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summer school
Language Policy in Higher Education: Multilingualism, Research and Science Communication
Brescia
I edition
Lifelong learning
Languages
Master’s and PhD students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers working in the field of multilingualism and multiculturalism in Higher Education are invited to attend the Summer School Language Policy in Higher Education: Multilingualism, Research and Science Communication (PRISM-HE), to be held at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Brescia, Italy) from 16 to 19 June 2026.
Contemporary higher education is shaped by profound linguistic, cultural, and social transformations, making it increasingly important to understand how institutions and their members navigate growing diversity. Topics such as language policy, multilingual practices, scientific communication, and the circulation of knowledge have become central to academic life, research environments, and the relationship between universities and society.
Reflecting on these issues collectively allows for a deeper examination of the challenges that multilingualism poses for institutional regulation, everyday practices, inclusion, participation, and the mediation of knowledge in both academic and public contexts. From an educational perspective, this calls for critical and participatory approaches that contribute to more equitable language policies and multilingual learning environments, supporting fair access to knowledge production, communication, and transfer.
From a research perspective, these questions require methodologies that are sensitive to the dynamic, situated, and discursively constructed nature of linguistic and communicative practices in higher education. This involves rethinking conceptual frameworks, methods, and epistemological assumptions in order to understand how language, diversity, and scientific communication shape the production and dissemination of knowledge.
This Summer School is organised by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in collaboration with international partner universities and is sponsored by the CEL/ELC – Conseil Européen pour les Langues / European Language Council.
Objectives
The Summer School will address the following overarching themes:
- Language policy, language ideologies, and multilingual practices in Higher Education, with particular attention to academic and public science communication in contexts of diversity
- Multilingualism, research practices, and emerging technologies (including AI), addressing their impact on knowledge production, evaluation, dissemination, and linguistic diversity
- Discursive, critical, and transformative competences in academic multilingualism, including writing, peer review, and public communication of scientific knowledge
- Policy–practice relations in multilingual educational processes, focusing on how language policy shapes communicative practices, research cultures, and knowledge transfer
- Identity, agency, and ethical responsibility in multilingual research environments, including language choice, multimodality, participation, co-construction of knowledge, and the societal impact of science communication
Programme
PLENARY SESSIONS
Knowledge, Terminology, and Science Communication: Rethinking Multilingualism (M.C. Conceiçao, Universidade do Algarve)
I for Translation and Interpreting. A roadmap for users and policy makers (Kris Peeters, University of Antwerp)
WORKSHOPS
Scientific Communication: Academic Writing (Roma Kriaučiūnienė, Vilnius University)
Development of advanced academic writing skills for research publication, with attention to the structure and conventions of research articles. The workshop focuses on combining model analysis with practical writing tasks linked to participants’doctoral research projects.
Pragmatic and Relational Skills in Oral Communication (Vilma Bijeikiene, Vytautas Magnus University)
Development of pragmatic and relational skills to communicate research across diverse linguistic and disciplinary contexts, with attention to audience awareness, interaction, and relationship management.
PeerReview in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Diversity, Quality, and Expanding Research Outputs
(Manuel Célio Conceiçao, Universidade do Algarve; Maria Teresa Zanola, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Introduction to evaluation criteria in SSH, with a focus on different types of research outputs and on principles such as transparency, fairness, and constructive feedback.
Multilingualism, Research and Artificial Intelligence (Kris Peeters, University of Antwerp)
Analysis of the role of AI in the production and communication of research in multilingual contexts, with attention to linguistic bias, ethics, and methodological implications.
Scientific content management: from shelf to self (Elena Păcurar - Eugen Wohl, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai)
This workshop is designed for MA/PhD students who are interested in managing the features of scientific discourse according to: purpose, audience and/or media, following the transfer of information horizontally (sharing knowledge only with the other members of the same professional community), as well as vertically (across disciplines and for non-specialist members of the audience).
Key features
Networking and professional growth: connect with an international network of scholars and professionals working in multilingual educational processes
Multifaceted, scientific and experiential approach, ensuring the sharing of a unique body of knowledge
A digital Open Badge and a Certificate of Attendance will be issued at the end of the Summer School to highlight and easily share acquired skills, abilities, and knowledge
Info point
Participant profile
Master’s and PhD students
Doctoral candidates
Postdoctoral researchers working in the field of multilingualism and multiculturalism in Higher Education
Where and when
From 16 to 19 June 2026
Campus Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Via della Garzetta 48 - Brescia
Registration fees
Registrations by 18 may 2026: € 390 + VAT
For Master and Phd students coming University being CEL/ELC associates: € 350 + VAT
The fee includes:
Course attendance and teaching material
Coffee break on Summer School days
Lunch on Summer School days
City tour led by a certified and experienced professional guide
Certificate of attendance
Open badge certificate
Faculty
Vilma BIJEIKIENĖ
Vytautas Magnus University
Manuel Célio CONCEIÇAO
Universidade do Algarve
Silvia GILARDONI
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Giovanni GOBBER
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Roma KRIAUČIŪNIENĖ
Vilnius University
Maria Vittoria LO PRESTI
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Federica MISSAGLIA
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Elena PACURAR
Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai
Kris PEETERS
University of Antwerp
Eugen WOHL
Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai
Maria Teresa ZANOLA
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Accademia della Crusca
ORGANIZER COMMITTEE
Martina ALI’
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Michela MANGIAROTTI
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Anna SERPENTE
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Promoted by
Facoltà di Scienze linguistiche e letterature straniere
Corso di Dottorato in Scienze Linguistiche e Letterarie
Osservatorio di Terminologie e Politiche Linguistiche
In collaboration with
Sponsored by
Conseil Européen pour les langues/European Language Council (CEL/ELC)
