To improve educational and professional opportunities in Southern Italy, the “StudioSì” fund, founded by the Italian Ministry for Universities and Research and managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), has awarded its first 2 million euros in cost-free loans. The fund, benefitting from a 100-million euro allocation of the European Social Fund, supports students from Italy’s eight southern regions who study in Italy or abroad, with zero-interest loans to finance their tuition fees and living costs.
Access to higher education and professional opportunities
The loans can be requested through two Italian banks, Intesa San Paolo and ICCREA, which will each manage half of the total allocation. The financing is meant for students doing graduate studies in one of the twelve specialisations outlined in the National Strategy for Intelligent Specialisation, including agri-food, design, energy and sustainable mobility. Up to 25% of the resources can be used by students from other regions or EU countries, who want to study at a Southern Italian university, in line with Italy’s National Operational Programme PON.
“StudioSì is the first instrument in Europe to offer financing without interest or requests for collateral to students who can do important things for Italy and the EU,” said EIB vice-president Dario Scannapieco.
“Thanks to this partnership between the Ministry and the EIB, which makes available European funds through Intesa SanPaolo and Iccrea, thousands of students will have the possibility to finance their studies worry-free, improving educational output. Furthermore, the rotating nature of this fund means that the resources can be re-invested to guarantee wider support to university participation in Italy.”
Source: TheMayor.EU
