Specialisation in literature and cultural studies is often accompanied by the loss of vital connections. The separation between Anglophone and Francophone literatures, and between classical and contemporary literary and cultural studies are examples of how connections can be lost. ‘Mediterranean Imaginaries: Literature, Arts, Culture’ presents the particular space of this sea as an area of study, thereby providing a platform where scholars with different specialisations can meet. The Intensive Study Programme (ISP) is highly innovative in studying not only how literature and other art forms are produced in the Mediterranean, but also how the Mediterranean has been represented and “produced” by other “North European” cultures, historically and more recently. The ISP takes account of very recent literature and films that feature current forms of migration as well as developments on the Southern Mediterranean shores (the so-called “Arab spring” and the recent waves of migration ), and their representation. The two week ISP features lectures given by specialists in the field and these are followed by all the students. While attending all the lectures and their discussion, the specialist workshops, organised in two series co-ordinated by the academic advisers to the project, allow students to choose between the two different workshop series, so that students can achieve more focused specialisation on particular areas of the curriculum. Seminar A concentrates on classical representations of the Mediterranean while Seminar B has a more contemporary focus. The students all attend a number of joint seminars (A+B) that allow them to share learning and research. Students from Malta, Goldsmiths, Nova Gorica, Minho, Cagliari, Florence and Carthage will benefit from the large pool of experts lecturing in the Intensive Study Programme. Students will achieve knowledge of a range of texts and films representing aspects of the Mediterranean, they will learn to identify literature and cultures from different periods and different areas, as well as influences between texts. Students will study how different works construct Mediterranean culture, history or geography, how cultural encounters, clashes or exchanges are represented in various texts, and how these, in turn, impact on their national literatures.The syllabus of ‘Mediterranean Imaginaries: Literature, Arts, Culture’ enables students who are at a distance from the Mediterranean sea to study literature and culture from this region. The topic will draw scholars and students working in comparative, Anglophone and Francophone literary studies as well as others from disciplines such as history , cultural studies, film studies, visual arts, and philosophy, thus presenting a strong multidisciplinary approach. Through the ISP, important cross-cultural perspectives and opinions will be shared amongst participants and students. This would not be possible if the module was run separately at the 7 universities. The follow-up events - the post-graduate conferences organized by the UOM's Department of English - at the end of the ISP in 2017 and 2018 give opportunities to all the students to present their collaborative work to a wider audience. As these conferences will also include literature culture related to the Mediterranean, the students extend their knowledge of these subjects even further. The follow-up events in London in June 2017 and 2018 again call for collaborative work from all the students. The work will be presented by 4 of the Maltese students and by the 6 Goldsmiths students who have attended the ISP at the conference of the London Intercollegiate Network for Comparative Studies or of the Goldsmiths Literature Seminar. As the Maltese students do not benefit from mobility for the ISP, it is appropriate that they should have the opportunity to go to London to work in a different academic environment.The Strategic Partnership as a whole widens the horizons of the students and academics taking part and makes them more aware of the wealth of knowledge on Mediterranean affairs harboured in 6 European and 1 North African university. This will enhance the international competitiveness of the participating universities. Students will also become more conscious of the practical ways in which literature can influence society, for example, by addressing issues related to migration, racism and xenophobia in the Mediterranean and beyond, thus enhancing their value as European citizens, and increasing their employability. Number of participants per year requiring funding For Intensive Study Programme Goldsmiths College : 4 academics, 6 students each year Florence: 1 academic, 3 students each year Cagliari: 1 academic, 3 students each year Minho: 1 academic, 3 students each year Nova Gorica: 1 academic, 3 students each year For Blended Mobility Malta 1 academic 4 students each year

CUDIMHA intends to address Tunisian’s needs of modernisation and internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by developing an innovative 2 years Master in History and Archaeology providing labour market-oriented skills for the target audience holding Bachelor’s degree in the Humanities field. In particular, CUDIMHA aims at fostering innovative teaching, learning approaches and methodologies through the delivery of blended teaching units combining in presence and on-line courses, tutored projects on the field, traineeships, experience abroad keeping the focus on new contents and ICT tools use. The project targets objectives dealing with: 1) internationalisation and modernisation of HEIs History and Archaeology curriculum fostering innovative teaching/learning approaches; 2) better alignment of students' skills to labour market requirements; 3) sharing of best practices and knowledge transfer; 4) enhancing cooperation between Tunisian and EU universities, and also at national scale among Tunisian universities and other relevant stakeholders: some of them appearing in the project as Associated partners; 5) addressing gender inequality issues in the education and participation on the labour market; 6) raising awareness among project stakeholders regarding the cultural heritage in Tunisia. These objectives will be realized in close collaboration with Tunisian public authorities, encouraging the development of new contents, the use of ICT tools, experience abroad for Tunisian students and staff, involving 85 students (65 Tunisian), 51 academic and administrative staff people (41 Tunisian), civil servants representing Tunisian authorities.

PACTUM project aims at providing a high-quality, multidisciplinary and stimulating one-year master programme in social, political and behavioural sciences. The goal here is to develop an innovative approach that might create positive effects both for the Tunisian teaching staff and the students. With regard to the former, the opportunity to establish and cultivate contacts with important European universities and professors could be relevant to learn new methodological techniques and develop a broader and more comparativist approach to the study of social, and more specifically political, sciences. In a similar way, also European instructors might benefit much from Tunisian academic staff, due to their skills and knowledge of the cultural and political environment. Coming to Tunisian students, instead, the establishment of a new master, prevalently (although not entirely) taught in English and with a specific focus on political science, sociology, science of the administration, and international relations provides opportunity to find a job both in the public and private sector, considering the particularly challenging environment for young graduate students. A closely connected goal here is to train tomorrow’s public employees in order to enhance the professionalization of the bureaucratic body and its capacity to formulate, implement, and evaluate public policies. However, more short-terms goal are presented as well in the project. In fact, from the third year on, through summer schools dedicated (although not specifically) to public employees, there is an attempt to improve immediately the skills and capacity of the bureaucracy in Tunisia.

The project’s overall goal was to enhance capacity building in Higher Education ensuring high quality educational curricula that meets professionals, employers and socio-economic needs of Tunisia during a timeframe of 42 months, from 15th October 2017 to 14th April 2021.The specific objectives were:•To update Master curricula and improve the quality of teaching and learning at the University of Tunis El Manar, University of Sfax, University of Carthage in line with the Bologna Process requirements and the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;•To build a more collaborative network between HEIs and local institutions/companies on integrated water and agro-ecosystem management.MAYA aimed at increasing the professionalism of young students by supporting the development of a new postgraduate Master on integrated water and agriculture management (IWAM) in the three involved Tunisian universities. In particular, the project intended to improve institutional and individual capacities and reduce the existing Tunisian constraints linked to the lack of scientific knowledge and technical expertise able to cope with complex issues. The new curriculum focused specifically on the innovative approaches to manage quality and quantity of water resources and on the existing linkages between agriculture, water management and environment. The project has been developed carrying out the following steps:1) An updated needs assessment of the curricula of the involved Tunisian universities related to water and agroecosystem management has been done at project beginning;2) three new high quality Masters on IWAM has been defined, developed and accredited in July 2019, one in each Tunisian Universities3) a new e-learning environment was implemented and new e-learning materials were created by the European HEIs; 10 e-learning modules were uploaded in the interactive e-learning platform, created and used to link the learning activities among the local HEIs and disseminate results and knowledge to other Tunisian universities and stakeholders;4) 30 Tunisian teachers were involved in an active training where they learnt new teaching and learning methodologies in the field of agricultural and water management; 5) 74 students have been enrolled (in total of the 2 Master edition) in the GIREAD Master advancing their technical skills on techniques and instrument for new IWAM strategies;6) a VR educational game has been developed on water analysis management in a scientific virtual laboratory, enhancing students’ cognitive capacities.7) 17 professors and 51 students participated in the field visits in the North and South of Tunisia realised by the three Tunisian Universities, despite the difficulties linked to the COVID19 pandemic. It was an enriching and fundamental experience to complete and better understand classroom studies. The practical use of the Trimble Juno GPS and the 3320 multiparameter probe gave to the student the opportunity to use part of the equipment not only in class but also in the field.The project was carried out following Workpackages:1. Preparation - Needs assessment2. Development - Curricula Development3. Development – Master Accreditation4. Development - Implementation of learning environment5. Development - Teaching and learning activities6. Development - Implementation of the new Master on Integrated Water and AgricultureManagement (IWAM) - Gestion IntégRée de l'Eau et Agriculture Durable (GIREAD)7. Quality Plan8. Dissemination and Exploitation – Dissemination and collaborative network9. Management – Project management

With more than 18,000 plants worldwide, seawater desalination is the most reliable and sustainable way to produce drinking water in Mediterranean countries under water stress. EXTRASEA’s challenge is to innovate in membrane desalination, to recover more water by consuming less fossil energy, reduce the ecological and toxicological impacts of rejected brines while enhancing the nutrients and energy of brines and finally promote access to water in remote areas, using solar energy. EXTRASEA specific objectives are: 1) enhance thermal efficiency of Membrane Distillation/Crystallization (MDCr) via next-generation thermoplasmonic membranes operated under solar radiation, and applying MDCr at > 90% water recovery to extract salts from hypersaline desalination brine; 2) develop next generation of silicon solar cells based on ultra-thin transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films with less solar cell base/low cost materials; 3) integrate Reverse Electrodialysis (RED), an innovative membrane technology able to extract electrochemical energy from Salinity Gradient Power, with MDCr unit to harvest salinity gradient power energy from desalination brine; 4) transfer innovation into a mobile solar-powered prototype for use in remote locations. The implementation of the revolutionary technological concept of EXTRASEA will significantly contribute to the transition towards a Circular Economy, where raw materials and resources are cyclically generated and wastes minimized and valorized, in the logic of Process Intensification and Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD). The contribution of INSA Toulouse in the project is mainly relative to objectives 1 and 4 and to dissemination. A transnational team of leading institutions (University of Calabria, Italy; INSA Toulouse, France; University Center Belhadj Bouchaib, Algeria; Tubitak MRC, Turkey; University Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco; University of Carthage,Tunisia) and SMEs (Nanometer SrL, Italy; PC Cell GmbH, Germany) based on 7 European-Mediterranean countries has been assembled synergistically and complementarily. Methodologies include : manufacturing of mixed membranes including thermoplamonic nanoparticles (NP), characterization of their properties,stability under operation and performances for MDCr, modelling of the effects of NPs on the membrane properties and the process, development and testing on site of new PV panels, implementation and testing of RED when coupled with MDCr, collective design of the solar –powered demo pilot plant, by assembling MDCr, RED and the new solar panels, thermo-economic analysis and Life cycle analysis of the integrated desalination system. The expected results are : - New knowledge and publications on membrane processes and their coupling when operated on saline and hypersaline waters (highly concentrated brines) for water, salt or energy recovery - Advanced membranes for Membrane Distillation/Crystallization functionalized with nanoparticles to activate local heating via plasmon resonance, allowing both a good productivity and drinking water quality in compliance with WHO standards - Adaptation of the Reverse Electrodialysis technology to energy production by using salinity Gradients, and its integration with MDCr. - A mobile, solar-powered integrated desalination prototype, powered by TCO thin-film PV technology and with a water recovery factor > 90% - This prototype will be installed in Algeria. - Proof of the interest of an integrated and intensified treatment route, based on the valorization of desalination brines, considered as a source of sea salts.