The platform will offer an “innovative” tool to assist inbound international students and outbound Italian students looking for accommodation – and will also help local property owners find tenants among the international student population, a statement from the university explained.

“The Italian student housing situation is different to other countries”

The institution is attracting a growing number of international students and acknowledged that the ability to offer quality accommodation is “essential”.

“The University of Padova, faithful to its international calling… has dedicated growing attention to student accommodation,” said the university’s student services manager Andrea Grappeggia.

“In this context, we have started our collaboration with HousingAnywhere, a recognised partner in the sector and fully aligned to our internationalisation strategy.”

Students at the Università di Padova will access HousingAnywhere through a premium account.

“To have the University of Padova join the list of over 150 partner universities is truly a pleasure as we feel that they are a great match with our platform,” HousingAnywhere CEO Djordy Seelmann told The PIE News, adding that the university has a high number of inbound and outbound students, something that is pushing an increasing number of Italian university towards looking for new solutions for student accommodation.

“As a result from increased internationalisation of the universities in Italy, but also a focus from Erasmus+ on housing international students, we’ve seen more and more universities search for a modern, user-friendly way to provide their international students with accommodation,” Seelman explained.

“The Italian student housing situation is different to other countries as each major city has at least one university.

“In the past, accommodation was often only available through dorms or local websites in Italian, or physical dashboards, which made booking a room beforehand impossible.”

HousingAnywhere partners with another 21 institutions in Italy.