Migration, a UNIC topic!

A European University project bringing together ten[1] universities located in post-industrial cities, UNIC aims to promote the role of these universities as actors in the social, technological and economic transition and as drivers of inclusion in regions characterised by the Superdiversity of their populations. Here is a look at the foundations and prospects of this ambitious project which combines teaching, research and society.

[Translation of an article published in "Cultivons le futur", n°8, Summer 2022, Eclosio]

B

orn from a call for projects by the European Union to promote international synergies, the UNIC project brings together ten European universities with a common past and present. All located in post-industrial cities, the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain), the Ruhr University (Bochum, Germany), the University of Cork (Ireland), the University of Koç (Istanbul, Turkey), the University of Oulu (Finland), the Erasmus University (Rotterdam/Netherlands) which coordinates the project, the University of Zagreb (Croatia), the Malmö University (Sweden), the University of Lodz (Poland) and the University of Liège have decided to set up a project that aims to foster socio-economic, technological and cultural transitions by setting up diversity, inclusion and mobility as cardinal points. Nine of these ten universities are also members of the IMISCOE network (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe) - of which ULiège is currently the president - the largest interdisciplinary research network in Europe in the field of migration, integration and diversity studies.

Universities anchored in cities that share many common features. Port cities, with an industrial past, which are going through a phase of economic reconversion that determines the emergence of new societal challenges - such as mobility, inclusion and diversity - that we must face. While Liège is closely associated with the decline and fall of the metal industry, other cities in the UNIC alliance have experienced similar events: the closure of the Opel plant in Bochum, the Ford plant in Cork, the economic difficulties of the telephone giant Nokia in Oulu. And many others. What these cities also have in common is their rich demographic composition, the result of past and present migratory movements. A population that is constantly diversifying through an increasing complexity of trajectories and profiles of individuals in terms of origin, age, gender, religion, culture and lifestyle, socio-economic situation, disability, etc.

The partner universities of the UNIC project thus aim to have a concrete societal impact on the local environment, by actively participating in reflections and approaches concerning the challenges that cities and their populations face, and by promoting a process of inclusion of students with diverse profiles. Indeed, it is important to strengthen synergies and the social utility of knowledge, in a transversal approach to the management of urban challenges. The complexity of urban problems and policies requires the establishment of collaborations and partnerships between researchers, students and local actors, in a process of co-construction, decompartmentalisation and mutual enrichment. Universities that together wished to develop an ambitious and rich project, based on three main pillars that combine teaching, research and society.

The three pillars of the UNIC project

The UNIC alliance, which will eventually bring together virtually and physically almost 225,000 students and 30,000 researchers, is based on three pillars: the creation of an inter-university campus, CityLAbs and a Superdiversity academy.

The inter-university campus will allow students, staff, researchers and teachers to move freely to train, teach, research and share services within the UNIC consortium, regardless of their socio-economic and cultural background.

CityLabs, idea laboratories and meeting places in public spaces, which aim to promote the social and urban renewal and revitalisation of our post-industrial cities through culture. Meetings to stimulate the exchange of "good practices" in the field of social inclusion, of relations between creative cultural spaces and neighbourhoods. Ideation laboratories to promote the different cultures of the populations of our post-industrial cities and multilingualism. Places of exchange within the cities in order to strengthen and anchor the link that each university has with its city.

Finally, the UNIC project aims to create a Superdiversity Academy, a set of good practices for the inclusion of students and staff from all backgrounds, socio-economic characteristics, gender, age, etc.

Furthermore, inclusion is a priority of the European Erasmus+ programme, in which the UNIC project is part of, with a valorisation of difference and a focus on actions that promote access and participation: "Inclusion [is] at the heart of the Erasmus+ programme strategy. Inclusion is one of the three priorities of the European Commission for the 2021-2027 programming period. It is understood as the programme's capacity to promote diversity in all its forms as a valuable source of learning; both by funding projects that put inclusion at the heart of their activities, and by facilitating access [to mobilities] for people with fewer opportunities".

UNIC at ULiège

Since its creation, the UNIC project has allowed the organisation of several initiatives in Liège involving a plurality of actors: students and future students, researchers, university staff members, representatives of the city administration and civil society. For example, writing workshops with students and prospective students were conducted in secondary schools to allow for an informal exchange between peers about the university experience and the support services available. This is linked, among other things, to a process of evaluation of inclusion practices in which the University of Liège participates in the framework of UNIC, thus soliciting reflection on existing approaches and possible improvements.  

In addition, in the framework of the CityLabs Festival - which took place in Liège in October 2021 - a meeting organised by the CEDEM (Centre d'Études de l'Ethnicité et des Migrations de l'Université de Liège), the ULiège Students' Federation, the associations Interra , Le Monde des Possibles, and the Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège, addressed the theme of "students.es en exil", i.e. to discuss the difficulties encountered by young people starting a university course at the University of Liège who are in a situation of exile from their country of origin, today and in the past. This meeting enabled a series of recommendations to be drawn up to improve the experience of these young people, and to be submitted to the academic authorities. And that's not all! These reflections will be continued[2] in the framework of exchanges with partner cities, notably in Oulu, during the second CityLabs Festival organised in June 2022 with the City of Cork. Indeed, in view of the many challenges posed by immigration and diversity, it is important to exchange ideas on how to respond to them locally and to inspire each other in this respect with regard to concrete practices.  

The University of Liège has recently joined the "Rendons notre université hospitalière" campaign, and has adopted a declaration of principles which aims to "lead the university community to reaffirm its commitment to a process of welcome, hospitality and valorisation of initiatives carried out by members of the community through all its bodies, in accordance with each of its missions (teaching, research and service to the community)" . This approach resonates with the adoption by the city of Liège of the "Commune hospitalière" motion aimed at "improving the daily life of migrants living in Liège through concrete commitments, and demonstrates a convergence of values and approaches between the city and the university.  

A European Research University

The UNIC project also has a strong research component, which is financed by European Horizon2020 funding. The development of further forms of collaboration between the city and the university is envisaged within the framework of the UNIC4ER project, which is specifically concerned with the establishment of an 'engaged research' platform enabling the university, its local partners and citizens to co-construct approaches to the study of societal issues. Engaged research' means collaborative research approaches with society. It implies that knowledge, ideas and expertise are developed from a variety of sources - researchers, citizens, policy makers, practitioners in the field - and that research results emerge from a process of co-production of knowledge through partnerships that have an impact on society. The research undertaken encompasses a range of participatory and community-based methodologies and ensures the rigour of research, the democratisation of research and the increased impact of research activities on society. This scientific dimension of the UNIC project offers fundamental opportunities for a European university to develop a better understanding of today's post-industrial challenges - including those related to inclusion and diversity, the focus of this project - as well as to offer insight into potential approaches to addressing these challenges.

UNIC, European University

The UNIC project allows for enrichment by confronting the practices of partner universities as a source of debate and inspiration. In addition to the broader issue of inclusion, the issue of inclusion of students from abroad, with diverse profiles and trajectories, is a major challenge for higher education institutions, given the specific needs of these students. The exchange of approaches developed by each university is beneficial in that it allows to put one's own practices into perspective and to consider ways of improvement. At the CityLabs Festival hold in Oulu in June 2022[3], ULiège organised a new panel discussion on this subject, together with the University of Cork, which in 2018 obtained the status of Sanctuary University and which has recently relaunched a programme to welcome refugee students. Eventually, UNIC will offer inter-university and multi-disciplinary masters degrees, building on existing courses and proposing new ones, to address the socio-economic, urban, cultural, migratory and inclusive challenges that will influence the reconversion of post-industrial cities.

More about UNIC : www.unic.eu
More about UNIC activities at ULiège : www.unic.uliege.be

 

Authors and roles/affiliations:

• Laura BEUKER, researcher at Lentic, project manager at the MSH and collaborator in the UNIC project for ULiège
• Florence HAUTEKEER, administrative coordinator of the UNIC project for ULiège
• Julie LOUIS, Research Communication Officer, in charge of the UNIC project communication for ULiège
• Elsa MESCOLI, postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the ULiège, collaborator in the UNIC project.

 

[1] Since this article was written in the summer of 2022, two new universities have joined the project.

[2] They continued during those events.

[3] Modified from the original article.