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July 29, 2011
GW Goes Global, Launches New Program with Italian University
Program Brings Method of Applied Politics to IULM University in Milan
WASHINGTON - GW's Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), housed within the university's College of Professional Studies (CPS), recently announced the launch of its latest global effort to educate and train the next generation of political leaders. Led by GSPM's first Italian graduate, Lorenzo Montanari, the school established a collaborative graduate program focusing on political management and communication - a newly emerging field in Italy.
"Lobbying and political marketing is a new field in Italy. A lot of young professionals are looking into this field and working on political campaigns," said Mr. Montanari, a former political analyst and journalist in Italy. "Knowing that many Italian students would be interested in the kind of practical graduate education that GSPM specializes in, I began researching universities in Italy that could become educational partners with GW. IULM University was a natural fit because it focuses exclusively on communication degrees."
The new Milan program has three components: institutional collaboration, faculty exchange and student exchange. The institutional collaboration component of the agreement will allow the two universities to work together to plan joint seminars and conferences on political management topics, as well as collaborate on developing curricular materials, case studies, articles and other publications.
"Higher education needs to respond to the interests of people who want to work in democratic politics," said Christopher Arterton, a GW professor of political management. "We're a school of applied politics, and we're working to help other institutions of higher education start similar programs."
Earlier this summer, four GW professors, including Dr. Arterton, traveled to Milan to teach intensive two-day seminars on topics such as political game strategies, digital political communication, crisis communication and campaign organization to 28 Italian students enrolled in IULM University's social, political and institutional communication management program. Next spring, the student exchange component of the program will bring approximately 25 Italian students to GW to take classes and collaborate on research projects with GSPM graduate students and faculty. In the future, GSPM students may also travel to Milan to study on IULM University's campus.
According to Mr. Montanari political management and lobbying are becoming increasingly important in Italy, especially as they relate to European Union matters in the EU capital of Brussels. Italy currently has no national lobbying act-lobbyists cannot register and work at the national level as in the United States-however regional lobbying regulations do exist, and numerous proposals for national lobbying laws are working their way through Italy's government.
"GSPM seemed to be focused on the debate on the evolution of the public sphere, taking into consideration a wide and diverse form of political communication, including new media, always moving from real concrete experiences and cases," said Alessandro Papini, professor of public and political communication courses at IULM University of Milan. "When I first met the GSPM faculty, I was aware of their approach. They were perfectly aligned with the idea I had for the program."
GW's Graduate School of Political Management, the pioneer school in the nonpartisan study of political management and applied politics, offers graduate programs in political management, legislative affairs, public relations and PAC management, as well as international programs in Latin America and Europe. The school seeks to improve politics by educating its students and professionals about the tools, principles and values of participatory democracy; preparing them for careers as ethical and effective advocates and leaders at the international, national and local levels.
For more information about GW's Graduate School of Political Management, visit: www.gspm.gwu.edu
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