Presentation

Educational aims

The educational objective of the 2nd cycle degree Course is to transmit knowledge, skills and practical skills in the development cooperation as well as in the governance of migration flows, in order to conceive, design and manage interventions on a global scale and in different national contexts. COSVIM aims to train professionals in the field of cooperation and development, providing them with tools related to the understanding of the realities of underdevelopment, of the problems related to economic growth, sustainable development, policies to combat poverty and the processes of democratization, globalization. and international governance, of the protection of human rights, in particular of vulnerable individuals and migrants. COSVIM prepares students for the analysis and intervention in the public and private field, capable of providing, within multiple work contexts, indications and insights on the effectiveness of socio-economic interventions in different local, regional and international contexts. The training aims at transmitting the aptitudes needed to operate within organized contexts such as those of the public administration, at the local, national level, in international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and in the third sector, as well as, of course, in all those national and international private companies which have a specific interest in undertaking an investment process in less developed economic areas and in areas with a high concentration of foreign populations present in urban and rural zones. The teaching activity is proportionally divided in the two years of the course and organized according to an incremental path of acquired skills and a strong inter and multi-disciplinary approach combining theoretical and practical knowledge, the acquisition of language skills, and professional skills in the field of design and management of intervention programs, curricular and extra-curricular internships, and post-graduate placement activities, activities aiming at the access to the labour market, all marked by a strong internationalization of the degree course, both incoming and outgoing, and to the performance abroad, especially in non-European countries, of many of the practical and training activities. The educational program includes mandatory, single and modular, courses, as well as optional courses, and is structured according to some specific criteria: to enable students to formulate his/her choices on the basis of their professional perspectives and of their 1st cycle degree; to ensure the mobility of incoming and outgoing students within the international programs: to provide a double degree (currently two active and two planned for the next academic year), integrated study paths, credit mobility, with numerous non-European countries; to provide a wide range of practical activities and experiences in the field in collaboration with stakeholders - international agencies, NGOs, foundations, etc. - which actively participate in the life of the degree course in the context of numerous ad hoc agreements between the stakeholder and the Department. The educational programme is characterized by a strong multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary nature of the teachings, of which more than 50% are taught in English, and combines knowledge and analysis tools in the fields of economics, history, politics, anthropology, social statistics, sociology, law, demography, geography and area studies. To these are added the credits related to practical skills, namely 12 credits overall of internships and activities useful for entering the labour market, organized in collaboration with stakeholders at and with industry players, carried out in Italy and abroad, during the periods of international student mobility, and integrated with extra-curricular internship activities, also carried out abroad in non-European countries; the acquisition of additional language skills, usually dedicated by students to broaden the range of working languages beyond English, especially Arabic, French, Spanish and Swahili. In the teaching activity the objectives are also pursued through a methodology combining lectures with the active participation of students in the form of classroom presentations, reports, term papers, drafting of projects, etc., and in the organization, twice a year, at the beginning of each semester, of a week of seminar teaching involving stakeholders and experts. The latter, entitled "Crossing Borders", provides for the active participation of students as organizers and speakers or discussants. Last but not least, the educational objectives are also achieved through the credits for the degree thesis which can be awarded with a maximum of 9 credits for field research activities abroad, and 6 credits for the evaluation of the final exam. .

work perspectives

Profile: Expert in the design and coordination of local and international development programs Functions: The course trains analysts of development cooperation able to perform the functions of conception, planning, coordination and management of local and international development programs and projects. In the new educational offer and given the growing demand for professional skills related to the dynamics of migration fluxes in the world, new competences have been added, related to migration dynamics, as well as historical, geographical-social, economic, anthropological skills, aiming at improving and deepening the knowledge of the phenomenon. Skills: The skills acquired in this Degree course are related to the analysis of the specific social, economic and institutional forms characterizing the economies of developing countries, with attention also to the relationship between gender and development and between peace and development; the knowledge and ability to apply the methodologies used by the multi and bilateral cooperation bodies for the programs and projects for development aid and peace missions; the competence for the conception, drafting and implementation of integrated development aid plans and projects, with particular emphasis on the economic (urban and rural) and social (health, education) development, the support to vulnerable groups, the elimination of poverty, the institutional strengthening (human rights, democracy, local governments, bureaucracies) and the improvement of settlement and environmental conditions; the knowledge of the methods for monitoring and evaluating development aid programs and projects, used by multi- and bilateral cooperation bodies; the coordination of programs and projects (project coordination and management); the knowledge of management systems useful to operate with a high degree of autonomy and to direct group work in difficult contexts for safety, health or environmental reasons; the written and oral fluency in at least one language of the European Union, in addition to Italian, with reference also to disciplinary vocabulary; advanced skills and tools for communication and information management. The new educational offer also provides the analysis of the processes of incoming and outgoing migration in the European countries, as well as the outgoing fluxes from developing Countries. Professional opportunities: The professionals trained by the course are able to fit into a wide range of positions in international bodies and agencies, EU offices, bilateral and multilateral development cooperation bodies, territorial bodies operating in the field of decentralized cooperation, non-governmental organizations, associations, third sector foundations, national and international research centres, consulting, communication and information companies as well as in non-governmental organisations in the field of planning, implementation and management of policies and integration plans for migrants, namely extra-EU, from developing Countries.

Characteristics of the final exam

The thesis must have original characteristics and can have a theoretical, experimental or design nature or it can be an essay on a mono or multidisciplinary theme. The research activity preliminary to the thesis, or part of it, can also be carried out at other academic institutions during periods of international mobility, and/or at public and/or private Italian or foreign companies accredited by the University of Palermo or under an agreement with the Department to which the Degree Course belongs.