Inclusion, Equalities and Innovations

Introduction to HEIM

This research/innovation project (January 2015 – December 2017) received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number: 643739. It focused on how principles of equity and inclusion can be applied to internationalisation strategies and programmes in higher education, as well as on developing research and innovation capacity in this field. It was a partnership between the University of Sussex (UK), Umeå University (Sweden), the University of Seville (Spain) and the Roma Education Fund (REF) based in Hungary, which also has offices in Romania, Slovakia, Montenegro and Serbia.

There were two key themes: Internationalisation; and Gypsy, Roma and Travellers (GRT) in higher education:

The HEIM project has interrogated and developed the concept and practices of higher education internationalisation in Europe through questions about who is able to participate in and benefit from policy initiatives and strategic interventions, and whether certain social groups are disadvantaged or excluded from the opportunities that mobility offers. Research focused on the Roma community in Europe as a critical example of a marginalised group, at both staff and student levels.

The project has been organized through a series of work packages (see below) which have led to a variety of key outputs. Via secondments, staff exchanges, policy reviews and collaborative inquiry, the project investigated policies, interventions and methodologies for including GRT in higher education generally, and in internationalisation initiatives, in particular, in different locations. For example, Work Package 2 conducted research that asked who is going where in terms of international mobility, their motivations and experiences and identified the hidden costs of border crossings in terms of socio-political and affective considerations.

The following deliverables have been produced:

• A Training Module and guidelines on reflexive and inclusive internationalisation as part of Work Package 2
• The development of networks, resources and a Facebook Group for Roma Researchers as part of Work Package 3
• Working papers and organizational and country reports were produced for Work Packages 1, 4 and 5. See the Project Reports and Outputs page to view or download these documents, along with the project reports.

HEIM also produced the film 'Gypsy, Roma and Travellers’ experiences of Higher Education' and training and development opportunities for Roma scholars as part of Work Package 6.

The whole project created a range of academic journal articles and book chapters. Links to these as well as other related publications can be found on our Publications and Media and Resources web pages.

The Roma Education Fund is a non-governmental organization established within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion by George Soros and the World Bank in 2005. Its goal is to reduce the educational achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma in Europe through the provision of scholarships to Romani students, and the support of policies and programs which ensure quality education for Roma - including the desegregation of education systems.

For further information, contact Professor Louise Morley.

Work packages