Coordinator: UCM | Universidad Complutense De Madrid, Spain

UCM is one of the largest Universities in Spain and all around Europe. With a tradition beyond 5 centuries, UCM has become a very important institution in terms of higher education and research activities.

It is home of research groups which are at the cutting edge of research in many areas. The research at UCM is developed through its 26 faculties, 9 associated centres, 37 university research institutes, 7 schools for professional specialisation, 14 university hospitals and medical centres, and 18 research assistance centres. The Research Group on Agent-based, Social & Interdisciplinary Applications (GRASIA) at UCM, founded in 1998, has large experience in collaborative research efforts between Social and Computer Sciences. On the side of Social Sciences, it has focused on communication and protection of vulnerable groups, with particular attention to refugees, disabled persons and gender perspective; on Computer Sciences, on Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering, particularly on applications of multi-agent systems, collaborative systems, big data processing, and social networks simulation.

www.ucm.es

CESIE, Italy

CESIE is a European centre of Studies and Initiatives promoting the development of innovation in educational, social, economic and cultural spheres, without lucrative purposes. CESIE aims to foster sustainable and inclusive development and growth of EU and neighbouring regions through education, Research and Innovation (R&I) and training. It was founded in 2001 based on work and theories of our inspirer, sociologist Danilo Dolci.

CESIE’s research is connected empirically with the development of state of art and test of new methodologies through the active involvement of different target groups and stakeholders, in the respect of ethics and human development. Its experience in implementation of actions involving the community gives to the staff a strong capacity to reach a big number of actors, and it is reinforced by CESIE’s local and international networks.

Main activities of HE&R unit: Responsible Research and Innovation for social needs; Modernisation and internationalisation of HEIs and Research organisations; Capacity building, Quality assurance and evaluation; Creation of synergy between formal and non-formal education systems.

cesie.org

UNIMED | Unione delle Università del Mediterraneo, Italy

UNIMED – the Mediterranean Universities Union, an association of Universities founded in October 1991, acts as point of reference of the international university cooperation (counting today 118 Universities coming from 23 countries of both shores of the Mediterranean). Its aim is to develop research and education in the Euro-Mediterranean area in order to contribute to scientific, cultural, social and economic cooperation.

UNIMED’s main activities: promotion of the international dimension of universities; encouraging the participation of its members in international projects; planning and fundraising activities: information on call for papers and opportunities offered by international organisations and the European Commission (EC), partnership search, technical assistance, planning, dissemination; promoting mobility in the Euro-Mediterranean region, for students, researchers and academic staff; creation of thematic subnetworks to foster scientific cooperation within specific fields; organization of meetings, discussions, seminars and roundtables both at a national and international level; training for academic and administrative staff of universities, particularly for the personnel of International Relations Offices.

www.uni-med.net

Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland

The University of Helsinki is the oldest and largest institution of academic education in Finland, an international scientific community of 40,000 students and researchers. UH has 11 faculties, several research-oriented institutes, multidisciplinary research networks and campus units, as well as units attending to the duties of a national authority. Focus areas of research at the Social Science Faculty include inequality, justice and security. The Faculty examines, ethnic discrimination as well as inequality in health and living conditions. A European Research Council funded project Crosslocations at the Faculty studies national and military borders in the Mediterranean region in order to determine how border control is changing and how this will affect immigration and the refugee situation. Researchers in Media and Communication Studies collaborate with colleagues from a variety of fields, and utilise international networks in their research projects. The aim is not only to produce high-quality research, but also to engage with society and participate actively in public discussion.

www.helsinki.fi

Menedek | Migransokat Segito Egyesulet, Hungary

Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants promotes social integration of foreign citizens migrating into Hungary, as well as of Hungarian and other citizens emigrating from here. We have established a complex system of services, through which we have supported and continue to support thousands of refugees and other foreigners in finding a new home in our country. Besides the support of immigrants and professionals, it is very important for us to make the majority of society more open toward and accepting of foreigners arriving in our country, as this is an indispensable condition for the successful integration of migrants. In order to achieve this, we try to build a bridge between the host society and immigrants by realising various educational programmes in schools and cultural projects. We pursue our objectives as a not-for-profit association independent from politics. We are not involved in direct political activities and do not receive funds or give financial support to political parties. Our work is supported by many volunteers.

menedek.hu

Anadolu University, Turkey

Eskişehir Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences, founded in 1958, is the foundation of Anadolu University. The Academy was replaced by Anadolu University in 1982, which has gained a well-deserved place as a modern, dynamic and innovative institution among the largest universities not only in Turkey, but also in the world. Situated in the centre of Eskişehir, which is well-known as a city of science, culture and youth, the two campuses house 17 faculties (undergraduate level) – three of which offer distance education, 3 applied schools – one of which is of music and drama, 4 vocational schools (associate level), 9 graduate schools – five of which are graduate and postgraduate level, and 30 research centres.

Anadolu University has implemented a distance education system. Today, the total number of students of the three distance education faculties is over 2 million. The success in the development of this system has been taken as a model for many institutions in various countries.

www.anadolu.edu.tr

Yarmouk University, Jordan

Yarmouk University (YU) was founded in 1976 with a mission to provide quality education to its students in the various fields of specializations at the BSc, MSc, and PhD levels, by developing competencies in various fields of science and knowledge through providing distinguished education and producing of innovative scientific research that serves the community and contributes to building knowledge economy by creating a university environment that stimulates creativity, through freedom of expression and responding to the demands of society and scientific development.

YU found that this cannot be done without the international collaboration with leading schools, worldwide. Collaboration forms include the development and implementation of joint projects that can establish new structures and/or policies or modernise existing ones. Other forms include exchanging students to pursue graduate studies and exchanging academic and administrative staff for knowledge transfer via sharing projects development and implementations. One ultimate objective is to fuel economic growth and development of Jordan, and that would also contribute to human welfare and prosperity in its wider context.

www.yu.edu.jo

Lebanese International University, Lebanon

The vision of LIU is to be recognized as Lebanon’s leading integrative transnational educator that promotes success to its students through teaching and learning excellence, focused research and enterprise for career development. LIU goes beyond Lebanon, since 2006 four campuses were established in Yemen (Sanaa, Aden and Taiz); one in Mauritania and Senegal, being a pioneering institution notable for its innovative and creative response to the changes in educational needs be it in Lebanon, in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arab World, Africa and beyond.

LIU strives to have continual improvement, integrity, opportunity, collaboration and joint ventures with communities, agencies, businesses and industries. LIU aligns its practices and resources to provide students educational access to knowledge, multidisciplinary skills and values necessary to compete in a knowledge-based society. LIU dedicates itself to a continuous search for new and better means to provide work-integrated learning, intellectual development and enhance alumni engagement that will stimulate and empower its graduates to fosters a significant difference in the job market.

www.liu.edu.lb