Abstract

The Italian university system, through the strengthening of the educational systems of secondary and tertiary and vocational training of developing countries, plays an important role at international level. It is committed to the promotion of virtuous circles that can support the change and the negative effects of globalization in the least developed countries, especially for the younger generations. There is need to support the society and the institutions of the poorest partners to design strategic policies aimed at preventing the emergence of social, economic, cultural and environmental crises, through programs that are effective tools for the governance of sustainable human development. The university’s mission can participate in global social and economic transformations, postulating a critical vision of the development paradigm, through an agency that feeds on knowledge and awareness of the global challenges, presented by the UN 2030 Agenda. This contribution, in the light of the academic cooperation initiatives implemented in the Sahelian countries and in consideration of the level of structured collaborative dialogue established with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and with Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, with the world of the governmental and non-governmental cooperation of the Italian Cooperation System, with the Third Sector, etc., has the objective to design a more effective model of university cooperation based on the knowledge economy and sustainable human development.