DA: I’m what’s known as a third culture kid. I was raised in one country and have parents of dual nationality and I’ve always gone to international schools because my father was in the military so I’ve gone from one educational system to another. I have been at John Cabot University for 11 years and I’ve been in higher education for over 20 years.

The PIE: Are there many American campuses that are fully operating universities in Italy?

DA: There are about 25 American universities abroad all over the world and many of them are accredited by Middle States, and we are a part of the Association of American Colleges and Universities Abroad.

The PIE: So the accreditation is from the US accrediting authority?

DA: Absolutely, because that ensures the credits transfer in the US system so there’s a seamless transfer of credits. John Cabot University is an American liberal arts university and it just happens to be in Rome but it could be anywhere in the US because the curriculum is American, the professors are US trained, we all speak English and the credits are American credits.

The PIE: And how many of your student cohort are from John Cabot and are transferring for a study abroad semester?

“We have a very unique model, so 50% of our students are study abroad students from America”

DA: We have a very unique model. It’s probably actually the only model that is so specific, so 50% of our students are study abroad students from America. We have partnerships with 80 US universities, but we have 400 universities that have sent us students to take courses from the US in the last three years. In other words they send us their students and they accept our credits.

The PIE: And what sort of courses will they do when they come to John Cabot?

DA: The study abroad students do basically everything because they have to fulfil their requirements for graduation. They study business, political sciences, international affairs courses, communications, English literature and we also have an institute for entrepreneurs. We even have students who come from scientific backgrounds who come to John Cabot to fulfil their prerequisites needed for graduation.

“Our US students in particular usually take Italian classes and they also take art history or photography in Rome”

The PIE: And what about learning Italian? Is there any of that involved?

DA: Absolutely. Our US students in particular usually take Italian classes and they also take art history or photography in Rome, but they do also have to take their core courses that they will need to graduate in their degree in their home institution.

The PIE: And what do they generally think about their time in Italy?

DA: It’s amazing. When they arrive off the plane we pick them up at the airport, they’re a bit disorientated but after 72 hours they’ve got their tickets to Prague, to Barcelona, to London and they just love it.

Usually if I go onto their group Facebook pages after they’ve left, they’re all in tears and they have wonderful memories because what it has done is bring American students out of their comfort zone.

The PIE: But they are still in a familiar study environment…

So they come to Italy, they’re in John Cabot University, 50% are study abroad students but the other 50% come from 60 countries and they are matriculating degree-seeking students. So our study abroad students go into a small university, it’s international and welcoming with a lot of mentoring by the professors. They feel at home and they adapt and then they don’t want to leave and they usually have very fond memories.

“They have wonderful memories because what it has done is bring American students out of their comfort zone”

The PIE: Do you spend most of your time recruiting non-American students? Is the pipeline with America well established now?

DA: Yes the pipeline with America is quite well established. We have 400 universities that send us students. We go to study abroad fairs in America and we have US staff here. Now we are spending quite a bit of our time internationally recruiting in other countries to bring in matriculating students and that’s going well as well.

The PIE: And where are they likely to come from?

DA: The international students at the moment are likely to come from the Eastern European countries, the ex-Soviet countries, we have a fairly large contingent that are Russian-speaking and then we have students from the Balkans, from Europe and I also have students from the UK coming to get an American degree at a university in Italy because our tuition is fairly comparable to UK rates.

I have quite a few UK students who are coming get their degree in Art History and some in Business and International Affairs.

Many of our students end up going to graduate school for their Masters in the UK. This semester the latest cohort has had students accepted into the London School of Economics, Oxford, Cambridge, Kings College and Columbia in the US. So our outcomes are quite successful.

The PIE: And what about the Asian intake? Do you have much of an Asian mix?

DA: Unfortunately we do not and that’s my next challenge. At the moment it’s very European and US-focused, but the mandate from the President is to go and embark on an Asian adventure. I was in China in March and I hope to continue to go to China.

The PIE: How does the financial model work with US universities?

DA: We are a title-four institution, which means that American financial aid transfers to John Cabot because we are an American university. We have various types of aid, merit-based aid and need-based aid but Americans with social security numbers can apply for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and get grants from the US government. And they also give John Cabot scholarships, presidential scholarships based on merit and that is what I do with the UK students, or any other student who is non-US, we award presidential grants based on academic merit.

The PIE: Tell me more about John Cabot himself.

“We’re spreading American education throughout the world”

DA: John Cabot was an Italian explorer who left from Bristol to the new world. His name was Giovanni Caboto. Why are we John Cabot? Because we forged ties between the new world and the old world and that’s what we still do today, we’re building bridges. We’re spreading American education throughout the world.

The PIE: Tell me about the internships.

DA: We have internships with all the United Nations organisations that are based in Rome, with food and agricultural organisation, the World Food Programme, we work with all the embassies in Rome and also the fashion houses, Bulgari, Guccis, Fendis, our students work there. Our placement rate for internships is quite high.