Over the next five years, the University of Verona will receive 45.5 million euros for the realization of different scientific and educational development projects. Six departments from Verona will earn prize money for the completion of their projects, according to Anvur (the National Agency for the Assessment of the University System and Research), which lists Univr as one of the 180 state universities of excellence.
The winning six Veronese departments are: Biotechnology, Diagnostics and Public Health, Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, Surgical Science, Odontostomatological and Maternal Childhood, Economics, and Foreign Languages and Literature.
The Foreign Languages and Literature department and its new project
Moreover, the Foreign Languages and Literature department presented this morning “Inclusive Humanities”, the five-year project that was awarded 6.5 million euros for its implementation. It is a project that intends to advance inclusion in research, education, and infrastructure during the period 2023–2027 by enhancing both the physical and digital environment by, for example, removing all the architectural barriers or by creating new digital structures. In fact, among the goals are also bridging the digital gap and modifying the University digital infrastructures to make them completely accessible to students with disabilities and specialized learning requirements.
In particular, the Department of Languages will make the Daih (Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities) the focal point of its initiative. This multidisciplinary research hub will encourage the development and improvement of digital platforms and tools for data storage and dissemination. In this regard, artificial intelligence will also be crucial in promoting the interdisciplinary study of computer science, linguistics, and literature.
One of the changes is the hiring of new employees, including a computer scientist and comparative literature professors, who will bring the necessary expertise to the change.
In fact, the University of Verona has been attempting to increase awareness of accessibility and inclusion for a while now. For instance, through courses devoted to learning Italian sign language or entirely based on the theme of integration, or once again thanks to the company Teatro a Rotelle that unites young people with and without disabilities who go on stage driven by the same passion.
