Italy

Italy: Beyond the Classroom

Independent Study

In Italy, EAP students have conducted research in Italian prisons, helped to excavate an Etruscan archaeological site, worked at the Museo Ebraico (a new Jewish Museum in Bologna), hosted their own radio programs, researched Ladino traditions and culture near Moena, and worked at the Medical School in Padova.

Bologna

Students who sign up for independent studies can often include internships within that independent study program. All of the internships are non-paid. Past students have interned at the Bologna prison, the Jewish Museum, the Cineteca di Bologna, and Il Centro di Documentazione delle donne. In order to make arrangements for an internship with UC credit (or not), the student will be responsible for contacting the organization directly. Internships cannot be set up in advance; they can only be organized once the student arrives in Bologna.

Padova

Students can enroll in independent studies or internships, according to individual interests and preparation. All of the internships are non-paid and can be awarded UC credit. Volunteer activity is also encouraged. Past students have interned at the University of Padova radio station, Human Rights Center, museums and schools. Internships cannot be set up in advance; they can only be organized once the student arrives in Padova. Weblinks to some of the host organizations can be found on the Padova Study Center page.

University of Commerce Luigi Bocconi, Milan

Bocconi may arrange internship programs with corporations, financial institutions, or public enterprises for a period of one to three months immediately following completion of the term. Internships cannot be guaranteed. Interested students should contact the International Relations Service in Bocconi in advance.

Siena: Internships

The UC Siena Study Center has established internships for students who engage in “service learning” projects in the Siena community, so that students learn while they contribute to the community in which they are studying. Students can volunteer in various social welfare projects, teach English, or become docents in one of the city’s art museums. Students are formally trained and write a research paper on what they have learned from these experiences.

Siena is not an easy city when it comes to the interaction of its guests with the community. From a historical analysis of Sienese people, the city can be divided into three completely separate layers. The top layer is represented by tourists, who are numerous in Siena but do not interact with the local community. Their relationship is based on business and tourist exchanges (money for services). In fact, tourism represents Siena’s first economic resource. The second layer is university students (more than 20,000 per year). They live in town but their interaction with the community is extremely limited (most of them leave Siena after graduation). Even Italian students coming from the South can experience isolation which prevents them from being an “essential” part of the community. The last layer is the local people, Sienese families, who have a common cultural denominator, the “Contrada” and the Palio.

These three social layers have little interaction within each other. It is evident that in order to establish a contact with the “true” community of Siena which has the merit of having preserved Siena’s traditions, arts, and architecture for centuries, students need to shift their role within the city.

By giving back to the city of Siena through volunteering, we have created new forms of collaboration with the community that recognize the University of California and its students as a positive and beneficial institution. These volunteer activities establish a rapport between EAP students and the Sienese people, helping them to break the idea of stereotypes of American students (who are often perceived as being loud, arrogant, heavy drinkers, and with little respect for the local culture—thus the local people can consider them as “annoying tourists with money”).

Each student, who enrolls in these projects and internships, can receive up to two units from UC upon completion of a certain number of hours of volunteer work and a written project. Internship credit is pass/no pass only. Students complete a short paper and at least 20 hours of volunteer service for 2.0 UC quarter units of credit. These opportunities will be presented by the Study Center staff after arrival. At that time, students will be given a deadline to express their interest in an internship or special study opportunity. Students may not begin their internships until a couple weeks into the program. There are a limited number of spaces in each internship opportunity, so it is possible that not every interested student will be able to participate.

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