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The Guiding Transitions International Conference can also be joined remotely. We offer two options for online participation:

1. Join via Zoom (recommended for interaction)

If you would like to ask questions or share comments through the chat, we recommend joining the conference on Zoom. This option requires a free registration.
Please register here  and select “I will participate online.”  You will receive the zoom link via email on the morning of the conference. 

2. Watch the Live YouTube Broadcast

If you prefer to simply follow the sessions without interacting, you can watch the live broadcast on our YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/univiu/live

The stream will also be visible directly on this webpage during the conference.

We look forward to welcoming you online!

11-14 November 2017

General description
The school focus is related to a new strong historiographical trend in medieval studies. Namely, this is a reexamination of “republican” or “democratic” tendencies within the medieval society. The Autumn School’s general aim is to bring together the scholars who concentrate on horizontal political ties within the medieval society.

Traditionally, the “democratic” tendency was described in historical scholarship as an extremely vertical one, where a feudal hierarchy prevailed upon the horizontal ties. Thus, in the second half of the twentieth century the elitist research paradigm focused mostly on the land-endowed nobility. Arnold Esch argued that such a focus is nothing but a result of the state of the source base, in which land acts that have survived in the Church archives prevailed. However, that testifies only to the better preservation of the church archives. Ignoring this fact, we risk making the Middle Ages even more agrarian and even more religious than they really were.

However, in the 1980s a new historiographical tendency has appeared, that focused on various republican political practices, such as public deliberation and acclamation. In the perspective of this new trend, even the churches’ inner life appeared to be deeply rooted in collective action and decision-making. After a new political self-government reality – an urban commune had appeared in the eleventh century, republican practices started to flourish. Codified law replaced the brutal force and the legal custom as the main means of regulation of social relations. At the same time, the law-making itself became a task for those to whom these laws applied, and the community of citizens directly involved in the decision-making became a political actor claiming at least legal autonomy, or even a political independence. That was exactly a “Liberty of the Ancients” that Benjamin Constant wrote about, contrasting it with “Liberty of the Moderns.” However, the latter would be impossible without the former, to which it gave birth. The Modern Time and its ideas did not appear out of nowhere. It was urban communes that rediscovered Antiquity, looking for new legal forms.

Thus, the routes of modernity are closely connected to the horizontal practices of the Middle Ages. Machiavelli and Montesquieu cannot be imagined without comprehending the republican experience of Florence, Venice and other medieval communes. The communal development created a new society where a man, his rights and property were protected by a codified law. Therefore, it is evident why we consider Venice as symbolically the best place in the world for a discussion about medieval republicanism..

Course aim
The Autumn School focuses on urban and countryside communes, first forms of proto-parliaments (like Etats Généraux in France), Orders of Knighthood, universities and other self-governing and autonomous societies in this period. The main school themes are political practices: public deliberation, voting, selection by lot, direct political participation, as well as republican notions in the texts written before 1500 A.D.: virtus, res publica, libertas and dignitas. Medieval republicanism will be discussed also in its connection to the past and to the future. In our proposed program the following questions will be discussed: can one consider medieval practical republicanism a heritage of Antiquity or not? How did it contribute to the further development of republican theory and practices in the Modern time?

Topics
Republican Forms of Medieval Europe
Enterprising Politics or Routine Dealings? Political Participation in Europe before 1800
The Italian urban communal liberties
Ideals of Brotherhood in Chivalric Orders
The West and the East of Europe: Similarities and Differences:
“Tota Livonia”: the republican practices in Medieval Livonia
Democracy or Oligarchy. The city assembly in Novgorod and Venice
The medieval communal concepts of power in a comparative perspective

Workshop: The faculty participants and graduate students will present papers on their particular topics.

Target
Master and PhD students from any university are welcome to participate: they are encouraged to present their own topics.

Fees
Students of VIU member universities:
No participation fees.

Students of other universities:
€ 200 incl. VAT

The fees will cover tuition, course materials, accommodation in multiple rooms at the VIU campus, lunches in the VIU cafeteria and social events.
Student participants will be responsible for covering their own travel expenses to and from Venice, local transportation and evening meals.

The School will provide a limited number of partial travel grants for participants from VIU member universities.

Credits
Number of ECTS credits allocated: 2

A Certificate of attendance will be issued at the end of the course.

Duration and period
4 days, 11 - 14 November 2017

Location
Venice International University, Island of San Servolo, Venice (Italy).

Applications
July 28 – September 4, 2017.

For further information
summerschools@univiu.org

Theory and Practice. Heritage / Present and Future Perspectives
Venice International University, 3-5 May 2019

The aim of the conference is to discuss Republicanism in a broad, multidisciplinary and worldwide perspective, and to initiate a series of such meetings to be held in Venice every two years.

During recent decades, Republicanism has become a central concern in political theory and history. This body of thought emerged as the main alternative to Liberalism, when Marxism lost this role after the fall of the Berlin Wall. There is a renewed interest today, while searching for solutions to mounting populism and personalization of power; the issue of inequality and the crisis of democracies.

Republicanism - as a study of classical Athens and Rome and then Renaissance Florence, Venice and other self-governing units - has been branded as ‘a shared European heritage'. Its distinguishing feature has been to focus on the diverse political mechanisms to avert tyranny, on balancing power and attaining mixed government, and on ensuring forms of participation in the process of law-making, protecting from constraints and conceiving liberty as non-domination. Such practices have been key for experiments in democratic rule all over the world.

The conference wants to promote further theoretical and historical reflections on such experience, broadening the focus to non-European case-studies and perspectives, to late modern and contemporary times, opening to every possible discipline. Republicanism is not a dead body confined to the studies of the past: rather it is about rediscovering the past to offer novel solutions for the problems of today. The idea, hence, is to convert it into a frame in which to discuss and clarify contemporary issues and concerns and even, if possible, into a common background theory for existing empirical political practices, including eco-democracy, participary budgets, the defense of the commons and public space, communal practices and rights, and resistance to domination.

Keynote | Philip Pettit
The keynote speaker will be Philip Pettit, author of Republicanism. A Theory of Freedom and Government (Oxford University Press, 1997), a classic in the field. Scholars from all disciplines, from the Venice International University consortium and beyond, will be invited. The aim is to create a network of people interested in the project. The intent is to have biennial conferences in the the field and convert this event into a permanent workshop. A selection of the papers presented in the event will be published in a thematic issue of a major journal and/or in a book.

The main groups of themes of the conference will be:

1) Political theory and philosophy of Republicanism.
This is an area of contributions which is most conceptual. It has to do with meta-historical considerations. Its main concern would be to define what the republican tradition is all about, and what republican aims and forms of life are. If a coherent theory of republicanism is possible, then how does it differentiate itself from its rivals (including populism and liberalism)? Are there different regional or national models of the classical republican tradition? This section could include also issues like Feminism and Republicanism, and a discussion of Republican theory of private property/ownership and the commons.

2) The historical manifestations of Republicanism in ideas, movements, regimes and the arts. 
This includes all the approaches which involve rigorous historicization and historical circumscribing: from Greek and Roman Republicanism to the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages and the Venetian, Florentine and Genoese polities and then on to the Dutch and English revolutions; free cities in medieval and early modern Europe – from the Hansa experience to Ragusa; from the American founding fathers and the generation before them to the French revolution and the French and Italian 19th century versions of Republicanism. The US context could be also crucial to understand how republicanism transformed itself into populism. Art forms of Republicanism fall in this area too; including Republican rituals in specific time and place; and manifestations of Republicanism in literature too. A major target is consider also the manifestation of Republican forms and values in Asia and other parts of the world in specific periods.

3) The study of contemporary political practices which are explicitly or implicitly republican and their future prospects. 
This area could include both institutional and social practices from below. It could include the study of EU as manifestation of a republic in fieri. It could involve the study of eco-republicanism, participatory budgeting, citizens assemblies, participatory planning, welfare and work-places, forms of co-management, urban and other commons, movements for the defense of public water, of internet accessibility, of a public space.

Organizing Committee
Oleg Kharkhordin (European University at St. Petersburg), Natalia Mazur (European University at St. Petersburg), Shaul Bassi (Ca' Foscari University of Venice), Giovanni Zanalda (Duke University), Luca Pes (Venice International University)

The Aim of the Conference Series

Republicanism has recently gained renewed prominence in political theory, history, and philosophy. It has become a vital language for thinking about freedom, power, and civic responsibility in an age marked by populism, the personalization of authority, rising inequality, and the crisis of democracy. At its core, republicanism is concerned with public affairs (res publica), sovereignty, and government by law as protection against arbitrary power and as a safeguard of liberty. The delicate balance between the exercise of power and authority and the preservation of liberty has long preoccupied republican thinkers.

Rooted in Roman political thought and the experience of the polis in classical Greece, yet continuously reinterpreted, republican traditions have taken diverse institutional forms, from civic humanist ideals of virtue to mixed constitutions combining participation, hierarchy, and law. Many republics, from Florence to Venice, embodied oligarchic or aristocratic features while still grounding legitimacy in law and the common good. Over time, republican ideals and practices have travelled, expanded, and taken root across different parts of the world, shaping debates about liberty, legitimacy, and collective self-government from the Mediterranean to Eurasia, South and East Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Despite being a historical idea, partly rooted in dominating practices such as slavery, republicanism remains a vital tool for confronting the challenges of the present, including democratic erosion, the concentration of power, ecological crisis, and the search for civic solidarity. It offers a conceptual vocabulary for rethinking modern institutions through participatory governance, eco-democracy, the defense of the commons and public space, and collective rights and responsibilities.

The conference aims to advance a broader and comparative understanding of republicanism, its categories and approaches (even when they are not explicitly framed within a republican theory) by examining how different societies have conceptualized and practiced them, and by exploring the dynamic relationship between power, authority, legitimacy, and liberty at the heart of republican political thought. Bringing together multiple disciplines and historical experiences, it seeks to illuminate how the idea of the republican ideas, past and present, continues to shape enduring struggles over law, justice, and the common good.

Scholars from all disciplines, from the Venice International University consortium and beyond, are invited to join in. The aim is to consolidate a network of people interested in the project. The objective is to have biennial conferences in the field and convert this event into a permanent workshop. Given our commitment to gender, racial, ethnic, and territorial inclusion, we especially welcome submission from women and non-binary scholars as well as from underrepresented minority groups and academics from the Global South.

A Worldwide and Multidisciplinary Perspective

The main groups of themes we wish to cover:

1) Political theory and philosophy of Republicanism. This is an area of contributions which is most conceptual. It has to do with meta-historical considerations. Its main concern would be to define what the republican tradition is all about, and what are the republican aims and forms of life. If a coherent theory of republicanism is possible, then how does it differentiate itself from its rivals (including populism and liberalism)? Are there different regional or national models of the classical republican tradition? This section could include also issues like Feminism and Republicanism, and a discussion of Republican theory of private property/ownership and the commons.

2) The historical manifestations of Republicanism in ideas, movements, regimes, urban spaces, and the arts. This includes all the approaches which involve rigorous historicization and historical circumscribing: from Greek and Roman Republicanism to the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages and the Venetian, Florentine and Genoese polities and then on to the Dutch and English revolutions; free cities in medieval and early modern Europe – from the Hansa experience to Ragusa; from the American founding fathers and the generation before them to the French revolution and the French and Italian 19th century versions of Republicanism. The US context could be also crucial to understand how republicanism transformed itself into populism. Art forms of Republicanism fall in this area too; including Republican rituals in specific time and place; and manifestations of Republicanism in literature too. A major target is to consider also the manifestation of Republican forms and values in Asia and other parts of the world in specific periods.

3) The study of contemporary political and legal practices which are explicitly or implicitly republican and their future prospects. This area could include both institutional and social practices from below. It could include the study of EU as manifestation of a republic in making. It could involve the study of eco-republicanism, gender issues, participatory budgeting, citizens assemblies, participatory planning, welfare and workplaces, forms of co-management, urban and other commons, movements for the defense of public water, of internet accessibility, of a public space, practices in contemporary arts.

II Edition
May 29 - June 1, 2017

The summer school on Responsible Capitalism is an initiative of VIU in cooperation with the two member universities Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and University of Lausanne.

It aims at the development of ideas that promote a more sustainable future by bringing together young scholars from all over the world to discuss their ideas on the future of Capitalism from the microlevel of individual decision-making to the organizational and the societal level.

It gives participants the opportunity to discuss with eminent scholars in management theory and to test their ideas and present their work.

Participants will be made familiar with recent research from a broad set of disciplines. They will work on their ability to engage in the transdisciplinary discourse which is required for the development of innovative answers to grand sustainability challenges.

Who is it for?
Applications are welcome from current PhD students, post-doc researchers in Management, Strategy, Organization Theory, Finance, Economic Sociology, and related disciplines from universities worldwide.

Program theme
Capitalism is facing a historically unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Accumulating social and environmental side effects, disconnected financial markets, and a growing gap between the rich and the poor create grand challenges which require fundamental changes in how we produce and consume. While the importance and urgency of sustainability is rarely challenged, deep processes of transformation usually face numerous institutional and psychological barriers that have to be overcome. As Jared Diamond described in his book “Collapse”, civilizations often react to a crisis of which they do not understand the causalities by reinforcing the routines that might have created the crisis in the first place. Understanding the institutional and psychological forces that block and/or enable deep transformations is a key aspect of responsible capitalism. The Venice Summer School 2017 will investigate those forces on the individual, organizational and societal level.

Faculty
Guido Palazzo, University of Lausanne (Coordinator)
Francesco Zirpoli, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Giovanni Favero, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Marie-Laure Djelic, Sciences Po
Juliane Reinecke, University of Warwick
Fabrizio Ferraro, IESE Business School

Credits
A Certificate of attendance will be issued at the end of the course.
Number of ECTS credits allocated: 2

Application procedure and costs
The Program will admit 15 student participants. Admissions are now closed.

Fees
€ 180 incl. VAT
The fees will cover tuition, course materials, accommodation in multiple rooms at the VIU campus, meals in the VIU cafeteria and Social events.
Student participants will be responsible for covering their own travel expenses to and from Venice and local transportation.

Deadline for submissions
February 28, 2017; admitted candidates will be notified by March 7, 2017.

For further information: summerschools@univiu.org

VIU Global Challenges Initiative

September 9-13, 2019

 Leading Universities
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy
- Duke University, US
- University of Padua, Italy
- VIU-TeDIS Program

In cooperation with:
- Università IUAV di Venezia, Italy
- Tsinghua University, China
- Waseda University, Japan

May 12-17, 2025

Call for applications: December 2, 2024 – January 31, 2025

The PhD Academy is led by:

- Duke University
- Exeter University
- Stellenbosch University

Rural communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, having long relied on farming, fishing, and the natural environment for their livelihoods. Strategies to enhance climate resilience and to support rural flourishing will need to be multi-pronged, including institutional support and investments in in-situ adaptation, ‘migration as adaptation’, and more sustainable agricultural practices and food systems. Transitioning to sustainable agri-food systems is critical to averting food insecurity and climate-driven social and ecological disasters, yet this transition requires more than technical solutions. It calls for a new vision of rural transformation and rural thriving.
This PhD Academy invites participants to learn from leading thinkers working in the fields of rural development, migration studies, climate adaptation, and sustainable food systems.
The Academy addresses three inter-related themes:
- rural transformation and sustainability transitions;
- migration, adaptation, and rural resilience;
- sustainable agri-food systems.
Participants will have the opportunity to workshop their research with peers and faculty, participate in field visits to small farms outside Venice, and benefit from faculty-led workshops strengthening transversal skills. Workshops will focus on participatory scenarios planning, measuring well-being outcomes, and visual methods (photo voice).

Faculty
Kerilyn Schewel, Duke University
Lee Miller, Duke University
Neil Adger, Exeter University
Ricardo Safra de Campos, Exeter University
Rika Preiser, Stellenbosch University

Topics
Each day will include lectures/workshops led by faculty as well as dedicated time for PhD students to workshop a question, method, or chapter.
The PhD Academy will include topics such as:
- A Research Agenda for Rural Transformation
- Systems Thinking, World Views, and Sustainability Transitions
- Migration, Adaptation, and Climate Change
- Agri-Food Systems
- A field trip

Who can apply?
This international PhD Academy is offered to PhD students, post-docs, and early career researchers working in the interdisciplinary fields of rural development, climate adaptation, sustainable food systems, and/or migration studies. This includes (but is not limited to) researchers from the natural and social sciences (e.g., geography, sociology, economics, anthropology, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences, health, regional planning among others).

Fees & grant support
Full fee waiver scholarships are available for students from VIU member institutions. In addition, grant support is available to support partially or fully the costs of international travel. Accommodation is provided free of charge.
Four fee-waiver scholarships and Erasmus+ mobility grants (international travel, accommodation, meals) are available to support the participation of doctoral students from Stellenbosch University. For further information please write to Stellenbosch University Outgoing Student Mobility: matiesabroad@sun.ac.za
The participation fee for students of non-member institutions is Euro 1,100 (incl. VAT). The fee is inclusive of tuition, course materials, accommodation, lunches, social events, and taxes.
Students from non-member institutions are not eligible for VIU grant support.
VIU Alumni are eligible for a reduced fee.

Applicants must submit the (1) application form, (2) a letter of motivation – which should include a short bio and a brief description of the candidate’s research project, (3) a curriculum vitae, and (4) a photo.

For further information please download the brochure and the program or write to: phdacademy@univiu.org

Co-funded by Erasmus+ Project 2022-1-IT02-KA131-HED-000068420 in the context of the Erasmus+ VIU Mobility Consortium 2021-2027.

On May 17, 2025 the Assembly of Members of Venice International University voted unanimously in favor of admitting Rice University to the consortium.

Rice University,  located in Houston, Texas, has an undergraduate student body of 4,800 students and a similar number of graduate students who pursue degrees across the Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, and Business. In 2024, Rice launched a new strategic plan that prioritizes international research and education. Creating opportunities for Rice faculty and students to co-teach and learn in the international academic community of VIU is destined to become a highly-prized component of Rice's internationalization initiatives.

Artist: Sandro Chia

Artwork: Babbo (2003)

Material: bronze

Weight: 150 kg

Measures: 195 x 55 x 55 cm

Sandro Chia was born in Florence on 20th April 1946. Having studied at the Istituto d'Arte, he enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, gaining his diploma in 1969.

He travelled extensively in India, Turkey and throughout Europe before settling in Rome in 1970. He continued to work in the conceptual field, exhibiting many times in Rome and in Europe during 1970s.

Having obtained a scholarship from the city of Mönchengladbach in Germany, he worked there from September 1980 until August 1981, and then moved to New York (1981-82) and worked between New York and Ronciglione.

In the 90's he bought Castello Romitorio in Montalcino, home of the Brunello, and now lives and works between New York City, Montalcino, and Rome.

 Visit Sandro Chia website

VIU strives to promote excellence and diversity and to provide a powerful learning experience in which students develop their capacity for critical thinking and creative problem solving. VIU awards scholarships to talented, motivated students of the Globalization Program and the Intensive Graduate Activities, to support them in completing their study period in Venice, or to foster their graduate and professional studies and careers.

In essence, studying at VIU is a transformational experience – one that expands minds and empowers students to become thoughtful, culturally-aware leaders in an interconnected world.

In the VIU Globalization Program, students encounter new educational philosophies and learning styles, challenging their assumptions and encouraging intellectual flexibility. They often engage with global issues from alternative perspectives, gaining a more nuanced understanding of complex challenges such as sustainability, equity, governance, and innovation. Classroom learning becomes deeply connected to real-world contexts while the unique setting of Venice offers the opportunity for meetings, encounters, investigations and explorations of the city as a special laboratory, as a location that foregrounds the extraordinary culture of the past, the problems of the present, and the possibility of the future.

As a new environment for all students, VIU becomes a setting where students learn to study together in unfamiliar situations, to communicate across cultural and language barriers, and embrace ambiguity with curiosity, stimulating profound personal growth-strengthening empathy, confidence, and self-awareness. This peer-to-peer engagement fosters cultural humility and cross-cultural competence, helping students navigate and appreciate diversity in its many forms.

The friendships and professional networks students build while studying at VIU enrich their global outlook and often shape their future careers and aspirations. Many return home with a renewed sense of purpose, a commitment to global citizenship, and a desire to make a meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.

Students in the PhD Academies, Graduate Seminars and Summer Schools expand their knowledge, skills, and critical understanding of the major societal challenges faced by humankind today – whether environmental, social, cultural, or technological, and their impacts at local and global levels. Whether they will work within or outside academia, graduate students and young researchers must be able to develop and nurture a forward-looking vision of the challenges they face. By collaborating with peers from around the world, students explore transversal topics through innovative approaches, enriching their own research and perspectives through a dynamic exchange of disciplinary and cultural viewpoints.

Scholarship Fund

VIU welcomes donations from the extended VIU Community to the VIU Scholarship Fund: scholarships ensure equity of access so that deserving students know that they can apply for the programs without the concern of the financial burden of sustaining the living costs in their host city.  

Explore the VIU People Profiles to learn about the VIU experience through text and video interviews with students, researchers and professors. 

Donate to the VIU Scholarship Fund 
Donations can be made via bank transfer payable to: 

Beneficiary: Venice International University 

Globalization Program | RED (Residency-Excellence-Diversity) Scholarship

To promote excellence and diversity in the Globalization Program, scholarships are awarded to talented students to contribute to their cost of living in Venice for a semester. Under the guidance of Prof. Luca Pes, selected students actively participate in and collaborate on activities supporting diversity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging in the VIU community.

Globalization Program | Scholarships to support Internships in Italy

Two calls for applications are published yearly for the Internships in Italy Program. The call is addressed to students from any of the member universities, including exchange students at Ca’ Foscari, Iuav, Padova, Tor Vergata, and Milano-Bicocca, who are attending the Globalization Program semester at VIU (completing at least three courses) and who wish to do an internship in a host organization in Italy following their semester/academic year at VIU.
Selected students are awarded a scholarship that will partially cover lodging and living costs.

(Organizations interested in hosting VIU students for internships can write to globalization@univiu.org)

Intensive Graduate Activities |  Fee-waiver Scholarships and Travel Grants 

Full fee-waiver scholarships, travel grants and free accommodation are awarded to selected students in the PhD Academies and Graduate Seminars.  In the PhD Academy participants are advanced doctoral students or junior researchers. They receive training in a range of skills that will support them in developing their research and academic careers. In the Graduate Seminar, participants are early-career doctoral students. They receive support in defining and refining the research question of their research project.

Erasmus+ Grants Incoming 

Students from KU Leuven, Ludwig Maximilians Universität and Université de Bordeaux may be eligible for Erasmus+ grants during their studies at VIU. Interested candidates should consult the International Office at their own university, and should consider that they may need to apply 7-12 months in advance. 

Students from Stellenbosch University may be eligible for KA171 Erasmus+ grants to support their participation in academic programs at VIU. Refer to the program coordinator for information. 

Erasmus+ Grants Outgoing

Students of the Italian member universities should check the Calls for Application at www.univiu.org/erasmus for Erasmus+ grant support and mobility opportunities to study at VIU member universities for short or long mobility. Interested candidates should consider that they may need to apply 6 - 9 months before the planned mobility abroad. (In 2025, destination available: Stellenbosch University.)

VIU People Profiles also feature interviews with previous scholarship recipients.

Contacts
Globalization Program
globalization@univiu.org

Intensive Graduate Activities
phdacademy@univiu.org

Erasmus Office 
erasmus@univiu.org 

International PhD Academy

January 8-15, 2016

Science & Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field, bringing together sociology, history, philosophy, sociology and related social science and humanities approaches. STS looks at science and technology (S&T) as a means of asking about the creation of facts, technological objects, and scientific knowledge, examining the ways in which S&T are embedded in social life.

Course for PhD students of the University of Padua

Second edition, February-March 2025. Padova, Room RL, Vallisneri Complex

The course is open to PhD students from all departments (2nd year on) of the University of Padua, to develop the necessary awareness, knowledge and skills to effectively communicate research to different audiences and through different media.

Composed of two modules and based on weekly 3-hour classes in person in Padua, the course offers an overview of the key principles of communication of research, including aims, publics and impact, and a series of Lab meetings, exploring skills as storytelling, visual communication, social media and journalism. 

The course is developed in cooperation with the University of Padua in the framework of its Third Mission and allows PhDs to get 2 CFU with 70% attendance. 

Program available here.

For further information
Alessandra Fornetti: alessandra.fornetti@univiu.org

https://www.unipd.it/dottorato/insegnamenti-trasversali 

Organized in cooperation with 

VIU Global Challenges Initiative

September 12-16, 2022

This Graduate Seminar will be led by:
- Venice International University, Italy
- Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- University of Padua, Italy
- KU Leuven, Belgium
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy

Communicate your Research to Non-Researchers.

Venice, December 2-3, 2024

A two-day intensive training is offered to researchers (all levels) to acquire principles and skills necessary to effectively communicate their research to non-peers. The training is organized in cooperation with FEEM - Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei, therefore special attention is reserved to the communication of topics linked to environmental issues.

Today, the communication of research to the public of non-experts represents a fundamental step for research to have an impact on society. While it is true that not all researchers must or can be engaged in public communication - depending both on each one’s attitudes and on the presence of appointed professionals within their institution – to acquire knowledge and tools can create the capacities and confidence necessary to communicate research, directly or indirectly.

This Intensive Training aims to develop awareness, skills and knowledge necessary to effectively communicate research through different media and to different audiences.

The course is conceived in-person, to provide core knowledge and key skills on the communication of science and research through short theoretical sessions and hands-on activities.

Program available here.

Fees
Participants of VIU member institutions: € 180 included VAT.
Participants of other institutions: € 280 included VAT.

The fees will cover tuition, course materials and lunches in the VIU cafeteria.

For further information
Alessandra Fornetti: alessandra.fornetti@univiu.org
Elisa Carlotto: elisa.carlotto@univiu.org

Organized in cooperation with 

July 15-20, 2024 | 3rd Edition

Call for applications: closed

Science Diplomacy is a tool that recognizes science as a process for pursuing evidence and diplomacy as a process for dialogue and cooperation between different stakeholders. In our increasingly interconnected world, there is a growing need for science diplomacy as we are confronted by issues concerning agriculture or trade, automation or cryptocurrencies, peace & security, global health pandemics, and climate change, among many other complex challenges. Our decision-making power is strengthened or weakened by the relevance, timeliness, reliability, and communication of information in a fast-paced changing environment. While academia includes specialties in translational science, public policy, health policy and other policy-related fields, these programs do not address the needs of the vast matrix of other scientific disciplines to provide students with training and tools to effectively partner and communicate with non-scientists, whether they are policy-makers, community leaders or the general public. This is Science Diplomacy at its core—partnerships to eliminate cultural, sectoral, and knowledge barriers.

3rd Edition | July 15-20, 2024  | Science Diplomacy in the age of Climate Change

Faculty
William Pan, Duke University, USA
Giulia Costa, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy
Kurt Straif, Boston College, USA / ISGlobal, Spain
Sonia Silvestri, University of Bologna, Italy
Christian Lara, Duke University Rethinking Diplomacy Fellow – United Nations
Peter McGrath, Coordinator of the Science Diplomacy Unit, The World Academy of Sciences and Secretariat, InterAcademy Partnership
Camilo De Los Rios Rueda, Duke University & IAI Science Technology & Environment Fellow

2nd Edition | July 17-22, 2023 | Science Diplomacy in the age of Climate Change

Faculty
William Pan, Duke University, USA
Giulia Costa, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy
Kurt Straif, Boston College, USA
Sonia Silvestri, University of Bologna, Italy
Christian Lara, Duke University Rethinking Diplomacy Fellow – United Nations
Peter McGrath, Coordinator of the Science Diplomacy Unit, The World Academy of Sciences and Secretariat, InterAcademy Partnership
Camilo De Los Rios Rueda, Duke University & IAI Science Technology & Environment Fellow

1st Edition | July 18-23, 2022 | Improving Capacity of Science to Inform Policy

Faculty
William Pan, Duke University, USA (Scientific Coordinator)
Giulia Costa, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy
Philip Landigran, Boston College, USA
Kurt Straif, Boston College, USA
Sonia Silvestri, University of Bologna, Italy
Christian Lara, Duke University Rethinking Diplomacy Fellow – United Nations
Marga Gual Soler, GESDA-Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator/SciDipGLOBAL

For further information: summerschools@univiu.org

German and Peruvian
Bachelor degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
RED Scholar at VIU
Erasmus+ grant recipient

There are a few reasons why I chose to study at VIU. It was at my very first lecture in the Social and Cultural Anthropology program at LMU Munich, that our professor Frank Heidemann, who himself had just returned from teaching at VIU told us about VIU and presented it to us as a great study abroad programme. I chose to study in the Globalization Program too. because it meant a great enrichment to my studies in Munich to me. Looking at the course syllabi, I noticed that studying at the VIU would allow me to study themes I was most interested in, environmental studies, interculturality and gender studies, from different perspectives and in an interdisciplinary way. Also, I chose VIU because of the diverse and active learning community it promised to be and which alumni of VIU who I had asked about their experience were emphasizing a lot.

For the Globalization Program, I was selected for the RED scholarship, alongside my two study colleagues Anna Peterson and Oxana Mroczek. As RED scholarship holders, under regular circumstances, our role would have been to actively participate in creating a lively student community and building spaces for informal exchange between professors and students at the VIU through the Tea2Bs and the plenary workshop together with the program director Prof. Luca Pes. The possibilities for exchange in this semester were, of course, limited greatly due to the circumstances of the Covid 19 pandemic. However, it was our belief, that this would not have to mean, that there could be no exchange at all and decided to create the VIU community platform. For me, it was a great learning experience to design the blog and this digital community space and seeing it evolve. We hope that the platform could act as a basis from which to reignite the lively exchange of thoughts and ideas, as well as create a platform that could be useful for future semesters even when there is no distance learning anymore. We also involved alumni in the building of the website and hope that one of its positive side effects could be the facilitation of alumni exchange, since now there is a space for those, who would like to keep in touch with the VIU community after participating in a VIU program.

VIU has surely been a enriching experience to me. In a time and world where multi-perspectivity, critical self-reflection, intercultural sensitivity and global solidarity are needed, VIU offers a great learning opportunity. Also, I experienced the teaching and the classes as positively challenging and of high quality. Besides these really important learning opportunities, there is also a lot I could take with me from VIU personally, which may be a bit harder to pin down. I had the chance to get inspired by peeking into different fields of study and was able to at least start a few friendships. A lot of the beauty of a study abroad experience of course was impossible during the pandemic, but at the same time, being at VIU during this time allowed me a richer perspective during the pandemic.

I would wholeheartedly recommend studying at VIU. Among the study abroad programmes offered at LMU it is unique. Unique, in the way that at VIU, all students and all professors are visitors and at home at the same time. This creates a space for really great and challenging exchange, which makes you reflect about your positionality, and which makes you experience the relevance of contextualizing and decentering ideas, perspectives and opinions which otherwise may remain unquestioned.

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Sebastian is a VIU RED scholar during Spring 2020. The RED scholarship program promotes excellence, academic, and cultural diversity in the Globalization Program.
If you are a student and wish to apply for the RED scholarship, consult the information here. The deadlines are June 5 and November 30.

The semester at VIU was recognized as Erasmus+ mobility for studies, and Sebastian received an Erasmus+ grant from LMU. For more information about Erasmus+ opportunities at VIU visit Erasmus section. 

Tuesday, February 28 at 3 pm @ Ca' Foscari University
Aula Morelli, Malcanton Marcorà, Calle Contarini, Dorsoduro 3484/D

What is the relationship between the citizens and environmental issues? What is the role that communication can have to promote a positive relationship? How can environmental communication promote sustainable actions? These issues will be discussed during tomorrow's event, which will take place at the Ca' Foscari Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage.

The Sino-Italian Advanced Training Program on Environmental Management and Sustainable Development is a capacity-building program for Chinese policy makers and professionals involved in local and transnational Sustainable development actions.

The Program, implemented in Italy and China between 2003 and 2016, offered training courses on key topics of Environmental Management with the aim of fostering the promotion of Sustainable Development among decision makers, civil servants and researchers of the People's Republic of China.

Chinese Partners:
CASS - Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (since 2003)
MOST - Ministry of Science and Technology (since 2004)
MEP - Ministry of Environmental Protection (since 2005)
BMEPB - Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (since 2005)
SEPB - Shanghai Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (since 2005)
TSTC - Tianjin Science and Technology Committee (since 2007)
NDRC - National Development and Reform Commission (since 2009)
MIIT - Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (since 2013)

The Program was developed within the Sino-Italian Cooperation Program for Environmental Protection (SICP) of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, in cooperation with Agroinnova-University of Turin.

The SMACH Forum is a follow up of the SMACH project, Sustainable MAnagement of Cultural Heritage in the Balkans in Response to Climate Change.

SMACH Forum further supports know-how exchange on sustainable management of cultural heritage, through the creation of a Europe-South Eastern European (EU-SEE) platform for institutions, researchers and decision makers working on this topic.