Virtual Exchange
Virtual Exchange is an accessible, groundbreaking international experience, which leverages on new technologies and a common lingua franca, and does not entail physical mobility.
Organised jointly between at least two international universities, Virtual Exchange is a training activity consisting of little traditional/lecture-based teaching so to encourage a student-centred and leaner-led collaborative experience aimed at developing a common project and/or discussing interdisciplinary topics with a challenged-based approach.
The groups of students coming from different institutions meet remotely on collaborative platforms either autonomously or with a facilitator, who encourages active participation of group members and helps create a positive and collaborative debate.
Virtual Exchange therefore differs from virtual mobility, which consists of synchronous or asynchronous lectures delivered remotely by the teachers of the host university, which also gives students ECTS credits upon completion of the course.
Integration into the educational offer
Virtual Exchange can be integrated in teaching activities in several ways.
- Integration of VE into an existing course unit, as a teaching module. For this purpose, lecturers can replace part of the content in their syllabus with the Virtual Exchange activity.
- VE offered as a separate credit-bearing course unit
- VE offered as an internship
- VE offered as an extracurricular activity
Open Badge Virtual Exchange
The University of Padua awards a specific Open Badge to students who have successfully completed a virtual exchange programme.
The Open Badge can be issued to students from the University of Padua and from other universities participating in the exchange.
Active projects
NICE - Intercultural competence to facilitate entrepreneurship
NICE is a virtual exchange programme intended for all the students of the University of Padua. The project is broken down into seven educational modules aimed at developing soft skills, namely entrepreneurial, intercultural, and interpersonal skills, ability to cooperate, teamworking skills, and problem-solving approach, in order to promote the students' professional growth and entry into the labour market.
Students will work both on individual basis and in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams to solve a "Global Challenge".
Call, application, information
CliVEx - Climate Justice: From Inequality to Inclusion
CliVEx is a virtual exchange programme addressed to all students at the University of Padua. It is organised over 10 weeks of synchronous and asynchronous activities aimed at promoting intercultural dialogue on the topic of climate change. Students will work both individually and in interdisciplinary and multicultural groups with the aim of developing a Climate Action Project, together with colleagues from other universities participating in the programme.
English for Chemistry
The virtual exchange combines the course Didactics of Chemistry (offered by UNIPD) with a course in scientific English (offered by Bordeaux) and is a compulsory component for UNIPD's students.
The aim is to reflect on the meaning of teaching chemistry in a correct and engaging way, combining the acquisition of scientific language also in English.
The students work in intercultural and interdisciplinary groups on the production of a final teaching video.
At the end of the experience, a specific open badge is issued.
- Contact person: Prof. Laura Orian (Department of Chemical Sciences)
- Partners: University of Padua, University of Bordeaux (France), Justus-Liebig University Giessen (Germany)
Exhibit the Family Business
The virtual exchange is open to students from Economics degree courses at the University of Padua and their colleagues from the design degree course at the Trier University of Applied Sciences. The programme has a strong interdisciplinary focus, as participants are asked to develop a research project on family businesses and then present this through the creation of an art piece. Students of economics will learn to be creative and to think about problems using a different vision. As the global economic emphasis has shifted towards sustainable growth, more and more organisations, businesses and communities are placing a higher value on creativity. At the same time, design students will learn to address economic and business issues, which are fundamental pillars of sustainability.
- Contact person: Prof. Alessandra Tognazzo (DSEA)
- Partners: University of Padua, Trier University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
Wealthy = Healthy. The equation of food quality?
The virtual exchange focuses on how much and in which way low income can affect consumers' access to healthy and nutritious food. The topic is addressed with an interdisciplinary approach: insights involve experts from medicine, nutrition, economics, law, natural resources, as well as companies and international organisations.
- Contact person: Prof. Valeria Paganizza (TeSAF)
- Partners: University of Padua, Monash University (Australia)
Culturally Responsive Collaborative Care: An Innovative, Multi-disciplinary and Multicultural Learning Experience
Health workers are expected to provide quality care to increasingly diverse populations. In order to provide culturally appropriate and safe health care, it is important that the training of health workers includes the development of skills such as intercultural communication, effective teamwork and collaboration skills.
The aim of this virtual exchange programme is to support the development of these skills, for which there is scarcely room in traditional university courses.
- Contact person: Prof. Alberto Camuccio (DiMed)
- Partners: University of Padua, Monash University (Australia)
Submit your Multimedia
The virtual exchange is open to Psychology students who will work together with colleagues from Queen Mary University of London on the preparation of a multimedia content on some topics related to animal psychology.
- Contact person: Prof. Lucia Regolin (DPG)
- Partners: University of Padua, Queen Mary University of London (UK)
Shaping sustainable urban landscapes through picturebooks. The Child in the City
The virtual exchange addresses the topic of children's literature by adopting a transdisciplinary perspective and using an "active learning" methodology. Topics including sustainability, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are discussed by the students with a focus on the relationship between children and urban landscapes.
- Contact person: Prof. Marnie Campagnaro (FISPPA)
- Partners: University of Padua, Gdansk University (Poland), University of Orléans (France)
Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes
Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) are a new funding schemer under the Erasmus+ Programme. BIP are international learning activities combining online collaboration and a short physical mobility, designed around a “challenge-based” approach. Minimum 3 ECTS must be awarded under this kind of programmes.
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange is a flagship programme established by the European Commission in 2018. Its goal is to expand the reach and scope of the Erasmus+ programme via Virtual Exchange and by offering a wide array of activities to its participants.
Useful resources
Projects and Mobility Office
International Relations Division
Palazzo Anselmi
Lungargine del Piovego 1, - 35131 Padova
Tel. 049 827 6139
email: virtual.exchange@unipd.it