UniMed Director Calls for South-to-South Mediterranean Mobility for Students

August 25, 2022

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Marcello Scalisi, director of UniMed, the Mediterranean Universities Union, wants to encourage more “south-to-south” Mediterranean mobility for students and researchers to improve cooperation among higher-education institutions in Arab countries.

In an interview with Al-Fanar Media, Scalisi said UniMed hopes to launch a regional initiative to support such mobility and is interested in getting students’ views on mobility issues.

The association is cooperating with the Erasmus Student Network on an international summit that will take place in September.

“The main idea is to listen to our students, which university they want for the future, what they think about international mobility, and its impact on their own lives, what they would like to have more of in terms of international background and capacity,” Scalisi said.

He believes that instead of planning their future for them, the idea is to invite students to debate, to discuss, and to offer their own points of view on these issues.

South-to-South Mobility

Founded in 1991, UniMed is an association of universities in countries around the Mediterranean basin. It currently represents 144 member universities in 23 countries, including 13 Arab countries.

“In Europe we created a ‘European citizenship identity’ through Erasmus+ to encourage the mobility of students. I think we could create the same sort of Mediterranean citizenship identity, and not look just at south-north mobility and vice versa, but also look for south-south mobility.”
Marcello Scalisi, Director of UniMed

Speaking to Al-Fanar Media on the sidelines of UniMed’s recent General Assembly in Jordan, Scalisi stressed the importance of supporting south-to-south Mediterranean mobility of students.

“In Europe we created a ‘European citizenship identity’ through Erasmus+ to encourage the mobility of students,” he said. “I think we could create the same sort of Mediterranean citizenship identity, and not look just at south-north mobility and vice versa, but also look for south-south mobility.”

Scalisi noted there were obstacles to overcome, such as visa issues that could hinder students moving freely from one country to another.

He looks to mobility as an investment in the Mediterranean region’s people. “Sometimes we invest in the infrastructure, and we are not sure if we invest in the right way. If we invest in people, we don’t lose money. We are not investing in one single person, but we are investing in a very large society, the Mediterranean generation,” he said.

Common Challenges

During the interview with Al-Fanar Media, Scalisi also discussed other regional issues the association is addressing.

“The Mediterranean region has common priorities and challenges not only related to intercultural dialogue but also related to climate change, migration, employability, and so on,” he said.

“What we need is to work together in a different way, at the policy level and the actors’ level. We have to improve our capacity as NGO’s and networks to influence the policy system and policy makers, and to show that by working together we are able to offer solutions.”

He explained: “If Egypt, for example, has a big employability issue, and young people look for opportunities in Europe, this is a common problem, not an Egyptian problem. Or, if we have climate change issues in Libya or Tunisia, and people are obliged to migrate, this is a common problem. It is all common problems,” he said.

Higher-Education Autonomy

Launching a regional initiative to support the autonomy of higher-education systems is another of UniMed’s goals, Scalisi said.

“If Egypt, for example, has a big employability issue, and young people look for opportunities in Europe, this is a common problem, not an Egyptian problem. If we have climate change issues in Libya or Tunisia and people are obliged to migrate, this is a common problem. It is all common problems.”
Marcello Scalisi

“We have to encourage the autonomy of universities, and encourage the capacity of university leaders to manage them,” he said.

The project would also support improving the capacity of university staff members, “to define their own strategies as an important player in the society.”

UniMed is also looking for ways to support higher-education systems in digitalisation. “This is an extremely important priority,” Scalisi said.

Scalisi highlighted the importance of connecting universities to labour market needs. “If the universities are not able to manage their own catalogues and courses, if they are not able to link their offerings to the needs of their local, national, regional and international communities, the skills gap will remain or probably will increase,” he said.

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“We need to give the universities the responsibility to answer to this, first of all, and we need to give them the capacity. The skills gap is a common problem, and we need a common solution,” he added.

Peace and Security Studies

Scalisi also said UniMed was considering a new research cooperation with NATO on peace and security studies.

“NATO is interested in improving research activity in peace and security issues, in particular in the Mediterranean region,” he said. “They asked us to cooperate in this research dimension, and we are very curious about this opportunity. We need to know more and discuss it more with our colleagues at NATO,” he said.