities.
The model, based on periodic and recurring matching events titled "Internationalization of Curricula Through UNITA (ICTU)", is based on face-to-face meetings of faculty coordinators of curricula in the Alliance Universities who, grouped by scientific field into working groups, engage in co-design of international curricula, with the support of the administrative staff of all the Universities involved.
The macrophases of the ICTU model are as follows:
- expression of interest: in all Alliance Universities, faculty members who hold courses of study are invited to express their interest in participating in the internationalization process (activity reporting period: beginning of the calendar year)
- matching and creation of the working groups: the ICTU organizing committee collects expressions of interest and creates the working groups by associating related courses of study by level (first or second Cycle) and scientific area (activity reference period: Spring)
- first "Internationalization of curricula through UNITA" event: working groups are invited to one of the Alliance Universities where they have the opportunity to meet in separate tables and design international study paths together: Erasmus BIP, virtual mobility, COIL, teacher mobility, double degrees or joint degrees (activity target period: between Spring and early Summer)
- follow-up event: working groups that, following the first event, continue to maintain contact at a distance and continue to make progress in planning the internationalization project are invited for an in-person follow-up event at the UNITA University that hosted the first event. The working groups have the opportunity to meet again to finalize the planning and decide on a project start-up date (activity reporting period: Fall)
- activity monitoring and administrative support: at the end of the two events and in between, working groups are invited to respond to online surveys aimed at collecting data on the type of internationalization project being discussed and any administrative and logistical concerns or issues. During the events, a team of administrative staff from all Alliance universities assists the working groups by providing informational support.
Each year one university in the UNITA Alliance hosts the two "Internationalization of curricula through UNITA" events and manages the macro-phases of the ICTU model.
During the events, participants also attend plenary sessions presenting innovative tools and models for internationalization of study paths, in accordance with the strategic lines developed by UNITA in this area:
- mobility window, which allows students to enter Erasmus mobility with an already agreed ex ante package of courses and activities to be taken at the host university
- UNITA à la carte, the integration of shared courses and activities into the career plans of the Alliance Universities
- UNITA Degree, a joint study pathway model that, according to national regulations and the European degree label, leads to the award of a double, multiple or joint degree.
The UNITA Alliance aims at contributing to the educational, scientific and cultural progress of the regions of the countries involved, fostering sustainable development, strengthening the local innovation ecosystems supporting the transition to a knowledge-based economy, whilst promoting and accelerating European integration within and beyond the territories.
The Universities of the Alliance support the creation of translational thematic and interdisciplinary research groups, through matching events on research in different scientific topics and grants attributed to the projects developed among partner Universities, particularly but not exclusively related to the thematic axes of the Alliance:
- cultural heritage
- circular economy
- renewable energies
- global health
- digital transition
- inclusive societies
Find more information on the research in UNITA.
Research and innovation carthography
The UNITA Research and Innovation cartography is a public access database that maps the R&I activities carried out in UNITA universities.
Research staff members from UNITA universities working on projects under one or more Research Axes are strongly encouraged to participate: it is a great opportunity to increase the visibility of projects, paving the way for the establishment of fruitful research synergies and partnerships between researchers from different universities, who can come together to apply for funding.
See the research and innovation cartography in UNITA.
The UNITA Starting Grants on Research aim at accelerating the development of interuniversity groups of educators, researchers and innovators who share a common interest in a field of knowledge and want to develop the field further through exchanges of good practice and the launch of joint projects.
The call for starting grants on:
- Tourism and cultural heritage in a digital world
- Renewable energy mixes and materials for a more sustainable world
is open until Wednesday May 8th, 2024.
The projects must be submitted by teaching staff or researchers from at least three different university partners of the UNITA Alliance, and should include in the working group postdocs and PhD candidates.
The duration of a project is up to 12 months.
The call and the information on the application process is available on UNITA website.
For information please contact [email protected]
In the framework of the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative, European Universities are required to test and facilitate the issuing of a unified common European degree label, to consolidate the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
The European Degree label is a certificate for students who have graduated from joint programmes of higher education institutions, such as European Universities, set according to European criteria.
To such an extent, the Alliance UNITA aims at developing and implementing shared actions, labels and tools to build personalised, multilingual and international study paths, with the aim of enhancing the internationalisation of curricula and developing a UNITA offer in lifelong learning, open to a large public.
In particular, UNITA aims at:
- transforming learning through programme innovation, reaching out to a varied set of learner profiles, providing them with the unique and labelled UNITA multilingual learning experience through personalised international learning paths, thus contributing to the definition of a European degree label
- developing the UNITA lifelong learning strategy based, in particular, on UNITA micro-credentials as key training tools for lifelong learners, including students, in order to upskill and reskill their competencies
- innovating teaching and learning in a European context through teacher and educational support, with a focus on challenge based and STEAM approach
- creating a UNITA inter-university digital campus as multi-lingual, multi-site and multi-modal integrated lifelong learning environment serving learners, staff and stakeholders from registration to certification with online access to materials, connected classrooms, comprehensive course cartography, catalogues of UNITA opportunities.