Monash University, Prato Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Monash University Prato Centre is a teaching and research centre in Tuscany. It is located in an 18th Century Palace, the Palazzo Vaj, in the historical centre of Prato. It was opened on 17 September 2001, as part of Monash University's internationalisation policy. The Centre aims to develop Australia's links with Europe, through research collaboration, seminars and conferences, and as a centre of study for Australian students.[1]
Each year, the Prato Centre hosts students from Monash who complete part of their course at the Centre. The main academic areas offerred by the Centre are law, art and design, music, history and Italian. This entails hundreds of Monash students being hosted by the Centre throughout the year. Classes are conducted by academics from Monash University, as well scholars from the University of Florence, Osgoode Hall Law School, and various experts working within the law and the arts.[2] The Centre is popular among Monash students, because it enables them to study overseas without having to transfer to a foreign university.
It is now the largest Australian institution of its kind in Europe. Dr. Annamaria Pagliaro, former Convenor of Italian Studies at Monash and specialist in Italian literature, has been the Centre's Director since 2005. The Centre's patron is Sir James Gobbo, AC, an Australian jurist who was the first Governor of Victoria of Italian descent.
