Two EUTOPIA members have taken their partnership a step further. On 2 July, the University of Warwick and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding at Ca’ Dolfin (Warwick’s venue in Venice), expanding a bilateral relationship first formalised in 2019 and nurtured within the alliance ever since.
The agreement covers dual degrees, doctoral co-supervision, staff and student mobility, and joint research under Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. Building on their existing Dual Master’s in Economics, the two universities will explore joint programmes in Global Studies, Mediterranean Studies, Politics and International Relations, and Environmental Humanities. The British Council will fund two visiting professorships; the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) has granted its patronage.
Teaching collaboration on the ground is central to the deal. A summer school pilot delivered in July 2025 with Ca’ Foscari’s School for International Education will be scaled up and woven into the Warwick Venice Centre’s own offering, including the Venice Term and Short Courses. The Centre — Warwick is the only UK university with a permanent site in Venice — will also host postgraduate researcher training workshops, joint public engagement events, and even Italian language courses for the local community.
EUTOPIA runs through the partnership. Warwick and Ca’ Foscari co-lead work on connecting local and global ecosystems within EUTOPIA MORE, and theirs is among the most active co-tutelle relationships in the alliance’s doctoral programme — Ca’ Foscari was Warwick’s most nominated host partner in 2026.
Rector Tiziana Lippiello called the agreement proof of Venice’s role as “an international academic hub”, while Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Michael Scott pointed to foundations laid through mobility, joint teaching and shared alliance work. The Warwick Venice Centre, directed by Dr Bryan Brazeau, will anchor activities locally as Warwick prepares to mark sixty years of teaching in Italy in 2027 — the year the UK rejoins Erasmus+.
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