Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Unimore launches the Erasmus+ INSIGHT European project for a more inclusive university education

Unimore, which today counts among its enrolled students around 350 students with certified disabilities and over a thousand students with specific learning disorders, is the project leader of the Erasmus+ Higher Education project ‘INSIGHT: Inclusive teaching methods in higher education’, an ambitious European project that aims to improve teaching and learning processes by promoting inclusive teaching strategies.

The aim of the project is to guarantee the right to study and equal educational opportunities to all university students, with particular attention to those with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or, in general, certain disabilities, through the implementation of inclusive teaching and the creation of increasingly welcoming and inclusive environments.

The INSIGHT project involves 12 major partners from six countries, including seven universities, organisations and specialised companies: the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the Linnéuniversitetetet (Växjö, Sweden), the Wirtschaftsuniversitat in Vienna, the Universidad Pablo De Olavide in Seville, the Higher Educational Institution Podillia State University (Ukraine), the National University Of Life And Environmental Sciences Of Ukraine, the Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana, a Belgian association dedicated to dyslexia (EDA), an Italian company specialised in learning disorders (SOS Dyslexia) and two Italian organisations with expertise in managing training activities (ECECE-AT, Formodena).

With the INSIGHT project, Unimore wants to further consolidate its role as promoter of a welcoming and inclusive environment, in which the right to study is guaranteed to all, without discrimination. Unimore, in fact, has always been characterised by focusing on the education needs of both male and female students, offering support and tools to guarantee a quality education to all and providing them with services and compensatory measures during examinations.

INSIGHT is not only aimed at developing innovative and inclusive strategies, but also aspires to create a replicable model at European level. The practices identified and implemented in the project may, in fact, be adopted by other educational contexts, contributing to the creation of an international network of good practices.

‘The Department of Education and Human Sciences, which has long been committed to the development of inclusive culture, policies and practices, promotes and supports research and training to improve the quality of teaching, in order to promote learning, participation and well-being for all students, starting with those who present peculiarities and/or situations of ‘greater risk’ in ‘traditional’ contexts (as in the case of students with SLD). The Universal Design for Learning and the Capability Approach, which provide the basis for the Insight framework, invite us to reflect on how to develop valid and effective strategies for all students, valuing differences and inclusive principles and favouring the construction of capacitative contexts in the academic environment at European level. This is the challenge we propose with INSIGHT,’ comments Prof. Paola Damiani, scientific coordinator of the project.

Thanks to the diversity of expertise brought to bear, the partnership aims to explore every aspect of inclusive education, from research to training and the implementation of innovative policies.

‘Unimore has always been committed to guaranteeing the right to study and equal educational opportunities through inclusive teaching strategies and by carrying out important work to raise the awareness of the teaching staff,’ stresses Dr Giacomo Guaraldi, the Rector's Delegate for Disability and DSA. The University promotes accessible and innovative education, as demonstrated by the Erasmus+ INSIGHT project, which develops and disseminates inclusive methodologies at an international level’.

More details on the project and the partnership's activities can be found here: https://insightprojecteu.org 

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng