November 27-28, 2025. San Servolo Island
Human history has always alternated between slow, steady progress and sudden leaps that have redefined entire civilizations. Wars, epidemics, discoveries, and innovations have sparked rapid transformations in culture, knowledge, and society.
Today, transitions are no longer rare: they occur with increasing speed and complexity, shaping multiple stages of our lives and creating a new condition of constant change. Their unpredictability challenges our capacity to guide them toward positive outcomes, making it more urgent than ever to study, understand, and actively shape the transitions of our time.
VIU’s international conference, Guiding Transitions, opens a forum for reflection and case-based analysis, exploring how Higher Education Institutions can equip students with the skills and competencies to navigate these changes.
The Conference is open to scholars working on these topics, higher education experts and practitioners, both from member institutions of Venice International University, and beyond, encouraging a collaborative exploration of today’s most pressing transitions.
Conference Program
Thursday, November 27
13.30 Registration and Welcome Coffee
14.00 Welcome Remarks, Ambassador Vattani, VIU President
14.15 Conference Opening and Institutional Greetings
Prof. Avv. Anna Maria Bernini, Italian Minister of University and Research (tbc)
14.45 Introduction to the Conference, Carmelo Marabello, VIU Dean
Session 1
Transition in Higher Education and Artificial Intelligence
Chair: Li Li, University of Exeter
15.00 Keynote: AI and Society
15.15 Keynote: AI Frontiers - Ece Kamar, Sabanci Univ
15.30 Open Discussion
16.15 Coffee Break
Session 2
Structural Inequalities Within and Across Societies
Chair: Marina Calloni, University of Milano Bicocca
16.45 Keynote: Children’s Rights - Manfred Nowak, Global Campus of Human Rights
17.00 Keynote: Social Justice - C. Shawn McGuffey, Boston College
17.15 Open Discussion
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19.30 30th Anniversary Alumni & Friends of VIU Dinner
with music performed by UNIPD Big Band, the Jazz Orchestra of the University of Padova
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Friday, November 28
Session 3
Ecology and the Environment
Chair: Shuming Liu, Thinghua University
9.15 Keynote: Environmental Transition in the European Union
9.30 Keynote: Sustainability Transition - Rika Preiser, Stellenbosch University
9.45 Open Discussion followed by Coffee Break
10.30 Remarks by Hon. Nello Musumeci, Italian Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies (tbc)
Session 4
Cities in Transition
Chair: Laurent Servant, University of Bordeaux
11.00 Keynote: Urban Transition and Resilience – Nicola Tollin, UNESCO Chair on Urban Resilience, University of Southern Denmark
11.15 Keynote: Francesco Musco, Università Iuav di Venezia
11.30 Open Discussion
12.15 Closing Remarks
13:00 Lunch
Conversation on Energy, Environment and the Sea
14.30 Prof. Dott. Pichetto Fratin, Italian Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Moderated by Amb. Umberto Vattani, VIU President
