The Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) published Director’s Decree No. 306 on the morning of July 13, 2026, earmarking €630,000 to finance 93 full scholarships for students who hold international-protection status. The grants cover tuition, accommodation and a monthly living allowance for the 2025/26 academic year and are managed in partnership with the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) under the EU-supported Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (FAMI) WP5 project. The initiative builds on a pilot launched in 2016 that has already enabled more than 800 refugee students to enrol in Italian degree programmes ranging from engineering to medicine. Under the new decree, universities that host scholarship recipients will also receive a flat contribution to provide Italian-language tuition and psychological support—services widely considered critical to retention. For global employers the measure broadens the pool of multilingual graduates available for internship and junior-level hiring in Italy. Companies running refugee-talent pipelines—especially in tech and healthcare—can liaise with university career offices to identify candidates benefitting from the scheme. Because beneficiaries hold a residence permit for international protection, work-authorisation formalities are streamlined compared with other non-EU nationals. The decree also signals Rome’s intention to align higher-education policy with the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which emphasises legal pathways and skills matching. Observers expect MUR and the Ministry of Labour to release joint guidelines later this year on recognising prior learning obtained in third countries, a longstanding obstacle for displaced professionals. Universities have until August 31 to confirm acceptance of the funds and allocate places across faculties. Mobility managers with employees studying part-time should verify whether their dependants are eligible, as the call is open to family members of refugee workers already resident in Italy.
