Venice International University

The University of Padua is a member of the Venice International University (Viu) consortium: a group of universities from all over the world sharing a common campus in Venice.
These Universities devise study programs collegially to prepare their students to face the global challenges of today.

Students who choose to spend a term studying at VIU are taught to move across disciplines and through cultures with a flexibility of approach, an open mind and creative thinking.

  Globalization Program A.Y. 2023 - 2024

The Globalization Program brings together talented, motivated students from the 17 member Universities, which are part of the VIU consortium, in a truly multicultural, international and interdisciplinary environment.

The program is open to undergraduate and master’s students from the member universities. The courses are English-taught by professors from the member universities and are recognized for credit. Attendance is compulsory in all courses.

The program provides a powerful learning experience in which students develop their capacity for critical thinking and creative problem solving. Students of the Globalization Program are thus better prepared for graduate and professional study and for careers in new and emerging fields.

Students registered in any degree programs at one of VIU's member universities are eligible to apply for the Globalization Program. Exchange students at Università degli Studi di Padova are also eligible to apply.

A set of core courses is available every semester, focusing on three themes:

  • Italy - courses that showcase Venetian and Italian life, culture, art and history.
  •  Cultures of the World - courses that examine the cultures of the world; courses that make the most of the intercultural classroom.
  • Global challenges- courses that address current, global issues, preferably from an interdisciplinary perspective.

The interdisciplinary courses are structured as seminars and require interaction in research, so as to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among students from different academic and cultural backgrounds.

The Globalization Program includes two semesters (fall and spring) of study.

Scholarships are available to support internships in Italy and worldwide mobility for research, and this year also to support Residency of Globalization Program students.

The Internships in Italy scholarship supports students who wish to do an internship in a host organization in Italy following the semester. The Worldwide Mobility for Thesis Research scholarship is for thesis writing students who wish to develop their thesis research abroad. If you have already taken Globalization Program courses at VIU or if you enroll in the spring 2024 semester courses, you may be eligible for Worldwide Mobility for Research Internships.

Read the Worldwide Mobility call here:  WWM call  

The next deadline for the Worldwide Mobility call is February 212024.

Please check VIU website
Info: student-services@univiu.org;globalization@univiu.org

  Intensive Graduate Activities 2024

In the Intensive Graduate Activities, participants develop a forward-looking vision, experiment with interdisciplinary approaches, collaborate with peers from all over the world, tackle transversal topics, undertake scientific challenges in innovative ways while building and strengthening networks of scholars on areas of shared interest within the consortium. Professors from a minimum of three member universities participate in the scientific coordination of each program.

International PhD Academy
Interdisciplinary intensive programs on major societal challenges, with a parallel training program in transversal skills to prepare advanced PhDs for research careers in academia or in the private sector.

Graduate Seminars
Thematic intensive seminars, on a focused topic approached from a multidisciplinary perspective. The aim is to support early-career PhDs who are beginning their research and to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation. 

Summer Schools
Intensive taught programs for various target groups, from Bachelor to PhD level, and also professionals. The Summer Schools are open also to students from non-member universities.

  Summer Sessions 2024 - August 5-30, 2024, 2023
expiration April May 15, 2024

The 2024 edition of the Summer Session will be held August 5-30, 2024 and will offer 6 courses.

  • Stones of Venetia: from the Romans to the Microscope - Simone Dilaria, Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Gender, Media and Politics: Rewriting the Story - Claudia Padovani, Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Interactive Data Visualization - Ate Poorthuis, KU Leuven
  • "Form follows function!" – Social Psychological Concepts and How They Uncover the Logic of Group Dynamics, Conflicts and Ways towards a Solution - Mechthild Schäfer, Ludwig Maximilians Universität
  • Consumer, Culture and Society: Digital Transformation and Sustainability - Francesca Setiffi, Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Africa: Postcoloniality and the Modern World - Schalk van der Merwe, Stellenbosch University

Courses will be delivered through interactive forms of tuition (seminars, discussions, presentations, etc.), to foster group work and to mix nationalities and students from different disciplines.

The number of students per class may vary from 10-20.

Each course consists of 40 hours of tuition (equivalent to 6 ECTS) including a virtual component that will be held before the beginning of the program (July 1-August 4, 2024).

The Summer Session is open to bachelor and master's students in any discipline fully enrolled at the University of Padua. 
There are no tuition fees but selected students will be asked to pay a € 50 administration fee.   

Applications: from April 15 to May 15, 2024 via VIU website 

For more information