Italy’s Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi opened the 4th Conference with International Higher Education Agencies, held at the Farnesina. The Conference, organised by the association Uni-Italia with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, explored “The economic impact of international students”.
During her speech, Undersecretary Tripodi mentioned the significant economic impact of attracting international students and researchers and reiterated the Government’s goal of transforming Italian universities into “centres for the training of future international Italophile and Italian-speaking ruling classes”. “We are working together to support our universities’ internationalisation processes and provide more and more international mobility opportunities for students and researchers”, said Tripodi, stressing how this initiative is a testament to “the determination of the Italian Government and the Italian Economic System as a whole to pursue these fundamental objectives”.
During the conference, which was attended by representatives of the international higher education agencies of numerous partner countries, as well as Italian universities and academies, the first study on the economic impact of international students in Italy was also presented by the President of Uni-Italia, Prof. Francesco Profumo. The study investigates the spending habits and induced income for Italy of the international student segment.
