The College of Staten Island is hosting two groups of students from the University of Calabria (UNICAL) in Italy, who will be attending seminars in the Lucille and Jay Chazanoff School of Business this summer.

The first group of 11 graduate students participated in “International Finance and Business in New York” from July 9 through 30. According to Winnie Brophy, Director of Special Programs and Initiatives at the Center for Global Engagement, “The purpose of this seminar was to give students a better understanding of current trends in the field of finance and provide them with an in-depth comprehension of what a career in this field would involve, as well as all the skills required to be successful.” The course was taught by the Chazanoff School’s Kay Pesile.

While at CSI, the students visited the Federal Reserve Bank, the United Nations, the New York Public Library in Manhattan as well as a receiving a debrief from CSI Small Business Development Center.

The second group of ten graduate students are participating in a data analysis seminar from July 21 to August 8. The seminar, “New Trends and Applications in Data Science and Business Analytics” focuses on the latest data analysis, prediction techniques, and applications. This course is being facilitated by Paolo Cappellari from the Chazanoff School.

Commenting on these seminars, Dr. Stephen Ferst, Executive Director of the Center for Global Engagement, explains, “Relationships with strong international partners, such as the University of Calabria, serve to strengthen CSI’s ability to deliver a high-quality global education to our students through collaborative programs that encourage student and faculty exchange, resulting in new opportunities for research, teaching, and joint publications. It is encouraging to see CSI and UNICAL faculty working together on joint projects that will inevitably produce advances in our collective knowledge.”

The seminars are being led by faculty from UNICAL and the Chazanoff School of Business at CSI, in collaboration with the Center for Global Engagement. Students are supported through the Erasmus Program, which allows European Union students to travel internationally, including destinations such as New York City. 

CSI and UNICAL have been collaborating on joint programming since 2016. Beginning with an initial visit from Calabria students studying International Networking, Trade, and Relations in 2019, CSI and UNICAL have had exchanges of students and scholars on a consistent basis.

Over the years, CSI has hosted more 15 exchange students, five research scholars, and dozens of short-term students in our summer programs on Finance and Management through the Chazanoff School of Business.

Brophy added, “CSI is currently working with UNICAL on dual degree programming that will enable students to spend one year studying in Italy and one year studying in NY to earn an MS degree from each institution. The relationship between CSI and UNICAL continues to expend each year as we develop new and innovative experiences for CSI and UNICAL students, faculty, and scholars. This relationship remains one of the strongest international relationships allowing CSI to expand its global network of partners.” 

Special thanks go to Susan Holak, Dean of the Chazanoff School of Business, and Dr. Ferst for their continuing support of this summer program.

By Terry Mares