Italy has attracted international students for centuries and in recent years the popularity of some of the graduate programs offered by Italian universities has made the country a destination for some of the most able students currently seeking study abroad experiences.
Italy’s top universities offer a variety of subject specialized Masters and PhD programs, many of which are taught in the English language and benefit from a strictly controlled government system of quality control and accreditation.
The Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative is the latest example of how Italian universities and colleges are seeking to secure the best international students to attend their top institutions and benefit from what is widely considered as one of Europe’s leading systems of education. Focusing on recruiting Indian graduate students, this initiative is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and offers students the opportunity to read specialised Italian degrees in the fields of information and communication technology (ICT), management and design. According to Giandomenico Magliano, Director General for Economic Affairs at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the initiative has a direct and clearly beneficial effect on those Indian students that choose to study in Italy, “under this scheme Indian students will become an active part in the network of research and industry that characterises Italy as the seventh largest economy in the world.”
Admission to Italy’s graduate programs for Indian and other international students alike is dependent on their performance at the first-degree level. Each institution is responsible for establishing their own entry requirements, but may take into account such factors as work experience, academic specialization and performance in admissions examinations, depending on the subject area applied to. Where graduate program are offered in English, it is routine for Italian institutions to also require a satisfactory performance in an IELTS or TOEFL examination.
Dario Consoli at the Politecnico di Milano believes the initiative has come at exactly the right time, “we recognize that Indian students are very important to our programs, especially in engineering. We all know that information technology and mathematics faculties excel in India so we are eager to recruit the best students from these universities.” With the increasing internationalization of the labour market, closer ties between a European country like Italy and an emerging economic power such as India are perhaps even more important than before. Consoli continues “there's a growing number of Italian companies that do business in conjunction with India, especially in mechanical engineering and software and so there is definitely a growing need of Indian graduates from Italian.”
Nine Italian institutions are involved in the Indian initiative, offering a range of graduate program, all of which are taught in English.
Institutions from Milan, Rome, Turin, Pisa, Trent, Genoa and Macerta are involved and include:
- Bocconi University, Milan
- LUISS – Libera Universita’ Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali
- Politecnico di Milano, Milan
- Politecnico di Torino, Turin
- Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa
- Universita’ Degli Studi di Trento, Trent
- Universita’ Degli Studi di Genova, Genoa
- Universita’ Degli Studi di Macerata, Macerata
- Universita’ di Roma “Tor Vergata,” Rome
In the field of ICT, the specialisms offered by these institutions in their graduate degrees cover many of the key developments in this most dynamic of industrial sectors. From the master’s degree in robotics offered by Universita’ Degli Studi di Genova to the program in information and communication technologies taught at the Politecnico di Torino, Indian students are sure to find an academic area of interest relevant to their personal and career ambitions.
In management education, an area that captures more than 40% of all international student’s interest, the Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative offers specialised Masters degrees in the fields of study where Italy has particular expertise. Participating institutions offer such degrees as international management (Bocconi University), European economy and business law (Universita’ di Roma “Tor Vergata”), planning and management of logistic and transportation systems (Universita’ Degli Studi di Genova), general management (LUISS – Libera Universita’ Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali) and industrial engineering and management (Politecnico di Torino) to those students wishing to benefit from the close links these institutions have with their local industries.
The third area this initiative has targeted is one that Italy has an enviable and international reputation for – design. Synonymous with Italy, the international nature of the design industry whether it is the world of fashion, architecture, urban planning or product design makes Italy the first choice for these kinds of program. Five Masters degrees are offered by the Politecnico di Milano in this area, including retail and store design and urban planning and policy design.
Graduate school scholarships and financial aid are key issues for all international students and can often make the difference between being able to study abroad or not. Not only do tuition fees have to be taken into account, but student accommodation, living and entertainment costs, in addition to those of equipment relevant to your degree.
Tuition fees in Italian universities tend to be lower than in many other parts of Europe and the cost of living, even in the larger towns and cities, is more economical than in France and the UK.
Under the auspices of the Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative, the Italian Institute of Foreign Trade and eight regional Chambers of Commerce are offering 66 dedicated scholarships to attract the best quality students to Italy for their graduate degrees. Additionally, individual institutions are offering their own scholarships for Indian and other students in order to make their program as affordable as possible. Mariasilvia Ciola, Head of the International Relations Office at LUISS underlines the importance of the investment her institution has made in the recruitment of international students, “LUISS provides 380 grants for highly talented students and five specific grants for Indian students, supported by companies in our region. We believe that by recruiting the best international students we will raise our own standards and benefit the experiences of other students.”
One of the aspects that make the Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative particularly relevant for Indian students is the close relationship between graduate programs and on-the-job training through work experience offered by the Italian companies involved in the scheme. All Masters degrees in the initiative are divided into three phases, the first two being classroom-based while the third includes the more direct experience of working in an Italian company. The development of a student’s academic skills are brought into direct relevance to the work environment by allowing international students the opportunity to work under the guidance of an academic tutor appointed by a host company, allowing hands-on experience of the way products and services that are “Made in Italy” are created. With support by Chambers of Commerce in Lecco, Genova, Como, Trento, Torino, Pisa and Lazio, in addition to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce, international students are provided with unprecedented support in gaining access to employment skills throughout Italy.
Professor Ernesto Tavoletti from the Università degli Studi di Macerata echoes the importance of the relationship between academic programs and real-world experience. He sees one of the most attractive features of the Masters programs his university offers to international students as “the very strong links we have developed with companies exporting goods and services, particularly to the Asian region. Coupled with this is the high employability of our international graduates in a university that enjoys a long tradition and reputation located in a typical Italian landscape.”
The Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative represents an excellent opportunity for Indian students to benefit from one of the most established yet modern higher education systems in Europe.
With innovative academic programs in key areas of industry, offered in combination with structured periods of work experience and project management, the development of specific skills relevant to success in the international labour market will ensure that graduates will make an impact in the field of their choice.
For more details of graduate programmes and other study opportunities in Italy, the Invest Your Talent in Italy initiative website at www.postgradinitaly.org provides information for international students.
www.postgradinitaly.org