International Relations Office


The aim of the International Relations Office is to develop and coordinate the international activities of the students and staff of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Verona.

Some of the key activities of the Office include:

  • development and implementation of the strategic plan on internationalization;
  • participation in international meetings aimed at comparison, research and networking;
  • information, promotion and management and development of international mobility opportunities for students and staff, eg. the Erasmus+ program;
  • evaluation and preparation of agreements with international partner universities and organizations;
  • development of education, production and exchange programs with international partners in the framework of European and international programs, for example the degree course in Interior Architecture at Arab American University in Palestine – Ramallah campus and the Z Elements project within the Creative Europe program.

The internationalization strategy of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Verona follows three main guidelines to consolidate over the next five years:
      1. the expansion at European and non-European level of the educational offer accessible to enrolled and newly graduated students and the positioning and recognition of the institution at international level;
      2. the development of programs aimed at production in the artistic and creative field and the enhancement of cultural heritage involving international realities;
      3. the creation and consolidation of international networks of organizations and institutions with which to collaborate in the first two sectors.
Compared to point 1. the Academy from 2013 participates in the Socrates program, then Erasmus+ action KA103, finding a constant increase in mobility and interest from students and staff. Compared to point 3 in 2018 the Academy has participated in the international cooperation activity (TCA) “Paths towards Citizenship through European Cultural Heritage” promoted by the Erasmus+ program, aimed at the development of new partnerships through the acquisition of awareness on the values of cultural heritage shared in particular for the Mediterranean area. In this context the representatives of the Academy got in touch with the delegates of the Arab American University of Palestine (AAUP). The Director and some professors of the ABAVR School of Design, in collaboration with the staff of the Palestinian University, conceived and designed a 1st level degree course in Interior Architecture, successfully started by AAUP in the academic year 2019/20. Under point 2, since 2019 the Academy also participates in the European project Z Elements, promoted by the Fundacion Municipal de Cultura de Avilés (Spain), in collaboration with Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen (Belgium), Ecole Superieure Eropeenne d’Art de Bretagne (France), Association Kulturanova Udruzenje (Serbia), with the support of Creative Europe – Culture Sub programme of the European commission/executive Agency for Education, Culture & Audiovisual. The project aims to develop a residency program among the five partners involved, to explore through which processes and modalities some artistic expressions can involve and attract a young audience. In parallel, Z Elements aims to facilitate the participation of young people in the artistic sector through their involvement in the elaboration and digitization of content related to artistic expressions that will be realized during the residencies and through a training program focused on new technologies. The geographical areas with which the Academy has had contacts so far within the Erasmus Programme have been in order: Spain (2004), Czech Republic (2007), Belgium (2009), Romania (2009), Turkey (2009), Lithuania (2011), Sweden (2011). Thanks to the Intensive Programs mentioned above, contacts have also been extended to Austrian, British, Portuguese, Irish, Slovak and German institutions.


The Academy’s main aim is to consolidate the agreements stipulated with six Higher Education institutions in the framework of the Erasmus Programme and to strengthen the network of contacts established through the first Intensive Programme, in which it took part in 2009-2011 (SACS – Sound Art in City Spaces, recognized as “an example of good practice to illustrate the European Year of Creativity and Innovation” in 2009), and the second Programme which has been underway since 2012 (IIC – Interdisciplinary Involvement and Community Spaces).

The Academy also aims to develop its internationalization process by selecting firms, companies, professional studios and non-academic instituitions abroad, in aprticular in the field of restoration, product design and graphic design, including art galleries and museums of contemporary art. In this way i twill be able to organize work placements e traineeships for mobile students and invte experts for special workshops and seminars.
The Academy has had contact with the following geographical areas in the framework of the Erasmus Programme: Spain (2004), Czech Republic (2007), Belgium (2009), Romania (dal 2009), Turkey (2009), Lithuania (2011) and Sweden (2011).
As a result of the afore mentioned Intensive Programmes the Academy’s contacts have also extended to enclude Higher Education institutions in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal and Slovakia.
The Academy intends to increase the number of agreements with Higher Education institutions and organizations in other European countries (in particular in German-speaking countries, given the presence of German mother-tongue students from Südtirol), but also plans to develop exchange and cooperation agreements with the United States of America (where two students per year have benefited from a scholarship in an art foundation in New York since 2012 and educational trips are organized every year), Russia (thanks to Russkij Dom cultural association), Switzerland, Israel, Malta and China, following contacts currently in progress with the Academy Direction and lecturers who have often had teaching experiences as visiting professors in these countries.

The main objective of the Academy’s internationalization strategy is to increase student mobility for studies (currently 3-4 outgoing students and six incoming students per year) by involving all the Diploma Courses both in the first and second cycles and gradually introduce the student mobility for traineeship.

The Academy also intends to promote staff mobility both for teaching and training purposes.
After the first experiences of incoming teachers (since 2010) and outgoing teachers (since 2011) there has been an increase in the qualitative and quantitative level of student mobility and fruitful collaboration projects have been launched (such as student and lecturer participation in international exhibitions and workshops).

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The International Relations Office is open only upon appointment at erasmus@accademiabelleartiverona.it

Erasmus Institutional Coordinator
Francesco Ronzon

Contact person International Relations Office
Marta Ferretti