The agreement between Marco Polo – The Italian School of Sydney and the ICoN Consortium (Italian Culture on the Net) has been renewed.
The Degree Course in Italian language and culture for foreigners is a three-year course provided online by the ICoN Consortium on behalf of the member universities. The Italian universities that form part of the Consortium are Bologna, Catania, Genoa, Milano Statale, Napoli l’Orientale, Padua, Parma, Pisa, Rome Tor Vergata, Roma Tre, Salerno, Turin, Venice and the two Universities for Foreigners of Siena and Perugia. The Consortium has been active since 2001 and it awards a full-fledged Italian degree.
The ICoN degree is suitable for those who reside abroad, who already have a good level of Italian (B2 of the CEFR) and want to deepen their knowledge of the Italian language and culture. Depending on the specialisation chosen, it is possible to develop high-level knowledge in the didactic-linguistic, literary, artistic or historical-cultural fields.
To begin the ICoN degree program, it is sufficient to have a knowledge of the language at the B2 level of the CEFR and a qualification that allows access to the University. The consortium evaluates the language level of each candidate by means of a test included in the enrolment procedure. More details on how to proceed with enrolment, depending on the country where the upper secondary school qualification was obtained, can be found in the ICoN website.
The job opportunities with an ICoN Degree are endless, including government roles, job opportunities in local, national and international NGOs, communications and media organisations, from the arts to culture. It is worth noting that up to two thirds of the Australian workforce has a bachelor’s degree in humanities and social sciences.
“Among our graduates, some are now employed in student services at a university, some work in the media sector, some in the translation field. Some are in art, some specialise in linguistics,” added Laura De Renzis, in charge of the Consortium’s External Relations.
The Board of Marco Polo – The Italian School of Sydney noted with satisfaction the renewal of the agreement. “The possibilities in Australia to train a new generation of Italian teachers in primary and secondary schools must focus on the many new Italian Australians who have chosen to move to Australia in recent decades who wish to undertake a highly specialised curriculum.” A virtual Open Day will be organised in the coming months to raise awareness of the ICoN training offer in Australia and to guide prospective candidates.
The crisis in the school sector and the shortage of Italian language teachers throughout Australia are among the factors that have led to the need to renew the agreement between the ICoN consortium and the Italian-Australian body. “For many young people who look to their post-pandemic situation, obtaining a degree in Italian language and culture could certainly be tempting and thanks to this agreement we want to contribute to the promotion of our heritage for future generations.”
Even if the three-year degree course is still the main job of the Consortium, in the 20 years of history ICoN has enriched its offer with numerous other activities: 1st level Masters and training courses for teachers of Italian.
