The Monash University Prato Centre is the campus that the Australian university of the same name has been operating in the small Tuscan city for over 20 years.
When Monash first started the project on September 17, 2001, it chose a historic building in the centre of Prato ― Palazzo Vaj ― for its headquarters, laying the foundations for a visionary and long-term program: that of establishing connections and collaborations with partners and universities in Europe and around the world, to educate students and conduct research projects.
In July 2012, Cecilia Hewlett, who had played an important role in the establishment of the Prato office, was entrusted with the role of director of the centre, with the aim of making the academic program even more relevant.
Due to her demonstrated expertise and achievements, Hewlett was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor (Prato Centre and Global Network Development) in August 2020, with the task of representing Monash University before Italian institutions and companies, continuing to expand collaborations at an Italian, European and global level.
In June 2022, the Prato campus finally came back to life with the first students arriving after its two-year closure due to the pandemic.
“It was great to come back to Prato and see the students in our centre again. Of course it was complicated, especially with the first groups, to manage the new post-pandemic situation, the rules were constantly changing. In addition, we did everything we could to limit contagion, since the students come to Prato for intensive courses, usually lasting three weeks, and we wanted to make sure they enjoyed their time,” Hewlett comments.
The pandemic has changed the perception of this experience for the students, making them more inclined to enjoy every moment to the fullest, as the Centre's director points out:
"The level of student involvement, not only in the classroom but also in extra-curricular activities, shows how these students truly value what they are experiencing, and are trying to take advantage of all the possibilities they have.”
The benefits for those who decide to embrace this adventure are also reflected in their academic performance, as Hewlett points out:
"We observe a clear change in the students during this period; they immediately feel more involved and actively participate in learning. It’s an advantage that accompanies them even when they return home. For most of them, in fact, an improvement in academic performance is evident.”
Dr Cecilia Hewlett, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Prato Centre and Global Network Development
700 students travelled to Italy thanks to Monash University in 2022, a very high number considering that the Prato Centre was only operational during the second half of the year.
"The Tuscan location was set up to give students the opportunity to have an immersive experience in contact with Italian culture, but also to study European politics and economics, analyse the migration issue or delve into the history of medicine in a place that, geographically, offers them real connections," Hewlett explains.
"We also use this location for conferences and as a research centre, which is a very relevant area for Monash. Researchers and professors are often more inclined to come to Italy, rather than Australia, and it is thanks to the centre in Prato that we have been able to establish deep relationships and fruitful collaborations with other universities.”
With this goal in mind, the Monash University European Research Foundation was recently launched to establish a research centre that will bring scholars from all over the world to Prato starting this year.
The idea of having students and researchers in different fields conducting multidisciplinary research is fascinating, and already on track thanks to the Monash Global Campus Intensive, which offers cross-curricular courses focusing on disciplines in areas of global interest, such as climate change, geopolitical security and social inclusion.
The Prato experience seems to be working from every point of view; in fact, Cecilia Hewlett points out that even the population of the Tuscan town was enthusiastic about the students' return.
Having been accustomed to their presence for twenty years now, it must have seemed strange not to see them walking in the piazza or sitting at the cafés having breakfasts of cappuccinos and cornettos, just like real Italians.