The maps production process, led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in its Campus of Milan, involved other three universities, one for each pole of the NEAR project: Iscte-IUL in Lisbon, KES College in Nicosia and University for Foreigners in Perugia.
NEAR project’s Work Package 6 (ON CAMPUS MAPS) focuses on universities, recognising their key role in the integration process of international students, in particular of newly arrived students, in the host countries. Universities act as key players in young migrants and, more generally, international students integration paths as they are not only the major institutions for spreading education and scientific knowledge, but also as a tool for young people to understand the reality and meet the society they live in. University experience, indeed, is not only made up by classes and training: human relationships flourishing inside and outside the classrooms are an essential part of university life. Universities are privileged contexts for students to create a network of contacts and relationships, especially thanks to the distinctive environment of openness, encouraging mutual knowledge and the enhancement of each individual.
Within the objective of facilitating the access to the university educational and training offer for international students encouraging their integration within local community, four maps of the services offered by universities specifically to international students have been produced. The research process, led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), actively involved the members of NEAR project partnership and other three universities: Tamat worked with the University for Foreigners of Perugia, Cardet with KES College in Nicosia and Aidglobal with Iscte-IUL in Lisbon. Services and opportunities mapped during the last month have been divided in different categories, in order to build the maps as helpful tools to foster newly arrived students integration path in the academic community.
In the next months, international students will be directly involved in the project: with them, each university and partner will develop an off-campus map of opportunities for international students offered not only inside the campuses but also by the neighborhood and the cities hosting the four universities.
