Social Work education in Tunisia: lessons and challenges from an experience of university cooperation

Abstract

This article aims to describe an example of inter-university cooperation, as a model of good practices and knowledge transfer in the field of International Social Work. The framework is the public announcement conducted in 2012 by Technical Cooperation Office of the AECID in Tunisia. This was a Project to Support the National Institute of Labor and Social Studies-Tunisia, for technical assistance in the definition of the training plan and studies. This paper aims to highlight the opportunity of inter-university cooperation as an effective tool for horizontal collaboration among institutions of higher education. This project adopts in all his phases the participatory methodologies in order to give priority to share learning and to recognize the leadership of local actors, versus the vertical nature of technical assistance. The objective highlights the support to improve the definition of training plan and studies of the INTES, adapting both to the interests of the academic community and the current challenges of Tunisia to rebuild its institutions and policies.