On May 26–28, 2015, the Second Seminar on the Exchange of Experience between Russian and Italian Experts on the Issues of Globalization in Education and Conducting Research was held at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad.
The seminar was attended by representatives of eight federal and national research universities of Russia, project participants and RIAC corporate members. The Italian contingent was made up of representatives of five universities: Venice International University, Sapienza University of Rome, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, the University of Bari Aldo Moro and the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
On May 26–28, 2015, the Second Seminar on the Exchange of Experience between Russian and Italian Experts on the Issues of Globalization in Education and Conducting Researchwas held at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad.
The seminar was attended by representatives of eight federal and national research universities of Russia, project participants and RIAC corporate members. The Italian contingent was made up of representatives of five universities: Venice International University, Sapienza University of Rome, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, the University of Bari Aldo Moro and the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
The purpose of the seminar was to conduct a critical analysis of globalization and international affairs study programmes and courses at Russian and Italian universities with a view to improving the quality of the programmes, their teaching and methodological support.
In his opening address, Baltic Federal University Rector Andrei Klemeshev noted that the university’s location between East and West was conducive now more than ever to discussions about the problems of globalization. RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov mentioned that the “Globalization 2.0: New Approaches to Teaching and Research” project had reached “critical mass” in terms of the number of institutes, universities, lecturers, professors and managers of Russian and Italian universities interested in improving the quality of teaching and research into globalization.
President of Venice International University, Ambassador Umberto Vattani, stressed that Russia has always sought to preserve and maintain friendly relations with Italy, adding that the seminar serves to further both Russian–Italian scientific and technical cooperation and international cooperation between the two countries.
The project’s supervisor Andrei Melville talked about the difficult task of structuring the programme given the sheer scope of the topic of globalization and the number of courses at Russian and Italian universities put up for discussion at the event.
As a result, the programme was built around clusters and consisted of sections. Each section was devoted to a specific globalization issue: Globalization: Content, Participants and Trends; The Global Economy; Globalization and Security; The Global World: Culture, Values and Identity; The Environment and Sustainable Development in the Global World.
The Russian and Italian educators gave presentations on their study programmes and courses in the fields of globalization, global problems and international relations, which had been pre-selected by RIAC. The content of the courses was then analysed by those in attendance. The idea behind the exercise was for everyone to share their experiences in developing and teaching such courses, as well as providing methodological support for them.
The discussion that followed touched upon the various challenges of globalization, including migration, the growing nationalist sentiments in Russia and Europe, the increased radicalization of young people, the problem of regional integration and the emergence of new conflicts, the Ukrainian crisis and the long-term effects of globalization. The point was made that the challenges of globalization require the academic community in both countries to come up with new approaches to teaching, and new methods for researching, global problems.
The participants analysed the difficulties faced by university lecturers when designing global studies courses and teaching students, pointing to the need to increase the role of university educators in transforming the consciousness of students, who are susceptible to the influence of modern television and media. The importance of universities that “specialize” in creating global studies courses and developing unique approaches to teaching and studying global problems was also discussed.
The issue was raised about the lack of modern study materials on global issues needed to develop courses and teach students at regional universities. The Russian contingent noted the low level of interest among Russian educators in designing study courses and programmes on globalization, which is in stark contrast to their Italian counterparts. All the participants agreed that exchanging the “best practices” in teaching global studies, as well as methodological approaches to teaching the subject, will improve the quality of education in both countries.
The participants in the seminar also agreed that an interdisciplinary approach should be taken when conducting research in the field of globalization and global studies, that the traditional influence of economists in interdisciplinary studies should be reduced, and that research should be conducted in strict compliance with international law.
During the final section, suggestions were made as to how cooperation between Russian and Italian universities can be deepened, including: holding a series of seminars at Venice International University to exchange experience; holding summer and winter schools for students and lecturers at Venice International University; creating a database of publications devoted to global issues; developing joint partnership projects for Russian universities along the lines of the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme; designing joint Russian–Italian master’s programmes in global studies and international relations.
The study courses and programmes presented at the seminar will be reworked according to the feedback received and then selected by RIAC for inclusion in its collection, which will be published in late 2015.
Presentations
Second Russian-Italian Seminar within the Project "Globalization 2.0: New Approaches to Research and Teaching"
