The University of Florence is one of the largest and the oldest state universities in Italy, covering all academic disciplines. It consists of 12 schools and offers research opportunities and higher education for more than 50,000 students and 1,600 PhD students and research fellow, being supported by 1,800 teaching and research staff and 1,600 technical and administrative staff. Its fundamental mission is to provide straight processing and broadcast of knowledge and education in conformity with the freedoms of research, teaching and learning. Since 1999, the University has been acknowledged by the EU as “European Centre of Excellence Jean Monnet” for its specialization in European integration studies; moreover, since 2014 it hosts the Confucius Institute, stemmed from the collaboration with Tongji University in Shanghai. Recognized and funded by the Ministry of Education of China, the Confucius Institute is the official body for the teaching of the Chinese language in the world. The University is also a member of the Tuscany University Network (TUNE) for the promotion of research and teaching activities performed in Tuscany.