Bocciato! Italy’s Failed Attempt at Uncapping International Student Potential. A Lesson on Economic Immigration from the Great White North.

This study aims to explore why immigration seen as an asset difficultly translates into Italian environment. More specifically, it looks at the ability for the nation to attract and retain international students. An important discrepancy between the European Union (EU) macro-objectives on the matter and Italian street-level application have been perceived. Hence, three level of analysis (macro, meso, and micro) are used to bring to light barriers faced by the individuals in their dual character of immigrant and student. Specifically, issues around reactive immigration policy, discretionary powers, bureaucratic challenges, Italianità, and an absence of a human capital vision are the key factors in this trend. The Italian condition is juxtaposed with Canada’s human-capital focused policy in an attempt to integrate best practices into the Belpaese.