Ten third-year undergraduate students and second-year graduate students of the teacher education programme in English Language and Literature, accompanied by Prof. Tanja Gradečak, PhD, and Senior Lecturer Blaženka Šoštarić, and with financial support from FFOS, spent seven days in beautiful Sicily, Italy, as part of the elective course Language of Public Communication. From 8 to 12 June, Kore University of Enna hosted the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme CROSSWOR[L]DS. The programme’s name is based on an intentional play on words, combining language puzzles that require creative decoding with the crossing of worlds, represented as movement through linguistic and cultural spaces. This dual meaning frames the programme’s central aim: to explore how multilingual and intercultural encounters function as dynamic spaces for meaning-making, negotiation and identity construction.
As part of the programme, students from our Faculty, students from Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Poland, and students from the host institution took part in an intensive programme of lectures and workshops delivered by experts in the fields of multilingualism, literature, cognitive sciences and translation studies, both in person and online. One of the lectures, focusing on the latest developments in the use of artificial intelligence in translation, was delivered by Prof. Marija Omazić, PhD.
Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework, the programme explored multilingualism, intercultural communication and transcultural identity alongside current European priorities such as inclusion, digital transformation and active citizenship. Particular attention was devoted to the development of socio-intercultural competences, empathy and critical awareness – key dimensions for fostering fair, respectful and inclusive interaction in international and multicultural environments.
In addition to the intensive academic programme, the hosts organised a visit to the Roman Villa del Casale near Enna, as well as to an authentic Sicilian farm producing excellent Sicilian olive oil, where we had the opportunity to taste traditional Sicilian gastronomic specialities.
This type of programme provides students with an excellent opportunity to explore new topics that may not otherwise form part of the academic curriculum of individual study programmes. It also creates opportunities for developing new forms of internationalisation, including planned future intensive programmes, research projects and guest lectures by professors.
