The University of Catania has been a focal point in culture and learning since its founding, in 1434. Today it offers an attractive portfolio of academic titles and is engaged in creating a "laboratory" in which the ancient knowledge of the Mediterranean culture meets the new technologies in order to offer an original and advanced training experience. The University of Catania has now 23 Departments – reorganized following the Italian Higher Education reform – that are in charge of the organisation and management of educational activities. The University is the recipient of research funding at international and national level and it has a long-term involvement in varied research programs, both as a coordinator and/or a partner. The University of Catania takes part in teaching and research internationalization actions and initiatives aimed at increasing both student and staff mobility, at the improvement of foreign students and professors recruitment, at the involvement in internationalization programmes and projects, at the widening of the international educational offer and at the strengthening of initiatives in particular geographical areas as well as in international Higher Education and Research networks. In particular, the University of Catania, in line with the internationalization of universities and the Bologna process, is becoming more and more a “cultural bridge” connecting Europe and the other Mediterranean countries, stimulating the inclusion and integration of international activities in all academic teaching and research activities.