What are the responsibilities of Universities in front of increasingly urgent and unavoidable emergencies? In the Yerevan (2015) and Paris Communiqué (2018,) it is reiterated that more inclusive higher education systems are an essential objective of the European Research Space considering the populations are increasingly diversified due to demographic changes and migrations. Since many years it has been the school system, which has been facing the challenges of inclusion, and, even if with contradictory results, it carries out initiatives and interventions to meet new and complex needs. In Italy Universities have only been marginally affected by the migration phenomenon and only in specific fields such as research, teacher training, and collaboration in the field of development cooperation. Most Universities have not been called to deal systematically with issues such as access, use and the academic success of students that are also refugees, asylum seekers or disadvantaged migrant, as it happened in other European countries . If education levels are an indicator of inclusion (Using EU indicators of immigrant integration, 2013) higher education should also take a position on the issue. However, data show that in 2017 the highest percentages of immigrants born abroad with low levels of education were recorded in Italy (49%), Greece, Spain (both 40%) and Malta (39%). In many countries it has already been recognized that in the diverse flow of migrants there are many with skills and talents that can contribute to local economies. Therefore, integration of migrants has increasingly become a key sector for policy orientation, with measures to prepare immigrants and their descendants so that they can become fully active in society, in particular through education and training. On the other hand, in many countries, and in particular in Italy, there is a worrying rise of racism and intolerance towards migrants and, in general, against minorities and any form of diversity. What is the role of universities to prevent phenomena like these from becoming more frequent? How can University train future professionals capable to apply an intercultural approach in working contexts so that they become open to inclusion and enhancement of differences?

For some years now the idea of social responsibility has been enriched with that of responsibility of the university. The thematic of university's governance and accountability are put in relation to the two principles of autonomy and social responsibility: the latter is based on the cultural bond that unmistakably links university and society and sees Universities as a social actor that is necessarily involved in the construction of societies with a view to sustainable development. In particular, there is a tendency to integrate cultural, social and environmental concerns through training, research and the so-called third mission in order to bring benefits and positive impact in the contexts in which it operates. Societies request that universities are aware of the effectiveness of its activities in relation to stated purposes and repercussions of public interest.

Hence the commitment of the University to mitigate any kind of barriers and attract young refugees and migrants in higher education, enhancing their potential and talent, but also ensuring accessibility to other disadvantaged groups, including people in custody. Many problems are still open for research. How to recognize migrants and refugees' previous careers and skills/knowledge and facilitate the transition from higher education systems of origins? How to support their permanence in the higher education system? What placement and job orientation services can the university offer?Call number 33 of the journal intends to collect reflections and experiences on the theme of social responsibility of the University in terms of research, teaching and the third mission, in the following modalities: 

• contributions for the definition of social responsibility of universities;
• contributions on the meaning and implications of the category of university social responsibility with respect to higher education policies and impact on issues of public interest;
• critical analysis on what Universities could have, but have not, done in order to foster inclusion, in terms of alternative and counter-intuitive choices of action;
• deconstructive reading of norms, policies, practices, education and training initiatives: how do they favor, or hinder social inclusion?
• contributions for the definition of the category of social responsibility of universities in the specific fields of migrations and human mobility
• research on inclusion policies in higher education of disadvantaged groups, also in a comparative key;
• research results on the correlation between higher education and decreasing of racism and intolerance 
• contributions for the definition of educational methodologies, tools,  professional skills, networks and partnerships to promote inclusion in  higher education.