ABOUT EXEDRA
Experience Education Excellence
About us
An EXE′DRA (ἐξέδρα) in the classical world was an open-air, often semi-circular seating area attached to a gymnasium, used for the lectures and discussions of rhetoricians and philosophers. Exedra Associazione Culturale was created in 2004 with this spirit, as a meeting place for debate and study, where the theoretical and practical could exist side by side, looking back for inspiration to the classical past but always ready to move forward and to promote and explore new ideas. Over the years, Exedra Associazione Culturale has also promoted cultural events such as concerts and exhibitions in and around Siracusa.
EXEDRA MEDITERRANEAN CENTER
In 2015, Exedra Associazione Culturale began to work in the field of study-abroad programs, promoting a project, the Sicily Center for International Education, with the aim of providing high-quality study-abroad experiences for undergraduate students in Siracusa.
The project was renamed Exedra Mediterranean Center in 2018, to emphasise Sicily’s classical heritage, and to place the center in its geographical context at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, for millennia a place of encounter and cross-cultural dialogue.
EXPERIENCE
Exedra offers students in Siracusa a unique experience, one that will help them learn not only in the classroom but in the wider Sicilian environment. An immersive experience in a new culture can be daunting but incredibly enriching, and the Exedra team enjoy accompanying their students in this journey of discovery of Sicily and themselves. Under the experienced guidance of director Susi Kimbell, who has worked in the field of study-abroad since 2002, the team makes every effort to give students an excellent educational experience and a genuine taste of local life and culture.
EDUCATION
Exedra can boast of a network of contacts with the local academic environment and with experts and professionals in many different fields from business, to the arts and the medical profession. Seminars and meetings with local lecturers and professionals can be arranged to enhance the experience of visiting students and faculty and to give them a more Sicilian, Italian and European perspective. Exedra also invites international experts to hold specialist courses in Siracusa and welcomes suggestions for courses, workshops and conferences in all subject areas from faculty and professionals from all over the world.
EXCELLENCE
Exedra promotes excellence in education through close attention to academic content, challenging experiential learning opportunities, and emphasis on cross-cultural awareness. It works to guarantee the Standards of Good Practice of the Forum of Education Abroad of which it is a member, with particular attention paid to Health and Safety, Security and Risk Management. Exedra staff are encouraged to pursue their own professional development in the field of study-abroad, as we believe in life-long learning for ourselves as well as for our students!
OUR MISSION
Deliver high-quality undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, to generate knowledge, foster intellectual and personal development, and build understanding in an international environment;
Foster student learning, development and intercultural competency through a stimulating, interdisciplinary, and learner-centered research environment;
Promote continuing-education programs for personal enrichment, professional upgrading, and the advancement of the interests and needs of adults;
Encourage research to promote civic culture and the arts and sciences, and to work for sustainable communities through the generation, sharing and translation of new knowledge across all academic disciplines;
Promote collaboration between Exedra and other organisations, through sound scholarly, civic, cultural and artistic activities and make the expertise of the Exedra Mediterranean Center and its associates available in ways that are consistent with its mission.
