Economic and social participation of people with disabilities is essential to achieve EU’s goals of creating smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. However, several barriers still need to be tackled. In the field of education and training, the Erasmus+ programme aims at facilitating the access to participants with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities, thus supporting the European Commission’s objective of making learning mobility a reality for all. Nevertheless, only a small percentage of mobility beneficiaries reported at least one type of disadvantaged situations (19%). Of these, only 1% reported disability (defined as mental, physical, sensory or other disabilities), which reinforces their low participation in mobility opportunities [Erasmus+ Higher Education Impact Study 2019]. MOB4ALL aims to promote the transnational mobility of students with special needs through the capacity building of the different actors who can support these students in the context of international mobility for educational purposes (Professors, staff members from International Relations Offices/mobility officers, staff members from other specialised units and tutor students/buddies). By establishing a cooperation among HEIs, specialised mobility providers and institutions supporting students and people with disabilities at EU level, the project will transform the participant HEIs environments through the development and sharing of individual-centred practices and protocols, thus reducing the inequality of access to resources and opportunities in Higher Education. Moreover, the five HEIs involved are part of Ulysseus European Universities Alliance, which relies on a strong and innovative strategy that includes improved attention to disabled students. Project actions will address and benefit 3 different types of special needs: physical (limited physical/motor function), sensorial (impaired vision or hearing) or communicative (Autism, Asperger’s syndrome) disabilities. With a duration of 30 months, MOB4ALL will achieve the following intellectual outputs: - O1 – Preparation of the Report “Inclusive Mobility: Supporting Students with Special Needs at EU level”, which seeks to raise awareness on the needs of students with disabilities and to identify transferable successful practices and procedures leading to an increase in the quality and number of students with special needs participating in transnational mobility activities for educational purposes; - O2 – Development and implementation of the Specialised Training Course “Training for Better Integration of Mobility Participants with Disabilities” targeting different actors who can support students with disabilities in the context of international mobility for educational purposes; - O3 – Creation of Guidelines for Mobility Officers, Academic and Non-academic Staff, and Tutor Students, describing a methodology supporting these staff members to better manage the needs of incoming and outgoing mobility students with disabilities. The main target groups of MOB4ALL encompass: - Academic staff members (Professors, tutor Professors); - Non-Academic staff members (managers and staff members from International Relations Offices at HEIs and other staff members active in providing direct support to students with special needs); - Tutors and coaches from associated partners and other relevant public and private stakeholders; - Tutor students that support students with special needs involved in mobility actions (buddies); - Students with special needs/disabilities. Moreover, MOB4ALL will also target: HEIs, researchers, teacher associations, youth associations, policy-makers, public entities and other stakeholders active in social inclusion policies, as well as among relevant local, national and international networks of HEIs, mobility providers for educational purposes, students with special needs and associations supporting people with disabilities. Coordinated by the University of Seville, the MOB4ALL Consortium is composed of 7 institutions and organisations from Spain, Italy, France, Austria and Finland, active in education and training and in supporting and managing transnational mobility projects for educational purposes.
The Mob4All project aims to promote inclusive and accessible environments in the field of international mobility in Higher Education institutions. To achieve this general objective, the project aims to provide training, support and tools to address the barriers to participation of students with special needs in transnational mobility to academic and non-academic actors, who play a role in the organisation and implementation of international mobility: teachers, staff members of International Relations Offices/mobility officers, staff members of other specialised units and student tutors/buddies. In addition, it aims to promote cooperation between European Higher Education Institutions, fostering communication, exchange of good practices, development and sharing of practices and protocols focusing on people and their special needs, transforming the environment of these institutions and promoting equal access to resources and opportunities for all students.
One of the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme is the promotion of Inclusion and Diversity across all its actions. When implementing mobility projects, Higher Education Institutions should have an inclusive approach, making them accessible to all students. Each higher education institution, by signing the Erasmus Charter for Higer Education, commits to ensuring equal access and opportunities to participants from all background. However, statistics show that students with disabilities are still underrepresented in international mobility programmes, due to the many difficulties and obstacles that they encounter during a semester abroad. The Mob4All project was born to address this low participation of students with special needs in international mobility. Through a capacity building of the different actors involved in the implementation of international mobility, it aims to reduce inequality of access to resources and opportunities in Higher Education by promoting the development of inclusive practices and protocols.