Virtual Exchange
The Virtual Exchange is an innovative and accessible international experience that does not involve physical mobility, but leverages the support given by technologies and the use of a lingua franca as a means of communication.
It consists of a training activity, organized in synergy with international universities, in which frontal/traditional teaching plays a marginal role, in favor of a collaborative experience focused on the student and group work, with the aim of creating a common project and/or discussing interdisciplinary issues, according to a challenge-based approach.
The groups, made up of students from different institutions, meet on collaboration platforms independently or with the support of facilitators, whose role is to encourage the active participation of all members of the group, fostering the creation of an environment of positive and collaborative discussion.
The Virtual Exchange therefore differs profoundly from virtual mobility, which instead consists of following lessons carried out remotely (in synchronous or asynchronous mode) by professors of the destination university who will also provide the training credits at the end of the course.
There are several models to choose from to integrate the various Virtual Exchange activities into the degree courses.
- Integration of VE into an existing course unit, as a teaching module. To this end, teachers can replace part of the content in their syllabus with the virtual exchange activity.
- Activity offered as a stand-alone course unit, recognized with credits and grade
- Activity offered as a traineeship
- Inclusion of VE as an extracurricular activity, without attribution of credits (possibly with the assignment of Open Badges).
The University of Padova provides a specific Open Badge for students who have successfully completed a virtual exchange syllabus.
The Open Badge can be issued to students of the University of Padova and other universities participating in the exchange, subject to communication of the names by the reference professors.
The Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) are a new funding scheme of the Erasmus+ Programme. They consist of international educational activities that combine virtual collaboration and short physical mobility, offering "challenge-based" activities. Blended intensive programmes must award at least 3 ECTS credits to students.
NICE is a virtual exchange syllabus addressed to all students of the University of Padova. It is divided into 7 teaching modules with the aim of promoting the development of transversal and in particular entrepreneurial and intercultural skills, relationship and collaboration skills, teamwork skills, problem-solving approaches, with the aim of promoting professional growth and entry into the world of work.
Students will work both individually and in interdisciplinary and multicultural groups with the aim of solving an operational question (Global Challenge).
CVEinAI is a virtual exchange syllabus addressed to all students of the University of Padova. It is organized on 5 modules of synchronous and asynchronous activities, with the aim of promoting intercultural dialogue and a critical approach on the topic of artificial intelligence.
Students will work both individually and in interdisciplinary and multicultural groups with the aim of solving an operational question, together with colleagues from other universities participating in the syllabus.
CliVEx is a virtual exchange syllabus addressed to all students of the University of Padova. It is organized over 10 weeks of synchronous and asynchronous activities, with the aim of promoting intercultural dialogue on the theme of climate change.
Students will work both individually and in interdisciplinary and multicultural groups with the aim of solving an operational question (Climate Action Project), together with colleagues from other universities participating in the syllabus.
The virtual exchange combines a part of the Chemistry Didactics course (offered by UNIPD) with a scientific English course (offered by Bordeaux) and is a mandatory component for students attending the course unit in Padova.
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.
Students will work in intercultural and interdisciplinary groups to create a final educational video.
At the end of the experience, a specific open badge will be issued.
- lecturer: Prof. Laura Orian (Department of Chemical Sciences)
- partners: University of Padova, University of Bordeaux (France), University of Giessen "Justus-Liebig" (Germany)
The virtual exchange is open to students of the Economics courses of the University of Padova and their colleagues of the design degree course of the University of Applied Sciences of Trier. The syllabus is strongly interdisciplinary, as the participants are called to develop a research project on family businesses and then present it through the creation of an artistic artifact. Economics students will learn to be creative and think about problems using a different view. As the world's economic emphasis has shifted towards sustainable growth, more and more organizations, businesses, and communities place a greater value on creativity. At the same time, design students will learn to address economic and business issues, which are fundamental pillars of sustainability.
- lecturer: Prof. Alessandra Tognazzo (DSEA)
- partners: University of Padova, University of Applied Sciences of Trier (Germany)
The virtual exchange focuses on how much and how low income can affect consumers' ability to access healthy and nutritious food. The topic will be addressed with an interdisciplinary approach: the in-depth studies will involve experts in medicine, nutrition, economics, law, natural resources. Companies and international organizations will also be involved.
- Lecturer: Prof. Valeria Paganizza (TeSAF)
- Partners: University of Padova, Monash University (Australia)
Healthcare professionals are expected to provide quality care to increasingly diverse populations. To provide culturally appropriate and safe healthcare, it is important that the training of healthcare professionals includes skills such as intercultural communication, effective teamwork, and collaboration skills.
The goal of this virtual exchange syllabus is to support the development of these skills, for which space is hardly found in traditional university courses.
- Lecturer: Prof. Alberto Camuccio (DiMed)
- Partners: University of Padova, Monash University (Australia)
The virtual exchange is open to Psychology students who will work together with colleagues from Queen Mary University of London on the preparation of multimedia content on some topics related to animal psychology.
- Lecturer: Prof. Lucia Regolin (DPG)
- Partners: University of Padova, Queen Mary University of London (UK)
The virtual exchange will deal with the topic of children's literature by adopting a transdisciplinary perspective and using the didactic methodology of active learning. Topics including sustainability, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion will be discussed by students with a focus on the relationship between children and urban landscapes.
- Lecturer: Prof. Marnie Campagnaro (FISPPA)
- Partners: University of Padova, University of Gdansk (Poland), University of Orléans (France)
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange (E+VE) is a pilot initiative promoted by the European Commission in 2018 with the aim of expanding the reach of the Erasmus+ syllabus through the Virtual Exchange tool and offering a wide range of activities.
Projects and Mobility Office
Palazzo Anselmi
Lungargine del Piovego 1 - 35131 Padova
tel. 049.8276139
Email: virtual.exchange@unipd.it