Third Mission Projects, Europe, Asia
Professors in areas of the Philippines facing socio-economic distress will benefit from the FORTH project
The main goal of Unibo’s FORTH project is to work with institutions in the Philippines to make their university system more like the one outlined by the Bologna Process.
The Bologna Process originated in 1999 from the shared awareness that European Higher Education needed to be as competitive as the other education systems across the world. The European Community considers education one of its main strategic areas as it believes it to be one of the main tools to contribute to economic, social, and political development. Over time, the awareness that prompted by the Bologna Process received widespread validation, eventually earning the approval of several countries outside the European area.
This is a remarkable political achievement for the European Union that, through the Bologna Process, holds the reins of an international process of evolution with a significant impact on higher education. From the first international communities until now, the European Union and its higher education strategy have taken huge steps forward.
This is the background against which the FORTH project aims to support Philippino professors in their teaching activities and enhance their mobility opportunities.
The Philippines situation represents a challenging case study because of the high number of isles that are geographically and culturally different with more than 300 languages spoken across the archipelago.
“We’re approaching this situation by creating clusters - These tight-knit units will work to develop a sense of belonging between teachers”, said Elena Pacetti, professor at the Department of Education of the University of Bologna. Professors will also receive some training to improve their general knowledge and their soft skills. For example, they will learn how to successfully communicate in a language that is not the mother tongue, which is necessary given the great language diversity of this country.
Since the Philippines are an averagely young country, one of the project’s aims is to increase literacy in young adults that left school early, implementing courses tailored to those people who already have a job.
Since the launch of FORTH, all the partners have felt very committed to the project and worked with extraordinary enthusiasm. In the future, the project will carry out in-depth analyses on themes regarding international cooperation, such as gender equality, migration, inclusion, empowerment, and active citizenship
