- Dates
- 18–24 June 2027
- Where
- Unicollege Mantua Campus & Venice · Italy
- Format
- On Campus, Online, Graduate Credit, or Faculty-led Program
- Fees
- From €1,350 · Erasmus+ and faculty-led participation fully funded
- Language
- English
Understanding Disability in a World Without Borders
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.3 billion people—approximately one person in every six worldwide—live with a disability. It is the world's largest minority and the only one that every individual may join at any point in life, whether through illness, injury, ageing, or changing circumstances. As populations age and medical advances increase life expectancy, this number is expected to continue growing over the coming decades. Yet disability is rarely experienced in isolation.
It intersects with education, employment, mobility, healthcare, family life, technology, law, economics, architecture, culture, language, religion, public policy, and international mobility. It influences how societies understand participation, citizenship, dignity, independence, and belonging. Despite its global significance, disability studies continue to develop predominantly within national contexts. Educational systems differ. Legal frameworks differ. Cultural understandings of disability differ. Even the meaning of inclusion changes across societies.
At a time when universities are becoming increasingly international and when students, educators, researchers, and professionals routinely move across borders, understanding disability exclusively through local perspectives is no longer sufficient. The need is no longer simply for inclusion. The need is for international understanding.
The Serendipity Summer School
The Serendipity Summer School on Disability Studies was established in response to this challenge. Conceived as a permanent international academic initiative, the School brings together scholars, educators, practitioners, institutions, policymakers, advocates, families, and people with lived experience to investigate disability through comparative, interdisciplinary, and international perspectives.
Hosted annually by Unicollege, an Italian accredited university with campuses in Florence, Mantua, and Turin and an expanding network of global academic partnerships, the School was founded through the collaboration between Professor Dr. Carrie Wysocki (University of Findlay, USA) and Professor Dr. Giosuè Prezioso, Dean of Academic Affairs at Unicollege.
Watch Prof. Wysocki’s virtual message to all attendees
Opportunities for fully funded participation
Erasmus+
Eligible students and faculty may have participation and mobility fully covered by Erasmus+ funding.
Talk to our Erasmus expertUS & Canadian Faculty
Staff and faculty who bring 6 students as part of a faculty-led program have their program fee waived (travel excluded).
Talk to our Faculty-led teamOther Participants
Unicollege can provide official invitation and participation letters to support scholarship, grant and funding applications.
Talk to our AcademicsThe Program
Italy as a Living Classroom: 18–24 June 2027, Venice, Mantua, Reggio Emilia
Fri 18 JuneMantua
Welcome to Mantua
Arrival, connection, and the first conversations
- Arrival & Check-in: Arrival in Mantua, accommodation check-in, registration and badge collection.
Closest airport: Verona Villafranca Airport, approximately 30 minutes from Mantua. - Afternoon, Mantua Networking Tour: Discover Mantua, a UNESCO Renaissance city, with the Unicollege campus in its historic center.
- Evening, Welcome Networking Dinner: Meet the international community behind the week before the academic program begins.
Sat 19 JuneReggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia, Education as Experience
One of the world's capitals of educational innovation
- Breakfast
- Morning, Opening Lecture: International Education and Global Perspectives on Disability, with the founders of the Serendipity Summer School.
- Day Experience, Reggio Emilia: Experiential visit with expert-led sessions on the Reggio Emilia approach to disability and inclusion, including guided site visits and method demonstrations.
- Light Lunch: Hosted by Unicollege.
- Evening: Free dinner; participants arrange dinner independently.
Sun 20 JuneMantua
The Montessori Miracle
An Italian idea that changed education worldwide
- Breakfast
- Morning and Afternoon: A day dedicated to Maria Montessori and her enduring contribution to autonomy, inclusion, human potential and learner-centered education.
- Networking Buffet Lunch: Hosted by Unicollege.
- Evening: Free dinner; participants arrange dinner independently.
Mon 21 - Tue 22 JuneMantua
The World Comes to Mantua
Two days of international comparison, scholarship and exchange
- Breakfast
- 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, International Lecture Series (part I): Selected speakers from around the world, joining both in person and online, bring comparative perspectives on disability and education across different countries and cultures. The perspectives addressed are outlined in the box below.
- 12:30 to 2:00 PM, Networking Buffet Lunch: Hosted by Unicollege.
- 2:00 to 5:30 PM, International Lecture Series (part II): Selected speakers from around the world, joining both in person and online, bring comparative perspectives on disability and education across different countries and cultures. The perspectives addressed are outlined in the box below. The final speaker and session schedule will be published by mid-March 2027.
Perspectives addressed in the lecture series
Wed 23 JuneVenice
Venice, The Final Classroom
A day in Venice exploring culture, accessibility and inclusion
- Morning, Travel to Venice: Departure from Mantua for a full day educational visit to Venice.
- Light Lunch: Hosted in Venice.
- Evening, Farewell International Networking Dinner: A closing celebration for the full international community, marking the end of the academic program.
Thu 24 JuneMantua
Departure
Independent checkout and travel
- Check-out and independent departure arrangements.
Registration
Depending on the participant's institution, country and mode of participation, program costs may be fully funded or waived.
Erasmus+
€0 to participant
Eligible students, faculty and staff may have participation and mobility fully covered through Erasmus+ funding, subject to institutional eligibility and grant approval.
Discover how, talk to our Erasmus expertUS & Canada · Faculty-led
Bring 6 · Faculty Free
With 6 participating students, the accompanying faculty or staff leader pays no program fee. Student fees follow the rates below. Airfare is excluded.
Discover how, talk to our Faculty-led teamOther Participants
Funding Support
Register independently at the applicable rate. Unicollege can provide official invitation and participation letters for scholarship, grant and institutional funding applications.
Discover how, talk to our AcademicsParticipation Fees
The table below shows the program cost applicable to all participants, regardless of how participation is arranged. Participants may attend independently, take part in a faculty-led program, or apply for international mobility funding with the support of official documentation issued by Unicollege. The costs indicated below therefore remain the reference program costs, while the way in which they are covered may vary according to the applicable participation or funding pathway.
For participants using Erasmus+ KA131 funding to support their participation, Unicollege applies a dedicated fee of €1,050 for the full 7-day program.
This fee is designed to widen access to high-quality professional development in education and training, with a particular focus on inclusion, equal opportunity, and the right to education. The program also aims to strengthen institutional capacity by providing participants with transferable practices, resources, and international perspectives that can support knowledge-sharing, future collaboration, and longer-term cooperation within and across institutions.
In the same spirit, participants supported through Erasmus+ KA171 are equally welcome to join the program, in line with its broader objectives of international cooperation, capacity building, and exchange of educational practices.
| Registration Phase | Period | Fee (Venice included) |
|---|---|---|
| Founding Registration | 1 Sep – 30 Nov 2026 | €1,350 |
| Priority Registration | 1 Dec 2026 – 15 Jan 2027 | €1,550 |
| Advanced Registration | 16 Jan – 28 Feb 2027 | €1,700 |
| Standard Registration | 1 Mar – 31 May 2027 | €1,850 |
| Late / On-Site Registration | 1 – 18 Jun 2027, subject to availability | €2,000 |
The program includes:
- accommodation in Mantua
- the full academic program
- scheduled breakfasts and networking lunches
- academic and networking activities
- the Reggio Emilia educational experience
- the Venice educational experience
- English-language assistance
- access to Unicollege facilities and a Certificate of Completion
Online Conference
€250
For attendees who wish to participate online from anywhere in the world.
Remote access to lectures, panels, seminars and online academic content on June 21–22. No accommodation, meals or field experiences are included.
Academic Credit Option
+€350
Undergraduate and graduate students may optionally request an official transcript for academic credit. This option is entirely voluntary and is not required to participate in the program.
- Registration Procedure. Registration itself is free of charge. Following submission of a registration request, Unicollege will contact each applicant individually to confirm the participant profile (student, faculty member, panelist, or attendee) and the applicable funding arrangement (personal funding, Erasmus+, or faculty-led participation). Upon confirmation, a €200 registration deposit becomes payable.
- The deposit will be retained until 28 February 2027 and refunded in full should the program be cancelled. If the program is confirmed, the outstanding balance must be paid to Unicollege by 14 March 2027.
- Registrations may be cancelled without charge until 28 February 2027. After that date, should the on-campus edition not take place, participation may be transferred to the online format or any fees already paid will be refunded.
Program Continuity Note
To preserve the academic quality and international character of the School, Unicollege will confirm the on-campus edition by the end of February 2027. Should participation levels not support the experience as designed, the University may elect to deliver the School online or defer it to a later date. In the event of postponement, all participation fees already paid will be refunded in full.