Link Campus University (Italian: Università degli studi Link Campus University) is a private, for‑profit institution of higher education located in Rome, Italy. Founded in 1999 as a branch of the University of Malta, the university later became independent of the Maltese institution and was incorporated into the Italian university system in 2011. It is owned by CEPU, an Italian franchise chain that operates a network of private educational centres.
History and accreditation
The university was established through an initiative of former Italian President Francesco Cossiga and former Maltese President Guido de Marco, with Vincenzo Scotti, a former Italian minister, serving as its founding president. Initially authorised as the first foreign university to operate in Italy, Link Campus received formal recognition of its degree requirements from the Italian Ministry of Education in 2007 under the Lisbon Convention. In 2011 the university’s affiliation with the University of Malta ended, and it became part of the Italian higher‑education system.
Academic focus
Link Campus University offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a range of fields, including law, political science, economics, and engineering. It is especially noted for its master's programmes in intelligence and security studies, which have attracted students and professionals from NATO member states and other countries. The university has hosted conferences and courses involving former intelligence officials from agencies such as the CIA and NSA.
International partnerships
The institution has pursued collaborations with foreign universities, most prominently a partnership agreement signed in 2016 with Moscow State University. The agreement was facilitated by university officials together with Italian and Maltese political figures.
Connection to the 2016 United States election investigation
In March 2016, Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese academic who was at times affiliated with the university, met with George Papadopoulos, a foreign‑policy adviser to the Trump presidential campaign, on the university’s premises. According to the U.S. Mueller Report, Mifsud subsequently informed Papadopoulos that Russian officials possessed compromising material on Hillary Clinton, a claim that contributed to the opening of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. The university’s role in the meeting and Mifsud’s exact position there have been the subject of media scrutiny.
Controversies and legal issues
In 2020, prosecutors in Florence indicted approximately 70 individuals, including former university president Vincenzo Scotti, on charges of fraud and criminal association related to alleged “easy exams” within the political‑science faculty. Investigations alleged that some students were permitted to sit exams without supervision, had advance knowledge of questions, and were allowed to consult the internet during examinations. The case highlighted broader concerns about academic standards at for‑profit institutions in Italy.
Governance
The university’s current rector is Claudio Roveda, while the presidency is held by Vincenzo Scotti (as of the latest publicly available information). The campus is situated in a historic complex near the Vatican City, and the institution promotes a multilingual, international educational environment, offering programmes in both Italian and English.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. “Link Campus University.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
- Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research decrees (1999, 2007, 2011).
- Reports from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Italian news outlets concerning the university’s intelligence programmes and the 2020 fraud investigation.