LEGO
Italy-East Asia Cooperation: from Local Expertise to a Global Outlook
Project
LEGO aims to strengthen cooperation in the field of international mobility between Italian universities and those in East Asia, enhancing the educational and scientific excellence of each partner and synergising these strengths to increase their impact both internationally and on local communities and territories.
More specifically, the project builds upon the specificities and competencies of each partner, offering a wide range of initiatives across three key disciplinary areas:
- Languages and Cultures: Italian language and culture, languages and cultures of Asia, social studies and area studies on and in the target countries.
- Science and Technology for Sustainability: architecture, engineering, design, natural sciences, ICT, with a particular focus on strategies and solutions for green development and sustainable development, taking a comparative and collaborative approach.
- Management and Economics for Society: special focus on social issues, human resource development, intercultural communication, human resource management, cross-cultural and transversal communication skills, Italy-Asia cooperation, business management, marketing and finance, global and sustainable tourism.
The activities of the project mainly involve:
- outgoing and incoming mobility of BA, MA and PhD students for study and thesis research, academic staff and researchers for teaching and training, and training personnel;
- discussion and finalisation of Double Joint Degrees (DJDs);
- advanced skills training aimed at acquiring specific, high-impact competencies in the abovementioned macro-areas.
The specific areas of intervention also allow for joint and innovative teaching methods, in a perspective of long-term partnership sustainability beyond the end of the funding and the replicability of activities with other partners. Collaborative efforts will lead to the exchange of good practices and know-how, contributing to the enhancement of exchange programmes and innovative education in the long term.
Specific objectives
- Strengthen and experiment with innovative teaching at an international level, including mixed approaches.
- Strengthen ties with Asian partners through the renewal of existing agreements and the establishment of new ones, consolidation/creation of DJDs, joint curricular and extracurricular teaching, and improvement of rankings.
- Strengthen the scientific and technological training of PhD candidates, particularly for environmental and digital transition, through targeted initiatives.
- Promote Italian higher education, the educational offer, and the specificities of each partner, share best practices, organise events and publications in Italy as well as locally, and enhance the attractiveness of Italian higher education institutions (HEIs) for foreign students, researchers, and lecturers.
- Facilitate inclusion and access to mobility for disadvantaged or underrepresented categories, including top-up scholarships; ensure gender equality.
- Share sustainable practices in the management and implementation of mobility and initiatives involving local communities and territories.
- Compare educational systems between Italy and partner countries to maximise recognition (including in innovative and experimental forms), harmonise procedures, and align partner institutions with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Project impact
The LEGO project allows students to experience a unique opportunity to engage with different educational systems and cultures, expanding their linguistic and cultural competencies through individual mobility programmes and DJDs. In particular, students engaging in mobility will acquire specific skills in the fields of science and technology, as well as in economics and management, and will gain EU/Asian qualifications that are easily transferable to the global job market. Those who do not undertake mobility will still benefit from free access to high-quality educational content, enriching their linguistic and cultural competencies. Through these specific activities, students taking part in the project will be able to develop highly qualified professional profiles with intercultural and specialised competencies, increasing their competitiveness in the job market.
For lecturers, mobility programmes and DJD pathways offer the opportunity to:
- improve teaching competencies and develop new approaches to educational excellence;
- continuously update through training courses, seminars, and international activities;
- access international educational materials and resources;
- strengthen their academic profile through internationalisation.
Partners
The LEGO partnership is composed of 12 Italian universities and coordinated by Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Each university has different and complementary competences: universities with a technical focus are flanked by others that mainly invest in the linguistic-cultural and economic-managerial area.
