How we govern the Institute
Istituto Secoli is a complex entity: alongside the various training activities and services we develop as an Institute, since 2023 we have been part of the AFAM (Higher Education in Art, Music and Dance) system recognized by the MUR. Our governance also reflects this structure.
The President and the Board of Directors have a responsibility that concerns the Institute as a whole: they handle the administration and development of the company and, at the same time, exercise their powers with reference to AFAM-accredited activities. For the latter, they work in coordination with the academic bodies, respecting their respective functions. This relationship between the management and academic dimensions is also present in our Didactic Regulations, which involve the contribution of different responsibilities in various areas.
Alongside them operate the bodies specifically dedicated to the AFAM component and regulated by the Statute of Autonomy of the Institute: the Academic Director, the Academic Council, the Faculty Board, the Student Council, the Evaluation Committee, and the Quality Assurance Board. These are different bodies with different tasks, but with a common goal: to ensure academic life runs smoothly, to plan and improve teaching, to give students a voice, and to continuously verify the quality of what we do.
On this page, we want to explain who decides, who plans, who represents, who evaluates, and who monitors quality, progressively making available the composition, regulations, appointment acts, minutes, and documents related to each body.
President and Board of Directors
The President and the Board of Directors have a responsibility that concerns Istituto Secoli as a whole: they guide its development, ensure its management, and handle both the general activities of the company and those recognized within the AFAM system.
The President chairs the Board of Directors, holds the legal representation of the Institute, and represents its institutional continuity. The Board of Directors defines management objectives and programs, ensures economic, financial, and asset sustainability, and provides the organizational resources necessary for the development of the Institute’s activities.
For the AFAM component, our task is to work in coordination with the academic bodies, respecting their expertise and autonomy. Guidelines regarding teaching and research belong to the academic governance; the President and the Board of Directors have the task of creating the organizational, economic, and structural conditions so that those guidelines can be concretely implemented. This relationship between the different responsibilities is also provided for by the Didactic Regulations, which, for example, attribute changes to the Regulations to the Academic Council, subject to the favorable opinion of the Board of Directors.
Behind the bodies, there are naturally people. If you want to get to know us a little better, on the About us page you will find our short biographies and the stories of the paths that brought us here.
If you would like to write to us directly, you can do so at direzione@secoli.com
Academic Director
The Academic Director is the point of reference for the educational and academic life of the Institute. They are responsible for the progress of teaching and the planning of scientific, technical, and artistic activities, ensuring that academic activity develops in compliance with the Educational Regulations and the course’s learning objectives.
They chair the Academic Council and the Faculty Board, coordinating the work of the bodies involved in the planning and development of teaching. Their duties also include protecting the teaching and research autonomy of the faculty, appointing the Commissions for the final exam, and defining the relative sessions.
The Academic Director of Istituto Secoli is Enrico Leonardo Fagone. Alongside his institutional role, he is also a lecturer: to learn more about his professional and academic career, you can consult his bio in the section dedicated to AFAM Faculty.
If you want to write to him directly: direttore.accademico@secoli.com
Academic Council
The Academic Council is where the cultural, teaching, and research guidelines of the Institute’s AFAM component take shape. It defines the development lines of academic activity, follows their implementation, and helps keep the course consistent with its educational objectives and the evolution of disciplines, professions, and the fashion sector.
Its expertise covers many aspects of academic life: it approves didactic systems, intervenes in the planning of activities and exams, deliberates on recognitions and transfers, approves annual orientation and tutoring plans, and participates in procedures relating to teaching staff. It is also the body that deliberates on changes to the Didactic Regulations, subject to the favorable opinion of the Board of Directors and according to the procedures provided for by law.
The Council is chaired by the Academic Director Enrico Leonardo Fagone and is composed of four lecturers elected by the teaching staff and two student representatives designated by the Student Council. For the 2023/2026 three-year period, the elected lecturers are Gian Mario Borney, Claudio Colleoni, Gaetano Currò, and Caterina Di Giacomo; the student representatives designated by the Student Council are Riccardo Spreafico and Michele Maggi.
To learn more about the professional and academic background of the lecturers who are part of it, you can consult their bios:
The Regulations of the Academic Council and the decree of appointment of the elected lecturers are also available on the page, making the composition and discipline of the body directly accessible.
If you want to write to the Academic Council: consiglio.accademico@secoli.com
Faculty Board
The Faculty Board brings together the Academic Director, who chairs it, all the lecturers serving at the Institute, and the assistants. It is therefore the place where the daily experience of teaching translates into discussion, proposals, and participation in academic life.
The Board performs consultancy and support functions for the Academic Council and contributes to the definition of the general direction of teaching, scientific, artistic, and research activities. It also participates in student tutoring and orientation activities, providing direct knowledge of the training paths and the needs that emerge during the academic year.
It is a particularly important body because it brings the point of view of those who work every day in the classroom and laboratories into academic governance. The plurality of the lecturers’ skills—design, technical, cultural, and professional—allows the Board to contribute concretely to the continuous updating and improvement of the educational experience.
Do you want to meet the lecturers who are part of our academic community? You can discover them in the AFAM Faculty carousel, with their respective disciplines and biographies, on the Fashion Design and Fashion Product Technologies course page.
Student Council
The Student Council is the body through which the student component participates in the academic life of the Institute. It represents the needs and requests of students, formulates proposals and opinions on matters concerning teaching, services, and academic experience in general, contributing to the dialogue with the Academic Director and other bodies of the Institute.
The Council is composed of students elected according to the provisions of the Statute and the relative Regulations. Within it, representatives are also identified to participate in the Academic Council, thus ensuring the presence of the student component also in the body that contributes to the planning and development of academic activities.
If you want to write to the Student Council, you can use the dedicated email address: consulta.studenti@secoli.com
Appointment Decree and Minutes:
Evaluation Committee
The Evaluation Committee is the independent body that observes and evaluates the functioning of the Institute’s AFAM component. Its task is to verify the quality and effectiveness of the educational offer, the correct functioning of the Quality Assurance system, and the maintenance of the requirements for accreditation, also providing support for the monitoring activities of ANVUR and MUR.
It is composed of three members with different skills, two of whom are chosen from external experts with proven qualifications in the field of evaluation. This composition allows the Committee to carry out its work with independence of judgment and to offer the Institute an external perspective on processes, results, and areas where it is possible to continue improving.
Every year, the Committee collects and analyzes data, documents, and information on the Institute’s activities and reports the results through an Annual Evaluation Report, drawn up according to ANVUR guidelines. The Committee has the right to access the information necessary to carry out its functions, and the Institute’s bodies and offices are required to cooperate with its activities.
On this page, we want to make the work carried out by the Committee directly accessible. Therefore, the Regulations of the Evaluation Committee, the decree of appointment of the members, and the Annual Reports for 2024, 2025, and 2026 remain available.
The function of the Committee is not only to verify compliance with requirements: evaluation is also a tool through which we can better understand what works, identify what can be improved, and fuel the process of academic quality growth in a documented way.
Quality Assurance Board
The Quality Assurance Board of Istituto Secoli is the body responsible for promoting the continuous improvement of academic and management activities. Through constant monitoring and evaluation of training processes, it ensures teaching effectiveness and transparency of services, in line with the institution’s standards of excellence.