AICS - the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation began operating in January 2016, with the aim of aligning Italy with its principal European and global partners in the endeavor of development. Its basic model reflects that used in the main European countries, and it must comply with the demand for more professional and innovative forms of cooperation, involving the methodological flexibility necessary in a continuously evolving scenario.
The Agency headquarters are in Rome. AICS runs another base in Florence and 20 field offices worldwide for assessing local needs, implementing development initiatives, monitoring results and building partnerships on the ground.
The Agency’s mission is to "perform technical and operational activities associated with the examination, development, financing, management and control of the cooperation initiatives".
Partnership for Knowledge - PfK programme (2019-2022)
Partnership for Knowledge - PfK - is a higher education initiative of the Italian Cooperation aimed at providing life-changing opportunities to researchers, public administration officers, social entrepreneurs and young leaders who are committed to develop their professional and academic skills, strengthen their capacities, widen their networks, make a difference in their home contexts and, last but not least, experience the Italian culture.
The programme, funded in years 2019-2022 by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in partnership with several Italian universities, offers a number of Master of Science scholarships and PhD fellowships in the following thematic domains, grouped in four academic platforms.
• Rural development and Spatial management
• Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - W.A.S.H.
• Sustainable energy, Environment and Industrial innovation
• Cultural heritage and Sustainable tourism
University of Brescia joined the W.A.S.H. thematic group and selected two students enrolled in the Corso di laurea magistrale (master's degree) in Civil and Environmental engineering and four students enrolled in PhD programmes in Civil and Environmental Engineering, International Cooperation and Mathematics and in Technology for health.