VSF members are working to create a knowledge center capable of attracting talent and investment to the Lagoon, triggering an evolution toward a more inclusive community and more harmonious growth.
To turn Venice into a city campus – a center of knowledge and excellence capable of attracting, training, and retaining young talents with advanced skills through the quality of academic programs and research, as well as associated services within an inclusive, modern, and sustainable community.
This is the primary objective of the workshop organized by Venice Sustainability Foundation, held today in the auditorium of The Home of The Human Safety Net at the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice. Attended by the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, the event took stock of the project promoted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Università Iuav di Venezia, the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Music in Venice, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Municipality of Venice.
The project stems from an analysis of the economies fueling the lagoon city, which can be synthesized into three fundamental drivers of development: tourism, production, and knowledge. While economic and financial resources in recent years have focused almost entirely on the "tourist city," the "Venice City Campus" project aims to rebalance these three drivers of development, enabling more harmonious and sustainable growth.
Indeed, as highlighted during the workshop, the knowledge component holds the power to reshape the current paradigm through the creation of a distributed campus. This hub could develop across Venice, in the areas where the port and city intersect, in Mestre along Via Torino, and in Porto Marghera around the Vega Scientific and Technological Park.
Crucially, expanding academic programs and aligning them with high European standards will be vital to attracting global talent. Initial estimates project a doubling of the city's student population over the next decade, growing from the current 31,000 to approximately 60,000.
