Nota de Abertura por Nick Schiavon, Presidente Conselho Pedagógico do IIFA

Internationalization, Transversal skills, Innovation and a shift from a traditional mono-disciplinary towards an interdisciplinary and, eventually, a fully trans-disciplinary educational approach represent nowadays some of the most important frontiers in European Higher Education Training as defined by the European Qualification Framework (EQF). The EQF was introduced in 2008 by the European Commission in order to classify levels of qualification on the basis of knowledge (theoretical and practical), skills (cognitive and practical) and competence (described in terms of responsibility and autonomy) to be acquired by students at bachelor (EQF6), master (EQF7) and doctoral (EQF8) levels. For the EQF8 level, the doctorate/III cycle one, the descriptor relative to the needed “Knowledge” is, for example, defined in the EQF as follows: “Knowledge at the most advanced frontier of a field of work or study and at the interface between fields  whereas the needed “Skills” are defined as: “The most advanced and specialized skills and techniques including synthesis and evaluation required to solve critical problems in research/innovation  and redefine existing knowledge or professional practice.

It is within this framework that IIFA has been playing, and will continue to play in the near future, an essential role by acting as a link and a “bridge” between the different UEVORA Schools and, through its CC and CP committees, provide a forum for intercultural debate within the UEVORA academic Community while, in doing so, aligning UEVORA along with the educational strategy of the major European Universities. The rightfulness of this strategy is testified, for example, by the continuing financial support granted recently by the European Community to two ERASMUS MUNDUS JOINT MASTER Degrees (EMJMD) under IIFA’s responsibility in which UEVORA is either the Coordinating (ARCHMAT) or a Partner Institution (TPTI) and, last but not least, the successful application to the H2020-MSCA-ITN- EJD call of the European Joint Doctorate (EJD) ED-ARCHMAT project again coordinated by UEVORA through IIFA. In the ED-ARCHMAT EJD, UEVORA leads a Consortium of European and non-European Higher Education Institutions, Museums, SMEs and NGOs with the main objective to form a new generation of professionals equipped with knowledge, skills and competences and skills (as defined above) spanning different sectors such as Physical and Chemical Science, Cultural Heritage, Conservation, Archaeology, Museology, Art History, Project Management, IT.

Nick Schiavon

Presidente Conselho Pedagógico do IIFA