The University of Sassari (UNISS) was founded in 1558 and today counts a total number of over 13.000 students and about 765 teachers, in 10 departments. All three undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses are present.
Activities for the present project will be run by the FOIST Laboratory (the acronym stands in Italian for Formation, Occupation, Information, Services, Territory), which is a research center operating within the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
It was founded in 1977 as a documentation and research center open to both academic and non-academic users. FOIST’s main activities concern promoting and running theoretical and empirical research with a strong engagement in positive social intervention.
The methodology used in applied research actions builds upon background inquiring, evaluation, training, information and participation. The overall approach tends to conjugate interdisciplinary research with the promotion of civic participation, solidarity building and community empowerment.
Team members
Valentina Ghibellini is currently Researcher in General Sociology at the University of Sassari, where she also serves as Delegate for Third Mission activities at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (DUMAS). She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Social Work and Social Policies, and obtained her professional qualification in 2010. She has professional experience as a social worker. Her research focuses on community and civic engagement in higher education, program evaluation, social work (particularly community social work), and social inclusion policies. Her main interest lies in Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR). She has experience in evaluating projects promoted by Public Administration bodies and in European project design (FP7, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+). She is currently involved in several European projects, including E-UniCoast and LOESS, and serves as Work Package Leader in the TOGETHERNESS project.
contact: vghibellini[at]uniss.it
Andrea Vargiu is Full Professor of Sociology at the University of Sassari and Chair of the Master’s Degree in Social Work and Social Policies. He coordinates the Foist Laboratory, promoting partnerships between communities and universities, and is involved in the Living Knowledge network and the K4C programme. His research focuses on community engagement, participatory research, social policies, and organized solidarity. He has led research units in several EU projects (including PERARES, EnRRICH, and Allthings.bioPRO). He is currently Work Package Leader in LOESS and leads community engagement activities in EUNICoast. He also coordinates impact evaluations of projects addressing educational poverty in Italy. He has held roles within the European Sociological Association and the Italian Sociological Association, and is a member of ACES.
contact: avargiu[at]uniss.it
Ülker Basak Yesilkaya is a Research Collaborator at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (DUMAS) at the University of Sassari. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Ege University, a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage from the University of Bologna, and a PhD from the University of Sassari. Her research focuses on memory studies, intercultural heritage, and community engagement, with particular attention to displaced communities and participatory research methodologies. She is currently a collaborator on the TOGETHERNESS project, contributing to Work Package 4, which examines university-civil society partnership models across Europe. She holds certified K4C Mentor status through the UNESCO Chair programme.
contact: u.basak[at]phd.uniss.it