A semester at VIU: more than courses!

Venice International University is something unique in the international academic panorama: a group of Universities from different countries sharing a common campus on the beautiful island of San Servolo, in the Venice lagoon, where over 140 students meet each semester to deal with contemporary global challenges, ranging from sustainable development, climate change, urban growth, to population ageing, global ethics, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

The Globalization Program educates students to move across disciplines and to work with people from other cultures, providing a powerful learning experience enhanced by platforms of debate and opportunities of discovery:

VIU promotes international mobility by offering internship opportunities and scholarships to students of the member universities who attend the Globalization Program. Over the years, VIU has developed connections with research centers, universities, cultural organizations and companies, in Italy and abroad, allowing selected candidates to carry out research abroad for their final master’s thesis, or to build an individualized project or work experience in Italy, matching both the needs of the organization and the student’s interests and skills.
Each semester VIU publishes two calls for applications for the Internship and Mobility Program:

 
20 students have applied for the Spring 2015 opportunities in Italy. 6 have been selected and will receive a scholarship to support the internship. Meanwhile, the preliminary research drafts of candidates hoping to travel abroad for research is presently under examination by VIU tutors: the candidates will receive feedback in order to further develop their work and present their final project.
The winners of the scholarship for an internship experience in Italy will be announced during the Closing ceremony of the Spring term!

A semester at VIU is more than just course attendance; it is also an opportunity for travel, for discovery and to experience fun moments. The Globalization Program offers a calendar of co-curricular activities, proposed by the professors or by VIU staff including site visits related to the courses, tours of cultural sites of interest, fun activities such as a treasure hunt and a sports tournament. There is a weekly movie series too.
A semester at VIU is an opportunity to discover and relate to the city of Venice, the lagoon and the Veneto region, taking teaching out of the classroom and into the field, and creating opportunities for students to socialize with their peers. This semester students visit sites related to the city’s history and culture, including the Accademia di Belle Arti, the Jewish Ghetto and two Palladian Villas outside the city. More contemporary aspects are explored with site visits to the “Made in Italy” industrial district in Livenza, known for furniture design, and the wine district in Conegliano Valdobiaddene known for its Prosecco vineyards; a boat trip to the MOSE system of mobile dams in the Venice Lagoon to discuss lagoon protection and environmental concerns will involve four different courses. Mondays end in the half-light of a film, linked to the history of Italy or proposed by national groups of students who present a film representative of their culture and background. Have a look at this semester’s program and photo gallery.

Debates and conferences offer students and professors an interesting platform of discussion: Prof. Paul Ekins of the Institute for Sustainable Resources UCL, London inaugurated the season’s academic activities with a Lectio Magistralis about contemporary scenarios of environmental policies, energy consumption and resource productivity in order to better discuss the conditions and economic instruments needed for achieving an environmentally sustainable future. VIU also organizes two VIULECTURES series each year, an initiative open to the public in which guest speakers debate interesting, current issues linked to topics of VIU academic program. See the chronology of past topics and discussions arisen.
External participants can take part in the activities and life at VIU through a rich program of intensive seminars, organized during the semesters in cooperation with the Member Universities of VIU, in particular Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitaet (LMU) of Munich, Germany, or during the summer schools that engage students of various levels (undergrad, master’s, PhD, post-doc) on specific themes of common and strategic interest for the members of VIU consortium, such as sustainable development and preservation of cultural heritage.

Venice International University. A global experience!