ICoN Interuniversity Consortium Italian Culture on the Net

ICoN offers a wealth of materials and teaching/learning contents built up and published by ICoN, amounting to a total of over 110,000 pages. These constitute a truly unique web-based resource for the teaching of Italian language and culture at university level.
The idea of an online degree programme was conceived at the University of Pisa in 1999, but it immediately gained the support of more than 20 major Italian Universities that are still actively contributing to this still innovative educational project.
The sociological background of ICoNs students is extremely varied. It is not composed merely of young students: a considerable portion also includes professionals involved in various sectors. Above all, teachers of Italian abroad interested in pursuing a university diploma of direct use for their chosen career or that consider ICoN as an important factor in their further education and professional training. Other top reasons are excellent interaction with the ICoN staff and the possibility to be part of a virtual community of people from all continents in the world. A unique experience we can say.

About

ICoN - Italian Culture on the Net is a consortium composed of 20 Italian universities (Bari, Catania, Genoa, Milan State, Padua, Parma, Pavia, Perugia for Foreigners, Pisa, Rome "La Sapienza", Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome III, Salerno, Siena for Foreigners, Turin, Venice, Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM of Milan, Istituto Universitario Napoli LOrientale and the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari "S. Anna" of Pisa). Our specific educational programmes consist in online Italian language courses, in a Degree Programme in Italian Language and Culture and in Italian University Masters Programmes in Translation, Cultural Heritage, Communication and Didactics. Online language courses cover the levels for beginners, of intermediate and advanced level and for Speakers of English. Starting from 2012, ICoN will offer new online language courses covering all levels of the European Common Framework of Reference for Languages. The entire Degree Programme in Italian Language and Culture (laurea italiana di I livello) includes 360 university short courses on Italian culture complete with iconographic and encyclopaedic apparatus and sets of interactive exercises for self-access, self-guided learning and self-correction. The courses cover the entire range of subjects that make up the Italian heritage and the current cultural scene in Italy: Literature, Linguistics, History, Geography, Philosophy, Antiquities, Art, Music, Theatre, Cinema, Photography, Design. ICoN also offers texts of over 300 classics of Italian literature, images of Italian artworks and entries functional to subjects studied in the courses.

The Italian University Masters Programmes are issued by some of ICoN Italian Member Universities: a Masters Programme in Technical and Scientific Translation into Italian with the Universities of Bari, Genoa and Pisa (see mastertraduzionespecialistica.it), a Masters Programme in Preservation and Enhancement of the Italian cultural heritage abroad with the University of Parma and in cooperation with the Universities of Milan and Turin (see mastertutelabeniculturali.it), a Masters Programme in Didactics of the Italian Language and Literature with the Universities of Perugia and of Siena for Foreigners (see masterdidattica.it) and an online Masters Programme in Public and Political Communication with the University of Pisa (see mastercomunicazionepubblica.it).