Erasmus Policy Statement (EPS) 2021–2027

Luiss University offers an innovative and internationalized educational approach, aiming to train its students—who come from diverse backgrounds and cultures—to be critical thinkers and skilled professionals who will work to improve society. In keeping with its tradition of openness and mindful of its international reputation, geographical position, and scientific and professional potential, Luiss views the Erasmus Program as a fundamental asset for enhancing its own strategies for modernization and internationalization.

The university's main strategic document for internationalization, the Global Engagement Strategy, focuses on five priorities: 1) improving international rankings and accreditations, 2) attracting the best minds among students, faculty, and staff, 3) developing multi-stakeholder partnerships, 4) enhancing research, and 5) internationalizing internal processes. As stated in its global engagement strategy, Luiss recognizes that staff and student mobility, along with participation in European and international cooperation projects, make a key contribution to the quality of its higher education programs and the student experience. To this end, Luiss University continues to invest in its internationalization processes.

Luiss is consistently implementing strategies to pursue the following goals:

Provide students with a high-quality scientific offering that aligns with the labor market

Luiss considers it paramount to combine high-level scientific education with a close relationship with the job market. In recent years, Luiss has focused its efforts on enhancing an Innovative Teaching educational model that combines academic rigor with practical relevance. Digitalization, case studies, and practical experiences all contribute to the Luiss model of effective teaching. Therefore, Luiss nurtures a special relationship with the business community, local authorities, the national government, international organizations, and the professional world. Over 200 companies, multinationals, and public and private institutions collaborate with the University, offering its students their first real opportunities to step into the business world. The Luiss Career Services Office offers students numerous opportunities to connect with professionals in the business world and learn alongside them. This orientation and educational service helps place degree candidates and new graduates in the business world through internships and training at companies and public and private institutions in Italy and abroad. To this end, Luiss organizes several meetings and presentations with major multinationals, investment banks, and public and private organizations and institutions.

Promote the international exchange of students, faculty, and staff

Student, faculty, and staff mobility are core objectives for Luiss. As a result, the Erasmus/Exchange programs, as well as the Double Degrees and Joint Programs, play a key role in expanding the institution's international reach. Currently, about half of all courses are taught in English and designed with an international focus to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and skills, with the aim of attracting a large number of international students and faculty. The Luiss network features 268 international exchange programs with universities in 47 countries, both within and beyond Europe. Beyond standard student mobility, Luiss also offers its students the opportunity to study abroad through Double Degrees and structured partnerships. For each of the aforementioned programs, Luiss ensures equal and equitable access and opportunities for current and prospective participants from all backgrounds, with a particular focus on including those with fewer opportunities.

Enhance research

Research excellence is fundamental for Luiss: it fuels our growth, pushes the boundaries of knowledge and teaching, creates the conditions for our students to sharpen their critical thinking, and enables a better understanding of legal, economic, political, and social phenomena. It is therefore a point of pride for Luiss to see that the hard work and dedication of our faculty have earned well-deserved recognition from the European Research Council (ERC) and other highly regarded funding bodies. In this regard, Luiss recently joined a consortium of universities to participate in the call for “European Universities.” In particular, the ENGAGE.EU Alliance aims to become the European incubator for social change, with an approach based on three related macro-sectors: Learning, Research and Innovation, and Society outreach. It focuses on the current mega-trends that are transforming European society (digitalization, globalization, migration, climate change, and demographic changes, particularly aging).

Furthermore, in 2019, Luiss promoted the Social Science Universities Network (SSUN). The network has brought together leading social science universities from around the world to form a working group that collaborates on research, teaching, and public engagement. While preserving each university's individual identity, the network promotes exchange, cultural sharing, the development of joint projects, and the launch of initiatives that will benefit all members.

Strengthen its international relations with academia and other stakeholders

Luiss considers it of utmost importance to develop cooperative relationships with foreign counterparts. Luiss pays particular attention to the selection of foreign partners, evaluating their quality based on international rankings and the quality of their teaching and research. Particular attention is also dedicated to balancing the geographical distribution of countries with the aim of opening new opportunities to emerging countries. In the early stages of its internationalization process, most exchange agreements were arranged with partners operating within European countries. Over the past decade, non-EU countries have also become target destinations. Luiss has been an active partner of prestigious international networks such as QTEM or GEM/GEM-Stones. Beyond academic cooperation, Luiss is also committed to developing multi-stakeholder partnerships. Within this framework, engagement with Italian companies and Italian diplomacy is a priority. Equally important is purposeful engagement with the international Alumni network.

Promote the internationalization of internal processes (Internationalization at home)

Luiss views the internationalization of its formal, informal, and even “hidden” curriculum (campus culture and services) as a key enabler for its overall internationalization process. Every office at the university is undergoing a radical overhaul to fine-tune its activities to the international dimension the university is pursuing.

In particular, Luiss relies on its International offices. These offices, in constant cooperation with departments, the university’s management, and diplomatic representations, not only provide assistance related to obtaining visas and insurance for incoming and outgoing participants and offer welcome services to the entire foreign Luiss community, but also, together with academic delegates, act as change agents within the institution. They initiate new activities—such as new international Summer Programs, international student recruitment, and international accreditation working groups—that are later managed by other offices, as part of a progressive process of expanding the University’s services globally.

Additionally, several measures have been taken to ensure solid cooperation with EU and non-EU partners: specific training in international activities for staff; professional management of all financial resources to guarantee the achievement of strategic goals; and support for the dissemination of project results (website, publications, conferences, local media).

The Luiss Global Engagement Strategy combines a vision of the future with the identification of concrete actions. The following list serves as a guide for our future endeavors.

Luiss's participation in the Erasmus program has always been a fundamental asset of the University's internationalization strategy. Since the start of the Erasmus+ Program, Luiss has doubled both the opportunities for studying abroad and its international mobility agreements.

The offer of student exchanges and double degree programs, and of credit- and degree-bearing mobility programs in general, has become an integral part of Luiss’ DNA. Luiss is committed to further increasing the number of students who take part in an international experience. To make student mobility possible for most eligible students with high academic standards.

Luiss also aims to implement other kinds of mobility projects—blended, virtual, and more flexible—for shorter periods, including through participation in a European Universities Alliance.

The main target group for mobility activities will be students in their first and second cycles across all departments. The majority of the University's mainstream student exchange activity takes place within Europe, where students from all backgrounds will be strongly encouraged to undertake exchanges.

For student mobility, the University aims to ensure that both outgoing and incoming mobile students have access to top expertise in other countries, different cultures, different ways of thinking, and innovative thought processes.

All partnerships, both European and non-European, are based on a thorough assessment process that ensures curriculum compatibility and the quality of support and services. They are based on a shared commitment to academic excellence and quality. Quality requirements are agreed upon with all partners a year before the mobility takes place. Our goal is to enhance high-quality education. Luiss will monitor and assess the quality of all programs and projects.

The ECTS procedures are used to develop and implement all mobility programs, including short study abroad programs, semester exchanges, double degrees, and joint degrees. The ECTS system enhances the transparency and clarity of student qualifications.

Double Degrees not only provide a priceless opportunity for mobile students; they also bring international students into Luiss classrooms, making the campus more international for the entire student body. These programs also serve to complement Luiss’s academic offerings, as some of them focus more on topics related to the Partner Institutions’ specialties than on Luiss’s majors.

Luiss offers a total of 19 Double Degrees within the Erasmus Program, and has sent more than 70 students abroad in the last two academic years.

Luiss participated in the second call for European Universities alliances. The ENGAGE.EU alliance is focused on equipping students and learners with the skills and competencies needed to address major societal challenges: digitalization and artificial intelligence, climate change and sustainability, aging societies, and migration.

The alliance will offer a mix of in-person, blended, and virtual, challenge-related ENGAGE.EU Summer Schools, Signature Courses, Joint Programs, and Micro-credentials.

Regarding the project’s main work package (Engaged Learning), Luiss will lead the establishment of a Summer School and the running of a Joint Program, while also facilitating the formation of the Alliance’s learner community. Virtual mobility will be an integral part of the Alliance's activities, and signature courses will be offered to its learner community through the innovative learning environment of the ENGAGE.EU (digital) Campus.

<p > Several reasons lead Luiss to participate in this project, in line with its institutional goals: the idea of universities engaging with society at large, the focus on societal challenges, the attention to blended learning, and finally, the prospect of modernizing its academic offerings, services, and organizations through the exchanges among the universities participating in the alliance. Luiss University is ready to see its identity enriched, to become an active part of a broader consortium with a shared strategy based on common values, and to embark together on a highly committed path of innovation.

The Erasmus+ program has ensured the harmonization of study programs with EU universities, the credit system (ECTS), student and staff mobility, European cooperation, and, above all, the modernization of higher education. Internationalization requires a full commitment to preserving existing networks, establishing new contacts, involving them in joint activities, and working with partners from abroad. Today, the Erasmus+ program supports the establishment and development of internationalization strategies by higher education institutions, providing ample opportunities to improve the necessary dynamics undertaken by each institution, with several important impacts in the field of education. First of all, promoting the EU as a study and research destination for top talent from around the world. This is achieved by developing higher education relationships with partners both within and outside the Union, with the aim of strengthening national education systems, policy dialogue, mobility, and academic recognition. Luiss is open to innovation and dialogue with European partners and the rest of the world. This approach is the foundation of our idea of an engaged university: a center of higher education that interacts with the business world, professionals, various sectors of the economy, and civil society, both nationally and internationally, to promote interaction and knowledge sharing.

Fully aware that the quality of academic programs and student satisfaction are linked to personal mobility experiences and participation in projects, the University management actively supports all initiatives put forward by individual members of the academic/administrative staff, research teams, and student organizations. Based on needs analysis, strategic partnerships, geographical and subject area priorities, and the proactive approach of its internal management, Luiss is now strongly committed to continuing to: promote and maintain relationships with foreign universities; collaborate in the formulation and implementation of international projects; coordinate and monitor participation in academic and other networks, consortia, associations, and institutions; and organize international conferences as well as visits by representatives of foreign universities. Participation in the program is also expected to strengthen the University's efforts to guarantee quality assurance and lifelong learning, leading to a high international standing.

Luiss is committed to ensuring high quality standards in all aspects of international mobility, starting with a thorough evaluation of all potential partner institutions and a rigorous selection process for all outgoing students based on academic merit and language proficiency. The satisfaction of incoming and outgoing students is and will continue to be carefully monitored through reports, surveys, and interviews during and after their exchange. Luiss views student feedback as essential for continuously improving the quality of support provided, as well as a crucial indicator in assessing existing partnerships. Consequently, it is an important factor in guiding the University’s international network development and management.