The PROFIC project will explore the topic of Intercultural competence curriculum development through professional development and pedagogical testing in higher education institutions in Latin America. Intercultural competence (a set of abilities for successfully dealing with different cultures and diversity) is one of top 10 graduate competences needed for the modern labour market. Universities are expected to provide their students with the competence to deal with different cultures and use the cultural diversity of their surrounding as an advantage for innovation. However, this task is put on academic and administrative staff, who might not have all the necessary skills to tackle rising diversity challenges or to support development of intercultural competence in their teaching. Studies and previous research experience show that, on the one hand, academic and administrative staff in universities might need to develop a higher level of intercultural competence themselves. In order to competently deal with such complex cultural challenges the PROFIC project will investigate, develop and test a holistic, customized, flexible and reflective professional and curriculum development programme that would provide LA HEI’s with increased knowledge, awareness, skills, attitudes and tools to be an intercultural competent professional (Region 8, priority 1). Moreover, through the use of work-integrated learning supported by technology enhanced learning and use of mobile technology and development of Open-Educational Resources (OER) Toolkit to support staff in integrating IC in their curriculum, the project will also address (Region 8, Priority 3) of New technologies in higher education. Therefore, the PROFIC project is committed to developing a learning programme and related OER tools a step change in how intercultural competence is perceived and tau at the individual, institutional, national and international level.

The aim of RecoLATIN project is to favour and to increase the quality of vertical and horizontal student mobility within Latin America and European higher education systems. Partners intend to improve competencies and skills of credential evaluators by defining common practices and realising common tools among European and Latin America national bodies and HE institutions, starting from the experience of European HE institutions in relation with the Bologna Process and practices adopted by NARIC centres. Recognition procedures and practices are not only related to technical issues, but are influenced by the structure of each HE system and their cultural approach. The theme of recognition takes into account all the aspects of a HE system (i.e. QA; accreditation/recognition of institutions and programmes; access to courses; etc.): in order to evaluate a foreign qualification we need to know different elements and to consider the purpose of this evaluation procedure (i.e. academic or professional recognition). The activities of the project are placed both at national (official bodies) and institutional level (HEIs). The Latin America countries signed the UNESCO Recognition Convention in 1974 and their recognition practices are based on previous concepts not influenced by the Lisbon Recognition Convention criteria. For that reason we intend to create operational national recognition centres and to provide training activities on recognition practices for their staff. We will draft National Reports of each partner country involved in the project in order to present their HE systems in the view of recognition purposes. We will focus our attention on controversial recognition cases and sectors as TNE and international institutions, distant learning qualifications and non-traditional degrees. Each result of the project will be disseminated through two final seminars organised in the two respective areas as an impulse for both other countries and their HE institutions.