Vice-Rectors

Objectives

• Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate:

• Enhancing ties with the local community through collaborative research, education, and innovation projects.
• Strengthening the relationship of trust between Ca’ Foscari and its entrepreneurial and institutional environment.
• Raising awareness and urgency around sustainability and the quality of spaces and infrastructure.
• Developing a unified and comprehensive vision of the University’s sustainable development to be communicated externally, supporting the transfer of knowledge and expertise from the University to institutions, businesses, and the wider public.

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Infrastructure

• Consolidate research computing and data servers within a University-wide infrastructure
• Providing researchers with a single virtual environment for accessing scientific information
• Aligning the University’s quality and transparency policies for research with those of the European Research Area and Open Science, and implementing services and tools in accordance with international best practices, as required by Horizon Europe, the National Research Programme (PNR) 2021–27 and the National Plan for Open Science 2021–27
• Developing and integrating a university-wide analytical service for all research groups to enable Ca’ Foscari to provide tangible support to the local area and community.
• Creating a model for an integrated learning environment
• Upgrading spaces for students and staff and expanding the University’s building assets
• Making spaces and procedures more resilient, flexible, accessible, energy-efficient and resource-efficient, reducing and rationalising overall consumption

The Vice-Rector liaises with various University Departments and works in particular with the AAI (Institutional Affairs Area), the Sustainability Office, and ASIA (Real Estate and Purchasing Area), including the Real Estate Development and Building Management Offices. In constant dialogue with the Rector and the University Governance, they work in collaboration with a working group composed of the following delegates:

• Prof. Giorgio Bertinetti, Delegate for Construction
• Prof. Elena Semenzin, Delegate for Sustainability
• Prof. Ugo Sostero, Delegate for the Budget

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate

• improving and enhancing the quality of research, its impact, and dissemination
• strengthening Edizioni Ca’ Foscari (ECF) as a recognised hallmark of in-house scientific excellence and a means of attracting excellence from outside the University
• promoting doctoral programmes and early-career researchers
• attracting international talent and supporting Ca’ Foscari researchers, in line with the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R), while also promoting inclusion and gender equality in accordance with the Gender Equality Plan (GEP)
• strengthening international, interdisciplinary, and innovative project development and consolidating relations with the local area and community, also from an international perspective

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Research

• Improving and valorising the quality of research
• Strengthening project development capacity
• Enhancing internationalisation
• Supporting interdisciplinary and innovative research
• Reinforcing ties with the local area and community, also considering an international perspective

The Vice-Rector works with the University Research Area (ARIC) team and the PhD Office. Liaising with the Rector and the University Governance, she collaborates with a working group composed of the following delegates:

• Area delegates:
  • Prof. Emiliano B. Fiori, Delegate for Research in Foreign Languages and Cultures
  • Prof. Roberta Dreon, Delegate for Humanities Research
  • Prof. Giovanni Favero, Delegate for Research in Economics and Management
  • Prof. Michela Signoretto, Delegate for Scientific Research

• Prof. Marco Salvatore Nobile, Delegate for Digital Innovation and Integrity in Research

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate
In close collaboration with the Rector and the other Vice-Rectors, she works to ensure that the strategies and policies set out in the University’s Strategic Plan are effectively implemented in the areas of teaching and the academic offer.
Together with the department’s delegates for teaching and the relevant managers and offices, she coordinates all processes relating to the planning, delivery, and review of educational activities. She monitors the quality of courses and programmes, encouraging ontinuous evaluation processes in collaboration with the University’s Quality Assurance Unit.
She periodically reviews the University’s regulations and related provisions, ensuring their proper implementation.
The Vice-Rector advocates for the internationalisation of teaching in its various forms as outlined by national and international projects and regulations, and actively participates in the Eutopia alliance.

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Teaching

• Providing quality, integrated, cross-disciplinary and sustainable education
• Taking a leading role in the international arena: enhancing the interoperability of teaching and university services, promoting international mobility, and attracting new degree-seeking students from abroad
• Expanding postgraduate education, professional master’s programmes and advanced training courses
• Designing international degree programmes and updating the educational offer with a focus on the future, emphasising sustainability to encourage collaboration across Departments and disciplines
• Rethinking the ways in which courses are delivered and experienced, aiming at an integrated and cross-disciplinary education

The Vice-Rector works in collaboration with a team of delegates:

• Area delegates:
  • Delegates for teaching representing the eight departments and the International College

• Prof. Alessandra Bucossi, Delegate for Ca’ Foscari Active Teaching Laboratories (CLab) and New International Teaching Experiments
• Prof. Massimiliano Costa, Delegate for University and Secondary School Teacher training, Teaching Qualification and Training Centre
• Prof. Fabrizio Gerli, Delegate for Career Service
• Prof. Raffaele Pesenti, Delegate for Didactic Calendars
• Prof. Sabina Rossi, Delegate for Digital Innovation in Teaching

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate
The overall aim of this role is to define, plan, and implement a short- and medium-term communication strategy to promote the activities of the academic community and enhance the University’s reputation, making it more attractive at both national and international levels. In this context, some specific objectives include promoting the University and initiatives that encourage active participation from civil society, including through the production and management of artistic and cultural activities. This approach aims to create value for the local area and community by fostering synergies with cultural institutions, economic entities, and professional organisations.

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Research Knowledge Valorisation

• Strengthening relationships with local institutions to ensure that Ca’ Foscari is consciously embedded in the local community and context, and can effectively promote cultural heritage and cultural landscape
• Enhancing collaboration with international partners, also aiming to promote the local area, students, and the University’s activities
• Creating value for the local area and community by nurturing an ecosystem that acts as a driver for projects and initiatives involving cultural institutions, as well as economic, productive, and professional organisations, focused on technology transfer and the valorisation of knowledge
• Encouraging initiatives that involve citizens and civil society
• Encouraging the development and management of artistic and cultural activities

The Vice-Rector collaborates closely with the Rector as part of a working group comprising the following delegates:

• Prof. Maria Antonietta Baldo, Delegate for Sports
• Prof. Sara De Vido, Delegate for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe, and for Gender Equality
• Prof. Giulia Fiorani, Delegate for Knowledge Transfer
• Prof. Susanne Franco, Delegate for Theatre Activities
• Prof. Simone Piazza, Delegate for Cultural Heritage Management

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate

Ca’ Foscari seeks to promote inclusion and expand the student community not only by supporting deserving students who lack financial means but also through a dedicated commitment to listening to students’ needs and providing tailored services in response.

Main goals

• Reduce drop-out rates, the number of students exceeding the standard duration of their degree, and gender imbalances-particularly by encouraging more female students to pursue STEM subjects-through targeted guidance at entry and during their studies, including possible reorientation, to help students make informed choices about their academic future.
• Address both explicit and implicit delays and drop-outs through tutoring tailored to student needs, with actions aimed at improving learning outcomes and reducing inequalities linked to varying educational backgrounds.
• Develop personalised and inclusive services adapted to the educational requirements of diverse groups of learners, such as working students, adult learners, and individuals with vulnerabilities or disabilities.
• Increase initiatives that promote student accommodation in the city by establishing agreements with public and private housing providers, and primarily by strengthening collaborations with the Regional Agency for the Right to University Education (ESU).

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Student Services

• Promoting personalised services tailored to various user groups and needs, thereby encouraging inclusion and expanding the student body through support for deserving students and those with limited financial means
• Supporting student accommodation in Venice

The Vice-Rector works in direct coordination with the Rector and collaborates with the following delegate:

• Prof. Andrea Marin, Delegate for Orientation and Tutoring

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate
The aim is to foster a broad international community of students and researchers committed to the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge and to an enriching cultural exchange. This is accomplished by enhancing and promoting educational and transformative international experiences, as well as by establishing a multicultural environment within the University that fosters an inclusive international setting and a global learning context. Continuous collaboration with international partners and networks is an essential condition for developing all forms of internationalisation.

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility

2026 Strategy for Research

• Enhancing internationalisation

2026 Strategy for Research Knowledge Valorisation

• Strengthening collaboration with international partners, also aimed at promoting the local area and community, students, and the University’s activities.

The Vice-Rector, in close dialogue with the Rector, works with the team of the Educational Programmes and Student Services Area – International Office and coordinates the following delegates:

• Prof. Fabio Aricò, Delegate for Erasmus and Overseas Agreements
• Prof. Roland Hinterholzl, Delegate for the Coordination of the European Alliance Eutopia
• Prof. Francesco Vacchiano, Delegate for International Cooperation

Main objectives of the Vice-Rectorate

The objectives of this Vice-Rectorate, in addition to those typically associated with general and institutional areas, focus on the legal protection of the University - both direct and indirect - as well as on the promotion of staff well-being systems.
In this context, the delegation concerning relations with the Ca’ Foscari Foundation (FCF) involves two key aspects: firstly, the operational mechanisms of the Foundation and, consequently, the relationship between the University and the Foundation; and secondly, the equally important management of relations with FCF employees and collaborators. On these matters, the Vice-Rector works in collaboration with the Foundation’s Director and, where appropriate, with the support of representative organisations such as the Industrial Association, of which FCF is a member.

Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – Objectives under direct responsibility
2026 Strategy for Streamlined Organisation

• Valuing all professional roles at Ca’ Foscari concerning organisational change, the educational offer, research, and Third Mission activities.
• Pursuing multidimensional organisational action: Towards the development of an streamlined organisational model
• Promoting institutional and administrative simplification and digitalisation.

The Vice-Rector, in close and constant dialogue with the Rector, works in collaboration with

the following delegates:

• Prof. Maurizio Falsone, Delegate for Trade Union Relations
• Prof. Andrea Stocchetti, Delegate for the Organisational Development of the Prevention and Protection System