1. DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ LINGUISTIC AND INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES IN AN AI-BASED ERA

Project Overview

In an increasingly digitalised, multilingual and culturally diverse society, linguistic and intercultural competences are essential to students' academic development, international mobility and successful transition to the labour market. In the context of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, these competences acquire new significance, enabling students to use emerging technologies critically and responsibly while communicating effectively across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

The project combines linguistic and intercultural education, translation, artificial intelligence, gamification and experiential learning through student-centred non-formal and extracurricular activities. Bringing together UAB students, academics and specialists from partner institutions in Romania and abroad, it aims to complement formal education with practical learning experiences relevant to contemporary international academic and professional environments.

 

Objectives

The project aims to:

• develop students' linguistic, intercultural, digital and professional competences;
• promote student-centred, applied and innovative approaches to learning, including gamification;
• strengthen students' readiness for international academic and professional environments;
• develop research skills and encourage student participation in scientific activities;
• enhance practical competences in translation, language technologies and the responsible use of artificial intelligence;
• support the linguistic and intercultural integration of international and mobility students.

 

Main Activities

Workshops on gamification, AI and linguistic education
A series of workshops and training sessions on Gamification of Linguistic and Intercultural Education: Innovative Methods and AI Applications in Communication and Translation, involving students and specialists in translation, research and language technologies from UAB and partner institutions.

Development of the Human and Machine Translation Laboratory
The project supports the development of CIEL's Human and Machine Translation Laboratory through access to specialised digital services and resources for translation, language technologies and AI-assisted activities.

Study visits and experiential learning
Students will participate in study visits to relevant European, professional and cultural institutions in Bucharest, including the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT), the European Parliament Liaison Office, the European Institute of Romania and the National Museum of Romanian Literature. These activities will provide direct exposure to professional environments involving translation, multilingual communication and cultural mediation.

Peer support for international students
Research and student-centred activities will contribute to the development of a good practice guide for peer support and the linguistic and intercultural integration of international students, particularly Erasmus+ students and students enrolled in the Romanian Language Preparatory Year.

 

Expected Impact

The project is expected to contribute to innovative approaches to linguistic and intercultural education, enhanced student research and professional competences, and greater familiarity with artificial intelligence and contemporary language technologies. It will also strengthen the technological resources available for translation education and provide students with practical exposure to professional and international environments.

Through its peer-support dimension, the project will contribute to the linguistic, academic and intercultural integration of international students. More broadly, it seeks to prepare graduates who can combine linguistic and intercultural competence with digital literacy, critical thinking and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in increasingly multilingual and technology-rich professional environments.

 

Funding

The project is funded by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research through the Fund for Financing Special Situations – FSS 2026 (Fondul pentru finanţarea situaţiilor speciale).

 

 

2. MAPPING IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY IN INTRA- AND INTERLINGUAL LEXICAL AND TERMINOLOGICAL RESOURCES

 OVERVIEW:

In a society which promotes an ever-increasing mobility, the knowledge and study of languages is of paramount importance. Hence, there is currently a set of language policies issued by the European Council which emphasize the defence of plurilingualism, as well as the concern of a fruitful linguistic diversity. Therefore, it is defended that individuals learn diverse languages ​​in a European context open to the defence of a diverse and pluricultural linguistic framework. It is, in the first instance, up to Higher Education institutions to develop this aim, by promoting the scientific study of languages across the academic community and in the region where the Institution is located.

 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

“Mapping identity and diversity in intra- and interlingual lexical and terminological resources”  dedicates itself to research in fundamental, experimental and applied linguistics, with the following general aims:

1. promote research in Linguistics;

2. develop applied areas of Linguistics (namely Cognitive Sciences, Computer Sciences and Inter-comprehension);

3. stimulate research in the context of the digitalization of (oral and written) texts, both with regards to their digital availability and to their linguistic analysis;

4. promote collaboration with national and foreign institutions which undertake similar activities.

Specific objectives:

1. Focus on romance Languages to English wordnet linkage: challenges and solutions, with reference to Madeiran / European Portuguese, Italian and Romanian and English equivalents

2.  Interlingual influences and foreign borrowings in Madeiran (Portuguese) / Romanian tourism and leisure terminology

3. Terminology as mirror of national history and domain specific knowledge

4. The lexical influence of English on European languages.

 

RESEARCH AREAS:

GT 1: Madeiran Portuguese / European Portuguese: Diversity, change and modality

GT 2: Digital Humanities / Computational approaches to Cognitive Linguistics

GT 3: Language Teaching and Acquisition in a globalised multiliteracy world

GT 4: Variation and change

 

BOARD OF COORDINATORS:

Teodora Popescu

Paulo Osório

Giacomo Ferrari

Alcina Sousa

Crina Herteg

 

Research TEAM:

Adina Botas (“1 Decembrie University of Alba Iulia / CIEL -Romania)

Alcina de Sousa (University of Madeira and postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Humanities at UBI - CEAUL)

Alexandra Nunes (UÉ doctoral student –CEL)

Bernardo Manuel Pereira Silva (UTAD doctoral student, Language Sciences) 

Crina Herteg (“1 Decembrie University of Alba Iulia / CIEL -Romania)

Diana Avram (“1 Decembrie University of Alba Iulia doctoral student / CIEL -Romania)

Giacomo Ferrari (Piedmont University, Italy)

Monica Mosca (University of Wroclaw- Poland)

Paulo Osório (UBI Humanities Department, (Portugal)

Teodora Popescu (“1 Decembrie University of Alba Iulia / CIEL -Romania)

 

 

3. Steering Transition and Advancement of Tertiary Underrepresented Students

OVERVIEW:

Objectives

Focusing the attention on the social dimension of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), the STATUS project opens up possibilities for introduction of innovative approaches in education practices needed to level up governance and curriculum delivery, open further access to programs and resources and equal opportunity for the enrollment and retention of vulnerable students, enhancing their learning relationships and perspectives, and empowering students in general to direct their own learning.

The overall objective is to create a supportive educational environment enhancing the participation of underrepresented students in tertiary education.

 

Specific objectives

• To increase the access of Roma and other underrepresented students in European HEIs.
• To increase academic achievement success rate and prevent Early School Leaving (ESL) in HEIs of Roma and other underrepresented students.
• To contribute to HEIs more effective and efficient cooperation practices with other relevant local community stakeholders, in particular Civil Society (CS) organisations, leading to increased interest and better targeting of underrepresented students to pursue tertiary education.
• To create and test inclusive education support measures and programs, exchange of current best approaches and tackling urgent needs.

 

Activities

• Mapping of good practices on inclusive learning culture in the higher education as well as of early warning systems (EWS) on dropping out risk in the different partner countries’ contexts.
• Training activities for HEIs teaching and non-teaching staff on increasing access and supporting the academic achievements of underrepresented students.
• Workshops for students on intercultural peer support skills and active inclusion of underrepresented students.
• Developmental workshops in Serbia, Italy, Portugal and Romania for the finalization and fine-tuning of the project results.

 

Resources

• European HEI e-repository of good practices related to socially inclusive learning culture and early warning systems (EWS)
• HEI teaching and non-teaching staff training manual and programme on intercultural competences and development of more inclusive education environments
• CS-HE cooperation toolkit on increasing access and supporting achievement of underrepresented students
• Toolkit on peer support and active inclusion of underrepresented students
• European policy brief/recommendations for improving social dimension of teaching and learning in European HEIs

Impact

• Innovative education approaches to foster the enrolment and participation of students from underrepresented groups in HE.
• Improved capacity of HEIs in providing both academic and non-academic support to underrepresented students.
• Strengthened CS-HE cooperation in supporting underrepresented students in other socio-economic areas beyond the sector of education, such for instance the labour market.
• Empowered students, in particular underrepresented ones, in becoming main actors of their learning paths.
• Improved awareness among policy makers on issues related to social inclusion of underrepresented students in HE.

 

Partners

• Visoka škola strukovnih studija za vaspitače Vršac (Serbia, coordinator)
• Universitatea 1 Decembrie 1918 (Romania)
• Universidade da Madeira (Portugal)
• Western Balkans Institute (Serbia)
• Università degli Studi di Palermo (Italy)
• CESIE (Italy)

 

Past Projects

UNIVERSALS AND VARIANTS OF ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN BUSINESS METAPHORS. A CORPUS-BASED CONCEPTUAL MAPPING OF CONTEMPORARY JOURNALESE

Project code: PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-2785

Financing entity: UEFISCDI - Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding

Beneficiary: "1 Decembrie 1918" University of Alba Iulia, Romania

 

Project Manager: Teodora Iordachescu

Members: Giacomo Ferrari, Senior researcher

                Crina Herteg, Post-doctoral researcher

                Grigore-Dan Iordachescu, Post-doctoral researcher

                Maria Muresan, Doctoral student

 

Project site: http://business-metaphors.ro/