We have selected a number of possibilities in various fields, both in Umbria and in other Italian regions, from fashion to languages, business, music, art and design. There is also a section dedicated to information technology, not to mention some unusual but no less valid options such as floral design or food.
Back to the basics for a truly all-round training in fashion
A number of fashion schools and academies, teaching everything from sewing clothes to packaging the final product, exist in Italy, particularly in those cities that have accumulated a long tradition in textiles and tailoring. Now that the “Made in Italy” has become a world class quality label in the fashion world, these schools are attracting a growing number of non-Italian students as well, who come here to study every stage in the production process, from teachers who are constantly updated on the many technological innovations that concern this burgeoning industry..
The Accademia Internazionale d’Alta Moda e d’Arte del Costume Koefia, founded in 1951 in Rome, has an established tradition in teaching in the fashion sector and was the first fashion academy in Italy to enjoy the patronage of the Italian Education Ministry.
Today the school is on the cutting edge of teaching in this field, whilst still maintaining as a base the sartorial traditions and the style of haute couture, with a keen eye directed at the modern technology of pret-à-porter.
The three-year study course offered by Koefia has a limited number of places available and offers an all-round training in the fashion field from design to couture modelling and packaging. The school aims to guide its students throughout the duration of the course, with a view to bringing out their natural talents in a combination of manual skills, culture and creativity – essential tools for embarking on a career in fashion.
After passing their diploma, which is recognised across Europe, students take part in the Rome high fashion week with their own creations.
The two kinds of diplomas released by KOEFIA are those of Stilista di Moda (fashion designer, for a two-year course) and Stilista Responsabile del Prodotto (product designer, for a year’s specialisation course).
The academy also offers a number of short specialisation courses and masters qualifications open to students with a previous education in fashion who want to deepen their knowledge in subjects such as fashion and costume drawing and illustration, couture and prêt-à-porter, woollen goods, hand crafted textiles, marketing and communication in fashion, cool hunter. The school pays special attention to the use of CAD-CAM information technology for fashion illustration and industrial models.
For further information contact the Accademia KOEFIA directly in Via Cola di Rienzo 203 - 00192 Rome, tel. 06/3243262 Fax. 06/3207774 (secretariat open Monday – Friday, 9.30am - 12.30pm; 3.30 - 6.30pm).
The Carlo Secoli institute in Milan has established a reputation as a leading school for industrial wear design, with an ability to meet the needs of its students and anticipate future market trends Its courses on Confezione, Modellistica, Organizzazione and Stilismo have produced many of the professionals operating in this sector, both in Italy and abroad.
Those interested in focussing on learning the creative crafts necessary to operate in the field of fashion will find that one of the best schools for this is the Accademia Altieri in Rome.
For some years now this academy has been well abreast of the growing necessity students have of entering the job market once they have completed their education. The academy runs courses on fashion design, female and male modelling, make up for film or theatre, photography, graphic designing for advertising, shop window design and arrangement.
The Accademia di Costume e di Moda in Rome runs courses on fashion design, costume design and jewellery design, open to Italian and non-Italian students who intend to tackle this creative and highly specialised sector.
The Istituto di Moda Burgo in Milan runs professional courses on fashion design, boasting expert teachers and excellent contacts with the leading firms in this sector.
Italian language courses for foreigners
The Language Center srl in Todi, a town that qualified some years back as “the most livable city in the world”, offers intensive Italian language courses for foreigners ( www.lalingualavita.com ).
The school also caters for those wishing to learn English, French, German and Spanish. The school’s courses are tailored to cater for a variety of needs, ranging from business to medicine, law or information technology. Rather than reproduce the institutional environment of traditional teaching, the Language Center attaches considerable importance to making lessons interesting. Students will therefore find that their lessons may be conducted in the open air, perhaps during a stroll through the countryside with the teacher – all of whom are native speakers.
The school also provides original language film showings, board games, sightseeing trips, discussions on a broad range of subjects and excellent food served either in the cool shade of the school portico or in the frescoed halls of its dining room.
In short, the formula offered by The Language Center consists of offering students a relaxed learning holiday amidst the marvels of Umbria. With a history that dates back over fifteen years, the Language Center is perfectly capable of acting on specific needs students may have in terms of teaching. Its broad selection of courses is also flexible in financial terms, to suit the needs of all pockets. Student accomodation is either in hotels, villas, country houses or historic houses.
The Language Center is in Via Mazzini, 18 - 06059 Todi (PG). Info: tel. +39 075.8948364, fax +39 075.8949049, e-mail info@wellanguage.com (for foreign language courses)- info@lalingualavita.com (for intensive Italian language courses).
The Comitato Linguistico in Perugia, founded in 1986, teaches Italian to foreigners and is a member of ASILS, the association of schools that teach Italian as a second language.
The school provides invidivual or group classes from elementary level right up to advanced. Info: tel./fax +39 075.5721471, +39 075 5734258, e-mail info@comitatolinguistico.com
The Inlingua School of Languages in Terni offers language courses in Italian for all levels and all ages. The Accademia di Italiano in Milan offer intensive Italian courses with professional native tongue teachers, also for those interested in Italian for business purposes.
Training possibilities for interpreters in Umbria
The aim of the Nuova Scuola Europea Interpreti e Traduttori in Perugia is to provide its students with all the necessary technical and linguistic skills to work as interpreters across Europe. Its diplomas are in fact recgnised on a European level.
Globe, based in Foligno, shapes aspiring translators in a number of fields, from legal to technical translations.
A look at art schools in Umbria
From video art to drawing and painting, the fine arts academies in Umbria are an interesting meeting point between professionals and students as well as the public and private sectors. These culturally active institutions organise internships, workshops, exhibitions, publications and conferences. The main goal is to provide students with a concrete and reliable technical preparation for the professional art world. The teaching methods are up to date, qualified and highly innovative.
One of the region’s liveliest academies is the Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vannucci in Perugia, which acts as a haven for all those young with an interest in developing their createive talents. The school is divided into three departments: painting/graphic art, sculpture and set design, and art theory and history of art. The broad selection of courses offered by the school span a variety of disciplines, from art theory to the applied arts such as etching, photography, anatomical studies and multi media.
The Accademia di Belle Arti in Terni is one of the few fine arts academies in central Italy to have incorporated new subjects into its traditional courses. The school issues Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts qualifications, and runs a series of specialisation courses in design, graphic art, communication, painting and photography.
The Libera Accademia di Belle Arti srl in Florence is officially recognised and aims to act as a centre for exerimentation in art, in line with the extraordinarily rich traditions this city has to offer. The school’s courses in painting, design, graphic design, photography and restoration all aim to provide students with the technical skills necessary to pursue a career in the art world. Courses are held after office hours.
Musical specialisation in Umbria
Umbria offers a broad range of opportunities for both professionals and amateurs interested in developing their musical skills, of which probably the most respectable institution is the Conservatorio di Musica Istituzione Alta Cultura in Perugia. The conservatoire, which runs I and II level courses, has its own symphony orchestra – the only one in Umbria, with a stable production. The conservatoire also runs master classes and performance seminars, as well as lessons in composition and new technologies.
br> The Accademia Musicale Umbra Endas in Perugia has been running annual and triennial international workshops for the past 15 years. The workshops are accessible chiefly for those who already hold a conservatoire diploma or an equal qualification and are conducted by Italian and international concert soloists. For some time now the academy has also been organising some of Perugia’s most important musical events.
Design specialisation: major academies in Umbria and Italy
A number of academies across Italy offer on-going courses in communication, design, interior decoration and more... The Istituto Italiano di Design in Perugia is a quality postgraduate academy and offers courses in interior design, graphic design, industrial design, fashion design and software.
br> Italy’s most advanced teaching centre in the fashion and design world in terms of technology is the Fashion & Design Lab in Florence. The school aims both to provide students with the necessary skills with which to embark on a career in this field and to offer refresher courses for those who already work on a stable basis. The Istituto Europeo di Design (ied), based both in Rome and Milan, is a private institution that runs courses on design, fashion and communication. The school has a number of branches in cities across Italy.
Web design, advertising, interior design and fashion are all courses at the Istituto Superiore Grafica Moda e Design in Lecco. Students can also choose from courses recognised on a European level.
The international fashion and marketing institute Polimoda, based in Florence, runs highly qualified and specialised courses in design, production and marketing, with a keen eye on developments on the international market.
The KOEFIA Accademia Internazionale runs visual, graphic and computer design courses at its headquarters in Via Cola di Rienzo 203 - 00192 Rome. Info: 06/3243262 Fax. 06/3207774 (secretariat open 9.30am - 12.30pm; 3.30 - 6.30pm).
Quality management training
This is a developing sector in education, with considerable drive coming from growing globalisation that requires ever greater numbers of professionals that are both qualified in terms of skills and sensitive to other cultures, a quality that is proving to be more and more decisive in business terms.
Management education at the moment is focussing on hevily on simulation as a means to quickly provide students with the tools to cope in a work environment. Teachers with considerable experience in their relative fields therefore supervise students in setting up simulated projects ranging from graphic design to advertising and consultancy.
Lumuci, based in Orvieto, is a privately run technical-economical-scientific university with an innovative attitude based on integration between western tradition and other cultures. The university offers specialisation courses in a broad range of subjects from architectre to tourism and environmental planning, marine studies, evironment and safety, social medicine, sciences of the earth and the cosmos, history, art heritage studies and management, economy, finance and international company ethics.
The Accademia di Comunicazione in Milan offers a number of specialisation courses in graphic design and art direction, as well as marketing, advertising copywriting and editing.
Information technology training
Several computer learning schools have sprung up in Umbria to cater for the needs of those who require greater proficiency. The courses run from first level to specialised courses in Visual Basic and Internet programming.
The Istituto Enrico Fermi in Perugia runs Autocad, ECDL and ECDL Cad courses, both for individuals and groups. There are also courses aimed at those who want to learn the basics of computer usage.
Pcsnet Umbria srl in Perugia offers specialised computer courses at various levels for small groups.
The Esse i.c.s. in Perugia is specialised in computer and language courses both for individuals and company groups.
The larges computer skills school in Italy is 3 F Italia in Corciano and specialises in basic and advanced courses across Italy.
Expert informatica in Terni runs Office&ECDL, programming, graphics, Linux, accounting and administration courses both for private individuals and firms.
Unusual and curious courses
Students in need of a helping hand to get them through the maze of bureaucracy and exams of the Italian degree system should contact Cepu, the firm that offers all kinds of assistance to students, from paperwork to preparation for exams in faculties throughout Italy.
The degree course offered by the Centro Studi Città di Foligno is intended to qualify its students to be able to cope with natural disasters in Umbria.
The haute cuisine course at the Università dei sapori in Perugia follows the French method for training aspiring restaurant chefs.
The Iannoni Giovanni scuola d'Arte Floreale in Brescia is suited for those interested in exploring all the techniques required of a truly top class flora arranger.