On June 1, 2025, in Parma, Italy, 20 University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering students and an ESSIE faculty member and an ESSIE administrator all arrived and settled into their accommodations in the city center to begin their exciting exploration of UF in Italy- Automotive Industries to Urban Planning. The month-long program incorporated a two-week transportation course taught by UF ESSIE’s Dr. Lily Elefteriadou and a 4-week project course led by UF ESSIE’s Ms. Nancy McIlrath. On June 2, a holiday in Parma, the group was given an orientation about the program, the city and the culture. They then took a walking tour of the city and had their first Italian style dinner together as a group experiencing torta frittas, parmesan cheese and Parma ham and other salamis, tortelli, wine and tiramisu. What a treat and so it began.
The transportation course began on Monday, June 3. “Dr. Lily” instructed it and developed it so that it was broad in nature since there were student participants from Electrical, Mechanical, Environmental, Industrial and Civil Engineering. She provided weekday lessons which included much of the content that would be needed for the students to understand and move forward with the project course. Industry guest speakers from Mic Hub (Federico Parolotto and Delia Valastro) and Antonio Porcina from Stantec- Milano also provided insights about the industry in Italy and nuances to be considered that are involved between the government and industry when projects are developed. Site visits that enhanced the course included: the Dallara Academy, the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, a rail transportation-related site visit near Venice to Rizzani de Eccher’s project location and a weekend in the city of Venice to view and experience the water transportation system there. The city of Parma was also the students’ classroom, and they were provided with ample time and cultural experiences to digest the information that they were provided in the course(s) and for the project.
For the project course, the students were given an assignment that was provided by the City of Parma which is a current initiative that the city is undertaking. The focus was on sustainable mobility throughout the city. The students were divided into 4 groups of 5 and each group was provided with a quadrant of the city (North to South, East to Central, West to Central and Perimeter). During one of the initial class periods, Dr. Andrea Mancini, Manager from the City of Parma, provided the students with information about the project and the needs of the city. To obtain a general idea of what the residents of Parma needed, the students completed a survey which assessed the transportation needs of a diverse population which included students, professionals, faculty and administrators from the University of Parma and random individuals throughout the city. After a month of doing their research about their area and sorting through the survey data, the UF students presented their findings to a panel of professionals that included Mr. Antonio Porcina (Stantec), Dr. Chiara Vernizzi, the Councillor for Urban Regeneration with responsibility for Urban Planning, Economic Activities, and Private Construction with the City of Parma and a University of Parma faculty member, Dr. Gianluca Borghi the Councillor for Environmental, Energy and Mobility Sustainability and the City of Parma’s lead on the proposed project, Dr. Gabriele Tebaldi a faculty member from the University of Parma’s Department of Architecture and Engineering, and Dr. Lily Elefteriadou (UF ESSIE). Dr. Roberto Menozzi (University of Parma Department Head for Architecture and Engineering and strong supporter of the UF ESSIE efforts in Parma) also sat in on the presentations. The students exceeded the city’s expectations and several of the ideas that were presented will be considered by the city for implementation. The course was so well received that the City of Parma representatives invited us back next year to complete another project with them. Also, during the last two weeks of the project course, the students visited UNIMORE (University of Modena- Emilia Reggio). Dr. Marko Bertogna, who oversees an amazing lab there, provided an overview of the lab’s exciting projects that include autonomous vehicles of many types, including race cars. He is a faculty member with the university and participates in the MUNER program which is unique to this region and the Motor Valley.
Additional activities that the students were provided included an Italian cooking class, Italian language class, a couple dinners – one that celebrated San Giovanni Day which bring Parmanians out of their homes to eat tortelli, a bike excursion through the countryside and to an agricola that makes cheese (Parmesan of course), a tour of the city, a weekend in Venice (before the Bezos extravaganza but the protests there were seen by our group) and participation in a transportation-related event in the city of Modena. Another unique activity which was unplanned but perfectly fitting for this group was the Mille Miglia car race that happens only once a year through Italy. Cars from 1920-1957 race on a 1000-mile figure eight trek across Italy and one of the stops was Parma. This writer was captivated by the event and was amused by the drivers, especially those who dressed in period garb with their antique goggles and helmets. It elicited a memory from my youth of the movie “The Great Race” which perfectly epitomizes this event (Google or YouTube it!) The students also had time to travel on their own throughout the program and many explored areas like Rome, Florence, Verona and Cinque Terre.
FINAL NOTE: To our 20 UF student participants (many of whom had never experienced international travel)
Dr. Lily and I were amazed by the way you accepted and bonded with one another, helped each other when needed and maintained your personal and professional demeanor and behavior throughout the program. So, through the broken tooth, haircuts, hair colors, scraped arms, sore feet, early mornings and late nights, snoring, sleep talking, loud speaking, hall walking and wall hugging, echoes in the building, never enough coins for laundry, fevers, wrinkly clothes, fans and hats– all of you made this (our first attempt at such an endeavor) a very pleasant, surprising and personally -professionally rewarding one. Based on what many of you wrote in your reflection papers (some of which moistened my eyes), I believe many friendships were formed that will last a lifetime along with your memories of UF in Italy that will be cherished for years to come! You’ve wandered, explored, experienced and learned - now let that growth continue and become entwined with the person you yearn to be… ... Ti auguriamo tanto successo, non importa dove ti porterà il tuo cammino.! Ciao!
We want to thank and acknowledge: all of the industry professionals who participated, the UFIC Study Abroad office and Dean Marta Wayne for permitting us to experience this, Dr. Roberto Menozzi and Dr. Gabriele Tebaldi - our colleagues and friends from the University of Parma and the University of Parma administration for hosting us, Dr. Ping Neo and the Learn International team for helping with the coordination of the program and the UF ESSIE Administration for supporting this endeavor.