ERASMUS FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROGRAM: SANT’ANNA SCHOOL IN MOURNING FOR SEVEN ITALIAN STUDENTS WHO DIED IN 2016 IN TARRAGONA (SPAIN)

The entire Italian University community and Sant’Anna School mark the first anniversary of the coach crash near Tarragona (Spain) where seven young women died on 20 March 2016. All the victims, Valentina Gallo, Lucrezia Borghi, Elena Maestrini (University of Florence), Serena Saracino (University of Turin), Elisa Valent (University of Padua), Elisa Scarascia Mugnozza (Università La Sapienza – Rome) and Francesca Bonello (University of Genua) were part of the Erasmus foreign exchange programme.

Our university continues to stand in solidarity and support for the victims and their families. Sant’Anna School stands as an exemplary university that provides top quality research and teaching through interdisciplinary research and education at an international level. Student exchanges are a major component of our internationalization work. Sant’Anna School strongly supports access to a variety of opportunities including Erasmus to enhance the overall student experience.

A special commitment to memorialize the victims is announced by Minister Valeria Fedeli a year after the accident. The Italian Government reaffirms its commitment to make the students’ safety a top priority and to propose new rules aimed at reinforcing trust and security across the European Union.

The Erasmus program provides foreign exchange courses for students from countries within the 28-nation European Union. About 3 million students have taken part in the study abroad programs.