The Globalization Program

 

 

The courses and programs offered at VIU are run by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS).

 

The Faculty of the School comes from the Member Universities. All courses are taught in English and are open to all students of the Member Universities.

 

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences organizes two academic semesters (Spring and Fall) that are held regularly every year. During the two semesters, the School offers and promotes an interdisciplinary and multicultural program focussing on Globalization and its social, environmental and cultural declinations and consequences: the Globalization Program.

 

Moreover, the School offers courses on Venice, namely courses on Venetian Art and Architecture, History of Ancient and Modern Venice, Italian Contemporary History and Italian language and culture for those students who come from the non Italian Universities, as well as stimulating extra-curricular and cocurricular activities.

The Program offers:

 

Courses on Sustainable Development (Spring Semester) and Cultural Heritage (Fall Semester)

International mobility –  based on a merit criteria: at national and international research centers, universities, institutions and firms, in order to develop a final research dissertation (compulsory for Ca' Foscari and Iuav students).

Students from the other Member Universities are offered the possibility to spend a period of time in research centers, institutions and firms in Italy.

 

Dissertation workshops – (compulsory for Ca' Foscari and Iuav students only) to develop the final dissertations based on the internships and research activities carried out during the program.

 

Scholarships are awarded to students selected for International mobility. Scholarships cover the cost of students' mobility during their research and study period abroad or in Italy.

 

 

    


Imagine a 23 year-old guy looking at a poster saying "Want to join an exchange semester in Venice?" Well, I remember my enthusiasm while looking at that poster, at that moment I knew I was going to go for it.

So that's how everything started 10 years ago, the experience of a lifetime. I remember studying for 5 courses: History of the European Union, History of Economics, 2 Sociology courses and Italian course for beginners. But to say the truth, there was much more than just studying. The variety of students coming from so many different majors, I studied Economics at that time, some studied Architecture, some studied Laws, some Political Science. Students also came from different spots in the world: Israel, Spain, Germany, UK, Italy and USA. So... one semester with dozens of students coming with their different cultures, all at the age of 20-27 was a recipe for a great period of time, and it was actually awesome...

As a sports fan, it was a great opportunity to watch Italian calcio, meaning Italian soccer. At that time, A.C. Venezia was playing in Serie A versus all great Italian teams. It was very rare for the Venetian team to play in the top league, as few years afterwards, A.C. Venezia went on bankrupts so we were lucky to watch probably its best time ever...

Further to soccer, all the Israeli group went together to watch Macabbi Tel Aviv vs. Benetton Treviso (basketball) and I think there was a guy who even went to see Formula 1.

So we had great time together and now that we have Facebook it's even easier to keep in contact despite the geographic challenge. We all remember that time as an amazing experience!

Last but not least, I really hope that we'll manage to arrange a union meeting sometime during 2011, 10 years since the unique experience of once upon a time we shared a semester in Venice... : - )


- Roy Mondschein,Tel Aviv University

I was a student of B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) in Tel Aviv University and came to VIU for one Semester (the Fall 2006 Semester) - it was wonderful to live there...

CIAO, Karin
(now I'm doing an Internship in Conservation of Historic Buildings)





PS. It's me in this picture! I was in Saint Mark's Square.


- Karin Halevi Elkuwaity (TAU)

    

When I went to Venice to study at VIU it was not my first time in the city. I had been there on holidays for several times. So I already knew the city in the lagoon quite well. Or, to be more precise, I thought I knew it. But during the five months I spent there, I realized that Venice is a place where you can stay for years and still discover new aspects on a daily basis without getting bored or experiencing the same thing twice. I’m not lying when I say that I enjoyed every day I stayed there. This impression comes definitely not only from the unquestionable beauty and fascination of the city itself, but also from the atmosphere of the Venice International University.

 

Venice is a unique city and VIU is a unique place for studying. Not only because of the very special location of the university (it is situated in an old but modern and comfortable arranged monastery on an island in the lagoon, surrounded by very nice gardens), but also because of the programme, the staff and the international atmosphere.

 

Every Friday we enjoyed a special sightseeing and cultural programme organized by the university that gave us insights in places of interest we would never have the chance to see as tourists or normal students. For a student there is no possibility to get closer to Venice as to take part in these several field trips, visits and lectures. These activities are planned very professionally and excellently organized by the two congenial and friendly secretaries Cristina and Francesca. Furthermore they really helped us with all kinds of problems. At this point, I'd like to thank them once more.

 

I'd also strongly recommend the courses offered by VIU: they are really useful for students who want to learn about several interesting themes and improve their English at the same time. But I'd also like to recommend Italian classes, because I think it’s a question of respect towards the host country to learn its language. And I personally think that the courses have been very useful and I was really looking forward to every single lesson, also because I really wished to learn Italian and that had been one of the reasons why I chose to study in Venice. So for people (like me) whose Italian is not fluent, VIU is an ideal solution! But also for those who are comfortable with the language, of course...

 

Another important aspect is the very international atmosphere.  The fellow students come from all over the world (for example Israel, USA, Japan, China and whole Europe), so you have the chance to get in touch with other cultures. That has been a really precious experience for me.

 

But the best of all was the very familiar atmosphere at VIU.  Everybody knows each other and you will make new friends, for sure! Former VIU students (and the staff) create a real community that will outlast the duration of your Venice experience. You will feel part of a great family.

 

To conclude, I can only strongly recommend taking part in the VIU programme; the only thing I regret is that I only stayed for one semester, because it was a wonderful time and a great experience I will always remember.

 

- Tassilo Hornschild, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat