The Chancellor's column

December 2008

What is this thing called Prato?

A 30 minute journey by train from Florence takes you to the city of Prato, a traditional Tuscan town that is also a textile and fashion centre. There, bounded by narrow one-way streets, you will find the Monash University Prato Centre. I had consistently heard only good things about “Prato” but did not have a chance to visit it till September.

Monash Prato is a Palazzo with ornate high ceilings, wide staircases, wood-panelled rooms, and numerous nooks and crannies. A very small team of Monash staff supports the activities of the centre. We were fortunate to be shown around the Prato Centre and the city itself by the director, Annamaria Pagliaro, and visiting Monash scholars Bernard Hoffert and Tom Nicholson.

The day that we visited we encountered a group of Monash University Art & Design undergraduate students there for a full semester of study, during which they were observing first-hand the splendid architecture and art of Italy, giving them exposure to the details, texture and inspiration that is not possible to obtain from a book or a web site. They had the opportunity to see the celebrated Lippi frescos in the St Stephen’s cathedral; previous students had even viewed them from a scaffold during their seven-year restoration. Several Art & Design research candidates were following their own research directions at the Monash Centre, amid the extensive visual resources of the city. The students were highly motivated, working enthusiastically day and night.

Prato is a success story for Monash because it is fully integrated with and embraced by the local community. Prato gives Monash a presence in a historically and culturally rich centre in Europe. It provides direct access to the academic and cultural resources that have influenced world development, creates a venue for intense academic activity through a diversity of disciplines, and offers a prestigious venue for international events. Prato is living proof that an aesthetic environment stimulates student and staff enthusiasm and has the potential to vitalise research and teaching activities.

Courses and conferences at Prato are often partnerships with other universities. For example, the Law faculty courses in international law are taught not only by Monash but by universities from various countries in Europe, Israel and North America. International conferences in some cases are easier to organise in Prato because of the reduced travel requirement for the majority of participants.

The economics are reasonable. Food and student accommodation near the Prato Centre are not expensive. Monash Abroad offers students a travel grant of up to $2000 that can be coupled with interest free loans of up to $3000 from the Monash student loan scheme; this means most students are not substantially out of pocket for the experience.

Prato offers our students an opportunity to build on their global education. It offers them direct exposure to living history and international engagement. As such, attendance at Prato is consistent with the Monash Passport and Monash’s role as an international university preparing our students for global mobility.

If you are a graduate travelling in Europe, I recommend that you contact the Prato staff and take a day to visit the city of Prato and the Monash Prato Centre. You may be fortunate to observe some of our students expanding their horizons or some of our researchers advancing their collaborations.

Dr Alan Finkel AM (BE 1976, PhD 1981)
Chancellor
Monash University