Fostering key skills for the understanding of contemporary China in Italy

Insights from the Future Stakeholders Project Survey

Abstract

This article presents some research evidence taken from the Future Stakeholders Project survey conducted during the academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23 by the Italy-China Competence & Sentiment Observatory (ICCSO), with the aim of probing knowledge, skills and perceptions of Italian university students enrolled in political science and linguistics degree programs aimed toward educational or professional careers expressly or potentially focused on China. The focus here is more specifically on linguistic and cultural skills, highlighting the critical issues and potential strengths of the Italian educational and training system with respect to the strategic goal of boosting the skills necessary for a better understanding of contemporary China.