The "UNI-CO-leaRN: University-Community-Learning" project will design and test a new Mobility Scheme for HE students that combines international mobility with a Service-Learning experience in the community. Service-Learning (S-L) is a relatively new methodology in Europe, but it is successfully implemented since many years within other educational systems worldwide. This educational approach requires students to gain curricular credits by performing a “community service” that answers the needs of the community. Educational institutions and community organisations design together S-L "projects" to which students are required to contribute by applying their knowledge and competences. S-L has proven to be a very effective and engaging learning experience, which not only deepens and consolidates the students' discipline-specific knowledge and skills, but it also encourages the development of “civic and democratic competences”: civic mindedness, co-operation skills, openness to cultural otherness, critical thinking etc. – all competences which are ever more necessary to act as an active citizen and a competent professional in today's society and to deal with the current societal challenges. The UNICORN project proposes to embed the S-L methodology in different kinds of international mobility: study mobility, internship abroad, mobility for thesis; long and short mobility, mobility funded with EU funds, or with institutional funds/other funds. In all these cases, the “UNICORN” label for mobility will indicate a learning experience combining INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY with SERVICE-LEARNING. This new mobility experience will serve a twofold purpose: 1) boosting international mobility through S-L ("ENGAGED MOBILITY") Mobile students often fail to connect to the local context, to reduce their stereotypical perceptions of otherness, to go beyond the experience of an offsite student. The difference between a shallow and a deep, transformative learning experience can be made by a good “framing”: by participating in a S-L project offered by the hosting university, mobile students will actually have the opportunity to really dive into the local reality. This will contribute to make the international mobility a successful educational experience, which will foster the development of “civic and democratic skills”; 2) boosting S-L through international mobility (INTERNATIONAL S-L) By adding the mobility component to a S-L experience in the community, the local S-L projects will be open to international students, and the student team engaged in each UNICORN project will potentially be transnational / intercultural: thus, the impact of the S-L experience on the civic and democratic competences acquired by students will be further enhanced. The implementation of UNICORN projects requires the collaboration between educational institutions – in this case, HEIs – and community organisations (municipalities, nonprofit organisations and NGOs). The UNICORN partnership includes all these actors: 5 European HEIs, 5 community organisations and a South-African university, representing a country were the S-L methodology is widely adopted since many years. The partnership is enriched by 11 associated partners. The project will produce the following outputs: O1. UNICORN Mobility Scheme and Living Catalogue - a brand new set of international S-L projects and the student mobility scheme activated among the partner EU HEIs for the purposes of participating in these UNICORN projects. O2. Training Resources for academics and community organisations O3. Mobility Administrative Toolkit O4. MOOC for students O5. Recommendations for policy makers: “UNICORN as a key to link Internationalisation and Third Mission of HEIs” O2, O3, O4 and O5 will serve the scope of helping the transferability and upscale of the UNICORN model (O1). The innovative character of the UNICORN model lays in the fact that it connects dimensions which are still rarely connected in HE, i.e.: • S-L and international mobility • HE and community • HE students' learning needs and community needs • local dimension and international dimension • discipline-specific competences and civic and democratic competences The UNICORN project proposes international S-L as an effective way for HEIs to achieve the following outcomes: • Positive impact on the partner EU HEIs regarding their strategies for Third Mission and civic engagement • Development of HE students’ civic and democratic competences necessary to act as engaged citizens and professionals • Academic professional development; innovation of teaching and learning methodologies, enhancement of quality in teaching • Increased high-quality international student mobility in HE • Creation/consolidation of strong collaboration links between HEIs and community organisations.
The UNICORN project set out to offer universities a new opportunity to enact their service mission. More specifically, the main goal of the project was to provide students with the necessary “competences for democratic culture” to effectively contribute to society and address societal challenges. The UNICORN consortium chose to pursue this goal by focusing on international mobility. Civic engagement of international students during their mobilities started emerging as a relevant priority in the last few years of the E+ programme 2014-2020. It is worth mentioning here that recently the Erasmus Student Network advocated for a more “social” Erasmus+ programme "where interaction with local communities is placed at the centre", in order to maximise the broader impact of mobilities beyond the individuals (ESN 2022). The UNICORN project designed a new international mobility scheme that complements regular international mobility formats with an experience of community engagement abroad, with the ultimate objective of developing the civic and democratic competences of the students involved. Combining mobility and civic engagement in a new model of “international service-learning” (ISL) is the essence of the UNICORN project.
In recent years, due to the intensification of unprecedented global issues, there has been increasing pressure on universities to shift from focusing primarily on teaching and performing research, and to invest more on the so-called Third Mission, which entails a “contribution/service to society”. This shift in the perception of the role of universities is also reflected in the recently consolidated definition of internationalization of HE: “The intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of post-secondary education, in order to enhance the quality of education and research for all students and staff, and to make a meaningful contribution to society” (De Wit & Hunter 2015). One of the ways in which universities can give their contribution to society is by preparing future citizens and professionals who can effectively participate in the processes of a democratic, diverse and complex society. This requires developing the competences that are needed for that purpose (ref. “Competences for Democratic Culture”, CoE, 2017). There is a need for new curricular activities and new teaching approaches that can help students develop these competences.