Abstract:

FORi (Training For Inclusion) is a project proposal of the University of Palermo aimed at implementing an innovative, dynamic and technological training idea in order to increase inclusion.

The professional skills training target are support teachers for pupils with SEN (Special Education Needs); university students attending degree courses preparatory to teaching; teachers and educators.

The services and products offered are based on recent research and studies by “Disabilities Studies”. Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability.

The project focus is an updated and innovative training that aims at the well-being of the person with disabilities and on the idea of making contexts accessible for all, enhancing the idea of “mobility”. The multidisciplinary team and continuous updating with respect to international research on the subject is the flagship of this project. The direct line with the academic experts of the sector is the innovative discriminant compared to other similar services on the market.

What kind of training the project offer? The training is based on Micro-credentials linked to the Bologna Key Commitments such as Digital badge, Micro-Master, MOOCs. A micro-credential is a small volume of learning certified by a credential. In the EHEA context, it can be offered by higher education institutions.

This project was presented to the Business Plan Competition 2021, that took place on University of Palermo and then to FORTHEM Alliance (Fostering Outreach within European Regions, Transnational Higher Education and Mobility): a consortium of European universities of which the University of Palermo is partner along with other six partners (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz - Germany, Université de Bourgogne – France, Jyväskylän yliopisto – Finland, Uniwersytet Opolski – Poland, Latvijas Universitāte – Latvia, Universitat de València - Spain).

The development timeline reckons on a first step of partnership consultation and choral action choice; the second one provides the development plan and the project implementation; the final one is focus on data collection and results comparison.

Through the Swot Analysis it is possible to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the project. The positive and inside strengths are the innovative learning and training, the flexibility, the improving skills system, the ICT system, the high technology used, the academic learning, the dynamicity. The positive outside opportunities are the improving of employability, the partnership consolidation and the comparison of results to test the most efficient training. The negative inside weaknesses are the lack of a unitary kind of inclusion training between different country, some aspects of remote training, the people’s distrust. The negative outside threats are the possible weakly participation.

The expected results compared to the implementation of the project concern the increase of internationalization, the employability of young graduates’ growth, the improvement of support teachers’ skills, and the spread of innovative training methodologies.

Keywords:

European project, innovating training, microcredits, education, technologies.