Investigating the Development of Intercultural Competences through Blended Intensive Programmes

The increasing use of concepts such as globalisation, hyper-connected world, and cultural aggregations cannot be separated from a progressive process of innovation in the field of education, especially in Higher Education (HE). The HE environment is studded with thousands of activities where people can approach different realities from which they absorb competences and skills. As far as multicultural activities are concerned, it is necessary to find that inspiration that allows students to develop intercultural competences based on abilities and tendencies that constitute the multicultural personality in order to be ready and well-equipped at the moment of interaction in our hyper-connected world. At the University of Turin, precisely at the SUISS (University Interdepartmental School of Strategic Sciences) and the Army Officers School, seven Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) on interdisciplinary subjects are held every year with the participation of 290 civilian, military and international students. The paper tries to measure the development of multicultural effectiveness during the attendance of the seven BIPs, with the intent to trace how it can be useful for all learners. Almost 2900 responses are the data collected with a questionnaire delivered at the beginning and the end of the BIPs over two academic years (2023 and 2024). The results were compared and analysed through descriptive and bivariate statistic tools. The results support the international orientation importance of the intensive programmes, and highlight the fact that these are an optimal field of experimentation for the students. These international activities are safe laboratories where it is possible to nurture the intercultural competences that will be fundamental for the near future.