Italian Innovation through Design and Communication

Why you should go

A summer in Italy, centered in Milan, invites you to explore how culture, business, technology, and storytelling are deeply connected. The city is known as Italy’s design capital, where fashion houses, global brands, and modern life coexist with centuries of history and world-famous culinary traditions. Milan’s landmarks – the Duomo, Teatro alla Scala, and even Milano Centrale train station – provide opportunities to examine how art, public space, and performance shape the collective experience and communicate history, identity, and values. Living and learning here means seeing how products, enterprises, and innovations are shaped by their social and cultural context.

Your experience will take you inside museums, factories, and archives that bring these connections to life. At the LaCimbali factory, you’ll discover how technical advances in coffee machines transformed not only an industry but a way of life. In Ivrea, the story of Olivetti shows how design and engineering once made the company second only to IBM in information technology – while also pioneering new ideas about work and community. Traveling to Torino, we explore how beauty and performance combine in automotive design at the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, and how the simple coffee bean grew to a national identity, exemplified by Lavazza. A few days trip to Florence opens a window into fashion’s blend of artisan craft and material science through Ferragamo’s museum and factory archives, and provides ample opportunity to explore regional expressions of world-class art, architecture, culture, and cuisine.

Beyond formal visits, Italy’s culture offers daily lessons: the ritual of meals, the elegance of public spaces, the artistry of opera, and the rhythm of city life. You’ll return with new ways of thinking about design, technology, and communication – shaped by experiencing them in Italy.

Courses

• MGT 129GS: Topics in Entrepreneurship – Design to Product to Enterprise, Italian Style (Draft PDF)
• MGT 119GS: Topics in Business – Strategic Communications & Storytelling in Italy (Draft PDF)

Who should go

Anyone with an interest in Italy, its food, fashion, art, media, history, or an interest in exploring the connections between innovation, design, business, and communication.

There are no prerequisites for either MGT 119GS and 129GS. Both will fulfill graduation requirements in the Business Economics Major and Minor, the Business Minor, the Design Minor, the International Studies - International Business Major, and many general education requirements. Consult your academic advisor to determine officially how the courses will apply to your graduation requirements.

Do you want to understand “la bella vita?” You should go.

Dates

Flight Information

• You will be responsible for purchasing your own airplane tickets, and your program coordinator will provide guidelines and resources during the pre-departure process to help you find an appropriate flight.
• Do not purchase plane tickets until the program is confirmed. All approved applicants will be notified by e-mail when the program has reached minimum enrollment.