Internationalisation at home - I@H

In the context of USI’s Strategic Planning 2025–2028, the Pro-rectorate for Internationalisation highlights the importance of "internationalisation at home" measures—namely, all actions that allow for the development of intercultural skills within one’s own university, even without participating in traditional mobility programmes. The theme of internationalisation is rooted in USI's identity and vision for its community: internationalisation at home stems from the need to enhance the international dimension already present in the daily life of the university.

The goal is to create an intercultural, inclusive, and open academic and work environment, offering students, faculty, and administrative staff the opportunity to develop global competencies even without engaging in physical mobility.
This international “at home” dimension is becoming increasingly crucial in an interconnected world, where equitable access to global experiences and the acquisition of intercultural communication skills are essential for shaping individuals who are aware, adaptable, and ready for the challenges of the present and future.

USI’s main objectives in this area are:

• Raising awareness within the university community about the importance of internationalisation and interculturality.
• Making international experiences accessible and enrich cultural life on campus through the initiative Il mondo in USI (The world at USI).
• Developing and enhancing intercultural skills for professional purposes for USI students through a certification.
• Anticipating and responding to the challenges related to internationalisation and foster knowledge diplomacy by promoting exchange and collaboration between local and international students.
• Effectively welcoming the international community and ensuring an inclusive, safe, and stimulating work and study environment through ongoing training initiatives dedicated to USI’s academic and administrative staff.

Mapping existing activities

To foster a shared overview and the exchange of best practices, a dedicated Padlet has been created - an online collaborative space where initiatives aligned with the project can be collected and organized. In this initial phase, the project coordinators invice faculty members, ressearchers, staff, and USI student associations to contribute to mapping existing activities.

The Padlet can be accessed here: Internationalisation at Home.

Alternatively, activities may be submitted by writing to [email protected] and including a brief description of the project or initiative.

We would like to thank in advance everyone who wishes to contribute to strenghtening this strategic element of our university.