Turnitin, an online platform for the prevention of plagiarism, awarded UPF with the “European Partners in Success Award”, a distinction granted to European universities who actively fight against plagiarism and for the promotion of academic integrity.

The award went to Professor Vanessa Soria’s – whose research focuses on innovation in education – and also works as a Technician for Innovation at UPF’s Center for Innovation in Learning and Knowledge (CLIK).

In her article, Soria explains the measures that UPF took to fight against plagiarism:

• Clearly defining a code of ethics and addressing plagiarism in student regulations
• Providing teacher training, both face-to-face and online
• Conducting a study of Turnitin usage and sharing results
• Creating online guides, print resources, a new website, and video stories to share how Turnitin can be used effectively in teaching practice*
• Making Turnitin resources and news widely available within Moodle.

Soria Ortega clarifies: “We see this not as an isolated project, but something to be continued and become part of the university.” The vision, she says, is that Turnitin will instill academic integrity into students’ DNA and empower teachers to provide impactful feedback that results in continuous improvement. The focus is on pedagogy, not punishment, she says: “Turnitin is useful in building this sense of being part of something bigger.” That something bigger relates to shared core values, such as community, quality, and academic integrity.

* All materials were designed jointly between UPF’s CLIK and La Factoria+.