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The University of Florence can trace its origins to the Studium, which was established in 1321. In 1472 the Studium was moved to Pisa. In 1859, the University re-emerged as Istituto di Studi Superiori (Institute of HigherEducation). In 1923 it was established as a public university and started its activities as a fully fledged university. The University of Florence is one of the largest organisations for research and higher education in Italy, with over 1600 tenured teaching staff and researchers, over 1500 permanent technical/administrative staff and language assistants and over 50 thousand students enrolled. The University consists of 10 Schools: Agriculture, Architecture, Economics and Management, Engineering, Humanities, Law, Life and Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Political Science, Psychology. Scientific research is carried out in the Departments of the University, grouped into 5 major areas: Social Sciences, Humanities, Scientific, Technological and Biomedical areas. A large part of the yearly budget is allocated to scientific research. In the recent past the University of Florence has been ranked top among Italian Universities in the distribution of national research funds. High-level research avails itself of the ¡°centres of excellence¡±, which attract funding and form synergies with other institutions. Missions The goals and missions of the University are defined in the Statute of the University of Florence as follows: - The University of Florence is a public institution representing the scientific community, whose autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution. Its purposes are the unhindered processing and transmission of knowledge and advanced learning, in accordance with the freedoms of research, teaching and learning. - It affirms its pluralist nature, which is independent of any religious, ideological, political or economic conditioning. - Through the conscientious cooperation of teachers, researchers, students and technical/administrative, it favours the development of critical knowledge which is open to the exchange of information, cultural cooperation and interaction, and which is a vehicle for progress and a tool for the affirmation of the dignity of all mankind and of just and peaceful cohabitation among nations. - It cooperates with the other university institutions of the European Union in the creation of a community forum for research and higher learning. - It intervenes in favour of right to study, as defined and guaranteed by Art. 34 of the Constitution. - It makes the furthering of learning its priority and the basis for its cultural and professional training. - It considers the particular characteristics of the various disciplinary areas into which its research and teaching activities are divided as a source of commonwealth to be put to the best possible use. - The University guarantees the contribution of the biomedical research structures in achieving the goals set forth in Art.32 of the Constitution, priority being given to actions which are coordinated by and integrated with actions of the Regional Health Service. Educational programmes and services Italian universities issue the following qualifications, in compliance with Ministerial Decree No. 270 of 22/10/2004: Laurea (L), on completion of an initial three-year study programme (180 credits) Laurea Magistrale (LM) on completion of a further two-year study programme (120 credits) Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico (LMc.u.) only in some Faculties, on completion of a five- or six-year study programme (300 or 360 credits) Then, for those who have obtained a Laurea Magistrale (LM): Diploma di Specializzazione (DS) ¨C Specialisation diploma. Dottorato di Ricerca (DR) - PhD More over Italian universities offer Masters with one-year (1st level) or two-year (2ndlevel) study programmes (at least 60credits). These are orientated towards entry into the working world. In the University of Florence there are courses at all levels listed above. Apart from the courses, the University also offers students important auxiliary activities, including sports, languages and computer studies, the university choir and orchestra, in-faculty cultural and educational initiatives funded by university grants, psychological support and the chance of paid part-time collaboration in various types of work. Research and knowledge transfer The University of Florence is one of the largest and most productive public research systems in Italy. This result is related to the number of permanent and temporary researchers working in a wide range of disciplines and scientific fields, and the numerous junior scientists in training. It is also due to intensive participation in research programmes of national and international importance, the significant scientific results achieved, and the flow of funds which support research and knowledge transfer. This combination of factors qualifies the Florentine institution as a modern research university, and accounts for its excellent ranking in national and international classifications. The researchers from the various departments of the University of Florence have at their disposal several research structures comprising interdepartmental and inter-university centres, as well as some specialised research units and laboratories. In recent years the University of Florence has increasingly consolidated its activities in the sphere of knowledge transfer: from the filing of patents to the setting-up of joint workshops with firms, through to participation in spin-off companies. Libraries and Museum There are approximately three-and-a-half million books and a large number of periodicals available in five libraries covering the main disciplinary areas, with around 60 annexed reading rooms. The university library system also offers online catalogues and many other resources in digital format (journals, articles, books). Students are offered courses for guidance in the use of the library and in bibliographical research, as well as rooms with computer work stations that are also open in the evening. In collaboration with other universities, important projects are underway which will increase direct access to databases and full-text electronic periodicals from individual work stations. The digital publishing service provided by Firenze University Press., F.U.P., can be considered a model University publishing house; it cooperates with professors and researchers to promote and increase the value of scientific and didactic production, thus offering electronic and paper publications scientifically guaranteed by the University itself. The most important natural history museum in Italy belongs to the University of Florence. It is also one of the oldest and most renowned museums at an international level: the Museum of Natural History, founded in 1775 by the Grand Duke Peter Leopold. The Botanical Garden section of the Museum is however even older, dating back to 1545. Consisting of six sections scattered over the old centre of Florence, the Museum houses 8 million exhibits, some of outstanding scientific and naturalistic importance: sixteenth-century herbaria and precious eighteenth-century waxworks, fossil skeletons of elephants and collections of multicoloured butterflies, large tourmaline crystals and Aztec relics, impressive wooden sculptures and the largest inflorescence in the world. A wonderful combination of nature, history, science and art emerges from this context.