The aim of the project is to create a speed track for foreign Universities who might consider opening a satellite campus in Italy. The free services include bureaucracy, financial and educational studies aiming to define how much will take in term of costs and time to open a center in Italy.
These services, free of charge, are offered to foreign Universities from all over the world by the partners of the project, Municipality of Prato and PIN – Prato branch of the University of Florence, with the support of professionals and partner Universities already settled in Prato, Monash and UNH (also involved in creating OTHER FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES).
The attraction of foreign Universities in Prato is one of the objectives of the Prato Town Council: the strong international demand for cultural, professional and industrial training – beyond the Fashion Industry for which the city is so famous, is a driver for the City’s development.
The University of Florence is an important and influential centre for research and higher training in Italy, with 1,800 lecturers and internal research staff, 1,600 technical and administrative staff, and over 1,600 research assistants and doctoral students.
PIN s.c.r.l. Educational and Scientific Services for the University of Florence is a non-profit organization with majority public share.
Prato is also a multi-cultural city. Without losing its original identity on which its entrepreneurial vocation is embedded, Prato, nowadays, can be seen as a global village, where different cultural approaches and lifestyles coexist.
Prato offers prestigious locations inside the old town surrounded by medieval walls, or in gentle hills of the neighboring countryside, or in former industrial plants reconverted to open space multi-purpose buildings. More advantages of choosing Prato are a direct relationships with many local institutions, and certainly lower Investment costs to settle down in the heart of Tuscany compared to the traditional tourist destinations of Florence, Pisa, Siena or Lucca.
The tradition in finest culinary products is another plus of our territory, with world-class wines, olive oil, pastry, bread and many other genuine products of the Tuscan Land.
The students get the opportunity to engage with European and Italian culture, while still beneting from the same high quality of teaching they would receive on their home campus. Moreover international academic experience increases job employability.
Standing incredibly close to Florence (20 minutes by metro) and with its position in the heart of Italy and Europe, Prato has easy and fast connections to every major Italian city, as Milan or Rome, both an hour and a half distance, as well as Florence Airport (half-an-hour by car) and Pisa International Airport (two hours). Both airports have daily connections with main European cities (Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Bruxelles, just to name few, run by low cost airlines).
The city has a very high quality of life, thanks to a focus on environmental sustainability and a cohesive local community, which on one side contribute to preserve some of the traditional way of Italian lifestyle, while on the other is friendly and open to new cultural traditions, as for example the Chinese one (Chinese community being very well represented in the town). Prato may well be seen as a global village, where dierent cultural approaches and lifestyles coexist: Total number of inhabitants: 191.000 Total number of foreign inhabitants: 34.000
Cultural diversity is not the only factor that makes Prato a unique scenario for a satellite campus.
The town hosts one of the major Contemporary Art Museum in Italy, the Center for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci, and two major theatres: Teatro Metastasio, which hold most classical pieces, and Fabbricone Theater, which is house to more experimental performances.
We have selected a wide range of possible campus locations that would be possible to rent or buy.
We have collected all the information to enable you to make a feasibility plan including location costs, staff costs (both managerial and teaching staff); travel and accommodation costs; administrative and general costs and an analysis of students expenses.
We can organize visits to Prato in order to get to know the city, to meet with the government officials and all other interested parties. In some cases, it will be possible to offer hospitality.
During all phases of the settlement of the university branch in Prato, we will give full support, to help with the choice of staff, to speed up bureaucracy and to create a local network.
+39 0574 602501
pratocampus@pin.unifi.it