The internationalization of the Italian higher education system is a priority public and cultural diplomacy objective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It is in fact a lever for Italy’s cultural and economic development and an effective foreign policy instrument.
Attracting international students to our higher education institutions is a goal on which the Foreign Ministry is working, together with MUR, CRUI and other key players in the academic sector. With a view to facilitating student mobility, the Foreign Ministry annually grants scholarships for foreign students and, through its diplomatic-consular network, it issues study visas, legalizations and declarations of value of degrees.
Through its diplomatic-consular network and Office IV of the Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy (Ufficio IV della Direzione Generale per la Diplomazia), the Foreign Ministry supports Italian higher education institutions in their internationalization activities, facilitating collaborations and agreements with foreign universities. An updated list of the university agreements in force is available on the portal accordi-internazionali.cineca.it.
Uni-Italia
MAECI is a founding member of Uni-Italia, which has been working since 2010 to promote the Italian academic system abroad and to encourage inter-university cooperation. Also thanks to its centers abroad, Uni-Italia assists students interested in pursuing their studies in Italy, providing information on the Italian educational offer and support in pre-enrolment procedures. It also assists foreign universities in establishing collaborations with Italian universities.
Since the start of its activities, Uni-Italia has recorded significant results, thus contributing to the growth in the number of foreign students enrolled in our universities and academies and supporting Italian participation in the most important international fairs in the sector, such as NAFSA in the USA. The Association has also established important partnerships with foreign agencies for the promotion of higher education, such as DAAD (Germany), IIE (USA), Campus France, and Nuffic (Netherlands).
Following the statutory amendment approved in 2024, Uni-Italia is composed, in addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Universities and Research, the Ministry of the Interior, the Conference of Italian University Rectors, and the Italian Trade Agency, also of the Ministry of Education and Merit. The strengthening of Uni-Italia’s governance and international standing confirms the intention to invest more, and in a more systematic way, in promoting our higher education system abroad.