IDEM, university student mobility that integrates Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
Unite! alliance is committed to the implementation of a new model of inclusive European student mobility through the Erasmus+ IDEM project
The new Erasmus+ project "IDEM - Inclusion, Diversity, Equity in Mobility", aims to ensure and facilitate the full participation of students with disabilities, refugee students and first generation students in all mobility programmes between Unite! partner universities. These are students who are still under-represented in traditional physical mobility programmes such as Erasmus+. When preparing to study abroad, they are very often confronted with structural constraints that make it much more difficult to realise experiences abroad. Discriminatory barriers and access challenges mean that many of these students do not even consider participating in mobility programmes during their university education.
Based on previous experiences of the member universities of the Unite! alliance, the new Erasmus+ project "IDEM - Inclusion, Diversity, Equity in Mobility" aims to develop concrete solutions over the next three years to offer as many students as possible the opportunity to participate in mobility programmes between Unite! partner universities.
During its first in-person transnational project meeting held on the UPC Campus (30th March – April 1st), the IDEM team worked on planning the modules for its upcoming Training in Grenoble (28th – 30th June, 2022) and on defining the methodology and organization of the IDEM’s pilot mobility programmes.
IDEM will create and work on two pilots, both focusing on students experiencing discrimination by barriers in accessibility and outreach as prioritised by the new Erasmus + Programme. Aalto University and TU Darmstadt will target students with health problems and disabilities; INP Grenoble together with UPC and UL will concentrate on students experiencing among others, barriers due to cultural differences, and socio-economic barriers. The Pilots are planned to start in the summer of 2023.
According to Benedetta Gennaro, Head of the International Student Services and Refugee Integration Unit at the Technical University of Darmstadt, these pilots will offer "concrete help to other European universities to develop more flexible mobility programmes that recognise individual differences and respond to the specific needs of these groups".
IDEM project
The project is coordinated by the Technical University of Darmstadt, in collaboration with INP-UGA Grenoble (France), Aalto University (Finland), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech (Spain) and Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). The project foresees that IDEM will have an impact on both students and partner universities through the implementation of a mobility model that will simplify the bureaucracy of the current exchange systems making them more agile and oriented to short- and long-term mobility, as well as to blended mobility.
The project foresees training for university staff on disabilities, difficulties and disadvantages among the student population and will provide tools to address their mobility needs. Bootcamps (collaborative working sessions) are also foreseen, where debates and reflections on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in the European Higher Education System will be promoted. These three concepts are the basis for building a university community that fosters mutual respect and promotes the empowerment of all students. The Bootcamps will stimulate an open discourse to learn from each other on how to establish truly democratic living, learning and working conditions in European universities.
These trainings and discussions will also serve to design and share a toolkit to provide higher education institutions with comprehensive resources to help them identify and include the different dimensions of diversity and inclusion in the planning of university strategies.
More information about IDEM: Benedetta Gennaro - ( benedetta.gennaro@tu-darmstadt.de )