Messina¡¯s Hotel Riviera, which has seen better days, is now part of Italy¡¯s bid to brace against domestic demographic decline by attracting more international students and is now university-owned thanks to the nation¡¯s slice of?European Union pandemic recovery funding.

¡°About 10 years ago, universities began to feel the impact of shrinking domestic student populations, constant brain drain and diminishing funding for core programmes,¡± Salvatore Cuzzocrea, rector of the University of Messina and president of the Conference of Italian University Rectors, told Times Higher Education.

¡°Until then, the only real influx of international students came from privileged backgrounds, who came to study Italian art, language and culture,¡± he said.

Thanks to more than €12?million (?10.5?million) in public funding, the Hotel Riviera is now university property and set for a total revamp into a hall of residence. Together with the nearby Hotel Liberty, which has been leased to the university for 15 years, there will be space for an extra 408 beds for out-of-town students ¨C both international students and those coming from other parts of Italy.

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Sixty-five per cent of the funding comes from Italy¡¯s share of the EU¡¯s €672.5?billion post-pandemic recovery fund. More widely, the government has set aside €960?million from those EU funds, 40?per cent of which is ring-fenced for southern regions, to triple the number of beds available for out-of-town students, bringing the total nationwide from by 2026.

Messina¡¯s international students have ¡°skyrocketed¡± from just 55 in 2018-19 to more than 900 in 2022-23, and come from more than 70 countries, Professor Cuzzocrea said.

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Pizza-chewing internationals are a welcome sight around town for the rector, but they are also a necessity in a sector bracing itself for demographic decline. by the consultancy Talents Venture said the forthcoming fall in the number of 18- to 21-year-olds and a northwards drift within Italy in those remaining ¡°constitutes one of the most serious threats to the sustainability of the Italian university system¡±.

The consultants found that 18?per cent of courses had fewer than 20 first-year students last year, with student-linked funding set to fall by more than €600?million between 2020 and 2040, based on population projections. Talents Venture chief executive Pier Giorgio Bianchi said the 15 worst-affected campuses were all in Italy¡¯s south.

While southern universities face the most fearful projections, beds for out-of-town students are a prerequisite for growth at many institutions, with those in the north facing steeper costs.

The University of Milan is spending €20?million on purpose-built accommodation for 258 students, with half the funding coming from EU recovery funds. Both Italian out-of-towners and international students will have to apply for a bed in the means-tested rooms, which cost €250 a?month.

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¡°In Milan you can¡¯t find a single room for less than €500 or €600. These are new buildings, single rooms, in a good place,¡± said Marina Brambilla, deputy rector for education and student services at Milan.

¡°Students need accommodation ¨C this is the first need, and Milan is very, very expensive. Without more accommodation we will have problems,¡± she said. ¡°Particularly when students come from outside Europe, they want a campus ¨C they don¡¯t want to look on their own for an apartment.¡±

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com