Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Unimore unveils MultiLab: a new facility for research and educational innovation

Unimore has unveiled MultiLab, a new facility for research and training established under the 2023–2027 Department of Excellence Programme of the Department of Education and Humanities (DESU), titled “Illiteracies with a High Social Cost: Research Tools for Their Reduction”.

MultiLab was created to design and test innovative teaching practices, forging links between university research, training, schools, educational services and the local community. The space also houses the MO.RE. PL.A.Y. Interdepartmental Research Centre on Play and Games.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by the Rector of Unimore, Rita Cucchiara; the Mayor of Reggio Emilia, Marco Massari; the Head of the Department of Education and Humanities (DESU), Annamaria Contini; the Chair of the Reggio Children Foundation, Francesco Profumo; and the Chair of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia’s Preschools and Nurseries Institution, Federico Ruozzi.

DESU was selected as one of Italy’s Departments of Excellence for the 2023–2027 five-year period with a project focusing on the study and mitigation of illiteracies that carry high social costs: ranging from functional illiteracy to challenges in using media and digital technologies mindfully, through to the skills required for critical thinking and understanding cultural and religious diversity.

Within this framework, MultiLab represents one of the key facilities of the Department of Excellence Programme. It is a multifunctional, media-rich space where activities designed to develop functional, digital, visual literacy, critical thinking, creativity and collaborative skills can be designed and trialled in partnership with schools of all key stages, as well as educational and training organisations.

The facility has been designed with flexibility and accessibility in mind: modular furniture allows the space to be reconfigured for different activities, while digital and multimedia equipment enables the development of innovative teaching practices, research, and remote collaboration. Tools for educational robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and multimedia content production are also available.

“MultiLab will be used for activities aimed at schools, workshops for university students enrolled in Primary Teacher Education and Early Years and Social-Pedagogical Education, as well as action-research projects developed with teachers, educators, organisations, associations and local communities. Among the methodologies to be trialled are project-based learning, the flipped classroom, gamification, educational robotics and the application of artificial intelligence. The objective is to make MultiLab a permanent meeting ground for research, teaching and public engagement, capable of supporting educational innovation, the training of future teachers and education professionals, and collaboration between the University and the local area,” commented the Head of DESU, Annamaria Contini.

A significant contribution to the design of the spaces was provided by the Reggio Children Foundation. The fit-out also incorporates materials from the Remida Creative Recycling Centre—an educational project founded in 1996 based on an idea by Sergio Spaggiari, the then-director of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia’s Preschools and Nurseries Institution, run in collaboration with the Reggio Children Foundation, the Institution, and Iren. Furthermore, through the involvement of atelieristas from the Reggio Children Foundation, the organisation of structured and unstructured analogue and digital materials was curated to foster processes of exploration, creativity, and inquiry, while highlighting a multiplicity of languages.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng