International Academy

Bergamo Città Impresa – Industrial Territories Festival
International Academy

Bergamo, Italy | 7th-9th November 2025

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Application deadline: 26th October 2025

Applications are now open for the Academy Project of the Bergamo Città Impresa, available to undergraduate, graduate, master’s, and PhD students from any International University. The festival will take place in Bergamo from November 7th to 9th, 2025.

The Academy Project aims to offer a unique opportunity for networking, exchange, and learning through active participation in the event. Interested students can apply by choosing between two participation options:

Option 1 | Company Visits + Festival Participation: The Academy will run from Thursday, November 6th to Sunday, November 9th, for a total of 4 days/3 nights.
Option 2 | Festival Participation Only: The Academy will run from Friday, November 7th to Sunday, November 9th, for a total of 3 days/2 nights.

Selected students will benefit from:

Preferential access and reserved seating for event sessions, with opportunities for direct dialogue with speakers at the end of each session;
Guided visits to selected companies (available to participants who choose Option 1);
Accommodation in shared rooms at partner hotels for the duration of the stay, based on the selected option, with the possibility to request additional nights for an extra fee;
Fixed-menu lunches and dinners at venues designated by the organizing team;
Transfers between hotels and Festival venues (where necessary), as well as to selected companies during the visit itinerary (Option 1);
An official Certificate of Participation will be issued at the end of the event, provided the student has attended the scheduled activities.

The first application deadline is Sunday, 26th October 2025.

Additional deadlines will be announced subject to availability of spots.

Participating in the Festival Città Impresa Academy

Once again this year, the Festival Città Impresa places special emphasis on engaging students from International Universities, offering them a unique opportunity for learning, exchanging ideas, and networking.

To this end, the organization invites a selected number of university students to apply for the Città Impresa Academy, with a participation fee required based on the option selected:

Option 1 | Company Visits + Festival Participation (4 days / 3 nights): €360

Option 2 | Festival Participation Only (3 days / 2 nights): €260

Note: Travel expenses to and from Bergamo are the responsibility of the students.

Click here to apply

The event program

The program is being finalized and will be available in the coming weeks on this website. Below is a brief overview of the key elements of the event.

Bergamo Città Impresa – Festival of Industrial Territories, during its 19th edition, will invite entrepreneurs, economists, institutional representatives, and journalists to discuss the challenges and opportunities related to the redefinition of geopolitical balances, the energy crisis, and the need to relaunch growth in major European countries.

The theme for this year’s edition will be:

EUROPE AT THE CROSSROADS

The Festival will offer an in-depth analysis of the political and economic transformations in the continent with confirmed guests such as Bill Emmot, to discuss the UK situation; Mariam Lau, to understand Germany under Merz; Anais Voy-Gillis, to explore the dynamics of the French industry; and many others, including Marco Varvello, RAI correspondent in London; Daniele Franco, former Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, State Accountant General, and Director General of the Bank of Italy; Stefano Manservisi, Director General for Development Cooperation at the European Commission.

Also at the center of the debate will be the new relationship between America and China, in a world where tensions between great powers directly affect trade, investment, and security.

Company visits

Students selected for option 1 (company visits + festival) will have the opportunity to participate in guided visits to selected companies, real case studies of product and process innovation. The visits will take place on the afternoon of Thursday, November 6th and the morning of Friday, November 7th, 2025.

Students from previous Academy editions have visited companies included in the annual ItalyPost Research, which ranks the best companies in the Lombardia Region.

Key criteria include:

Revenue between €30 million and €500 million
Average annual growth of at least 10% over the past 6 years
High profitability demonstrated by an EBITDA above 9%
Financial solidity guaranteed by a maximum net debt/EBITDA ratio of 1.5

The companies we have visited include: Remazel Engineering, Persico Group, Lovato Electric, Fassi Gru, Acerbis, Siad Group, Pietro Fiorentini, Zordan, Cielo e Terra, ABB Italia, Marelli Motori, Morato Pane, Zamperla, and many others.

How to apply

To apply to the programme, simply fill out the form available by clicking here and specify which option you wish to apply for (option 1 or 2).

The deadline for submitting applications is 26th October 2025.
Additional deadlines will follow, depending on availability.

Selected students must attend the event program defined by the Festival Città Impresa organization and actively participate in the activities planned for the three days of the event.

Applications will be selected and approved until all spots are filled. The selection of candidates will be at the sole discretion of the festival’s organizational team.

Our staff will provide selected students with all necessary information regarding meals, accommodation, and the event schedule and will communicate the payment details for the participation fee.