The Human Side of Digital Technology: Supporting the Inclusion of Refugees in Higher Education Through Blockchain-backed EQPR

The spectrum of digital technologies that impact Higher Education (HE) is broad. This study explores the potential of Blockchain (BC) technology in the personalized learning path creation and data exchange in the learning processes. The flexibilization of education and digitizing student data through Blockchain may contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable HE system. According to the EU, the Blockchain supports sustainability in four main aspects: cybersecurity, accountability, transparency, and traceability. These aspects are also a driver of social impact and a higher capacity to include disadvantaged groups, such as refugees. Therefore, it is essential to start a debate between scholars and professionals about how the actors in the HE system engage in a collective meaning-making effort to sustain the adoption, diffusion, and use of BC for HE. The paper focuses on the experience of CIMEA DiploMe and EQPR for the recognition of refugees' qualifications. Through a collective consensus-making and awareness-raising effort, the blockchain-backed EQPR could be perceived as a critical tool to foster inclusion within the HEIs and enhance their social outreach

Sensemaking and job crafting for the inclusion of refugees in Universities through the EQPR

Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) are increasingly called upon to demonstrate their impact on society in terms of inclusiveness and social sustainability as a priority in pursuing the "Third Mission" (TM). However, little has been studied on how administrative and teaching staff implement such change within the organization to achieve Third Mission goals. This study explores policies and practices supporting the recognition of refugee qualifications for access to higher education in Italy, particularly the European Qualification Passport for Refugees (EQPR), as a tool to pursue the university's Third Mission. Adopting a theoretical approach based on sense-making, the study demonstrates that the individual role of staff in facilitating organizational change depends on an “emergent” approach to organizational change and on internal factors, such as individual perceptions and experiences. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting contradictory aspects of Heis's pursuit of the TM and sheds light on the interplay between different dimensions and grounded sense-making processes