Capabilities for a cosmopolitan citizenship in higher education The experience of the Technical University of Valencia

AbstractThe capability approach (CA) has focused on how universities can enhance cosmopolitan students’ capabilities in order to contribute to a fairer and more inclusive human development model (Nussbaum, 1997). The aim of this paper is to analyze two different initiatives developed at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) in Spain, which have contributed to the creation and expansion of those capabilities amongst the student community. The first one is a formal space in which, since 1997, a cosmopolitan citizenship curriculum has been implemented (Boni, 2007). The second experience refers to an informal space called Mueve created by UPV students. Based on the analysis of 12 in-depth interviews we will provide some insights into the differences, similarities and synergies amongst those two spaces