Internationalizing the Undergraduate Psychology Curriculum Anna Laura Comunian University of Padua, Italy

Within the general strategy for research organisation, the institutional promoting international research activities mostly focus on the European Programmes for Research and Development.

Since the First Framework Program for Research, researchers at the University of Padua have taken part in several European consortia in order to carry out innovative research projects using Community funds

This participation has increased steadily over the years, as the awareness that scientific exchanges at an international level has; though they may require significant funds, nevertheless they offer good opportunities for improving the quality of research.

To face the required new approach, an operational unit was established under the supervision of the Pro-Rector, who is in charge of the Relations with the European Commission.

The University's international policy and its results

According to its Statutes, the University of Padua "promotes the furthering of culture founded on universal values such as human rights, peace, respect for the environment and international solidarity"..

In this spirit, during the eight centuries since it was founded, the University has developed and cultivated its own trans- national relationships

Today the internationalization of the University can be confirmed by the numerous scientific cooperation activities in which it is involved and that has been carried out with scholars from foreign universities and individually promoted by University teachers and researchers.

At an institutional level, the internationalization can be confirmed by the University's significant participation to the European Programmes concerning education and research, its cooperation agreements with institutions in developing countries,

its participation to the Italian Government's university internationalization policies, its participation to the activities of the Coimbra Group (the network of historical European Universities) and by the vitality of its many bilateral agreements with foreign institutions.

All the recent Rectors have devoted much attention to promoting international relationships. Dedicated Pro Rectors and co-ordinators collaborate with the International Relations Service's administrative staff in order to run the many existing programmes and projects and to develop new ones.

In the area of international educational exchange, several documents have helped to establish a general cooperation policy.

its participation to the Italian Government's university internationalization policies, its participation to the activities of the Coimbra Group (the network of historical European Universities) and by the vitality of its many bilateral agreements with foreign institutions.

The main aims behind the strategy are :: to raise awareness of European (and today even global) citizenship;

to respond to the positive perception that a university is much more attractive for a potential student, at any level, if it is really international;

to improve the teaching/learning approaches used at our University on the basis of fruitful comparisons with our partners' methodologies; to bring together complementary resources in research and education in order to develop joint educational opportunities and to further higher level education.

Italian universities currently recruit future researchers and professors from among the young people who have completed the doctoral examination. In Italy the deep diversified realities, especially among Northern-Center and Southern, appear to influence the relation between training system and work market.

the agreements (Sorbonne, 1998, and Bologna, 1999), which have now been signed by University Ministers of 32 European countries, have created a dynamic European context

In this European context a University must demonstrate that it has a strong commitment to the creation of a common European Higher Education Area.

The so-called Bologna process is at the same time stimulating and demanding, in terms of both new initiatives and required resources.

In Italy, Psychology Faculties of the University have reformulated their teaching strategies on the basis of the new system rules, offering over three-year degree courses

and postgraduate and specialization courses and have arranged the Masters courses which may be attended after the three-year degrees or after the postgraduate courses.

An university as a changing world with training at high qualitative and quantitative levels, appears to be fostered both from the international research EU programs design

to foster research collaboration and exchanges in the work forces, are encouraging Italian psychologists to found new identity into common European perspectives.

This is a debate that continues