Exchange for teenagers: how to prepare for business schools with a summer course in Italy

Entering a good business school is an objective that begins long before the entrance exam or university application. Students who arrive at the best business schools in the world already bring something that goes beyond grades: practical experience, market vision, and international repertoire. A summer course in Italy focusing on luxury management is one of the most direct ways to build this profile while still in high school.

Italian Business Excellence Management (IBEM) is a boutique immersion program aimed at ambitious teenagers who want to understand how the biggest global brands are created, managed, and expanded. In this article, you will understand why Italy is the ideal setting for this learning, who are the teachers behind the program, and how this experience can strengthen applications to business schools around the world.

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Why is Italy the best laboratory for learning real business?

At the same time, few countries combine industrial tradition, global leadership in luxury brands, and deep-rooted entrepreneurial culture. Italy is home to groups such as Luxottica, Versace, Panerai, Ferretti Yachts and Dolce & Gabbana. It's not about studying successful companies from books. It is possible to enter them.

For an adolescent who plans to study business, economics, or management abroad, being in contact with real executives and visiting operating companies has a different weight in a university application. It's the kind of baggage that an admissions teacher at Cambridge, Oxford, or any Ivy League school recognizes right away. If you're still researching the best exchange programs for teenagers, it's worth understanding that the destination's profile matters just as much as the program itself.

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What is the IBEM program and how does it work?

Italian Business Excellence Management is not a conventional summer school. It is a small-format immersion, with limited places, executive teachers and direct access to companies in the luxury sector in Italy.

While large scale programs rely on academic assistants and large classrooms, IBEM operates with:

• Restricted number of participants per class
• Teachers with active executive positions in global brands
• Technical visits to real companies in the luxury sector
• Practical immersion format, not just theoretical

The program is offered for high school students who want to explore business management, entrepreneurship, leadership, and an international career. It's exactly the kind of experience that makes sense within a vocational program aimed at careers for young people.

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Who are the IBEM teachers?

This is one of the program's most concrete differentials. The professors are not academics who have never left the university. These are executives who are currently leading global operations.

• Alberto Festa he has been Commercial Director of Watches and Jewelry at Dolce & Gabbana and adjunct professor at LUISS University since 2008. Throughout his career, he was North American President of Bulgari (LVMH), Director General EMEA of Loro Piana (LVMH) and CEO of Vhernier. Over 25 years of international leadership in first-tier brands.
• Giulia Durando leads the leadership activation laboratory in the program. He is currently Head of Talent Attraction at Dentsu for Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. She is also an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation. She works with students on the development of executive communication, career strategy, and personal positioning.
• Corrado Del Fanti he is an adjunct professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and at LUISS, as well as a member of the faculty of Il Sole 24 Ore Business School. With international experience in the automotive, fashion, and luxury yachting industries, he answers the yachting module of the program. He worked with Ferretti Yachts, Azimut Benetti, Honda and Volvo, among others.
• Debora Palazzini acts as a global learning and development consultant with 20 years of experience in luxury and fashion environments. She was Retail Excellence Training Manager at Versace for EMEA, Global Retail Trainer at K-way and consultant at Texageres (Paris). She conducts the Retail Excellence module.

This level of access to working professionals is rarely available in summer programs for teens. It's the equivalent of taking a private class with those who make real decisions in brands that the whole world knows.

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What companies do students visit during the program?

Technical visits are a central part of the IBEM, not extra activities. Participants come into direct contact with the operations of the following companies:

• Spring Studios is a luxury campaign production studio. Students get in touch with creative direction, storytelling, and behind the scenes of producing high-end content for global brands.
• Cipriani House is one of the most iconic hospitality groups in the world. Arrigo Cipriani welcomes students to share their entrepreneurial trajectory and discuss global expansion, brand consistency, and heritage in the luxury sector. Few opportunities like this exist for teenagers.
• Riva Yachts it's a visit to the manufacturing hub. Participants closely observe how Italian craftsmanship translates into a global luxury positioning, including engineering, production and market strategy.
• Panerai is immersion in the world of luxury watchmaking. The focus is on brand heritage, product development, precision manufacturing, and global distribution strategy.

This contact with real operations of companies in the luxury sector is exactly what differentiates a common application from a strong application when applying to business schools. If you want to better understand how to prepare for selection processes abroad, check out this guide on How to stand out in the university selection process.

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Why is the luxury sector a gateway to global business?

Luxury isn't just a market. It is a laboratory for brand strategy, scarcity management, customer experience, and internationalization. Companies like LVMH, Kering and Richemont are studied at all the world's major business schools precisely because they master with excellence topics that any manager needs to understand.

By studying luxury yachts, watchmaking, hospitality and fashion campaigns, the student learns about:

• Brand differentiation in saturated markets
• Decision-making in high-demand environments
• Multicultural team management
• Expansion strategy for international markets

These themes appear directly in the curricula of schools such as London Business School, Bocconi, ESADE, and Wharton. Having experienced this in practice before entering college is a real difference.

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Italy as a study destination: what to expect besides the program?

Italy offers a combination that few countries can achieve: gastronomic excellence, historic architecture, design, and a culture that deeply values doing well. For an adolescent, being immersed in this environment for a few weeks in summer is a parallel formation that has no equivalent in the classroom.

Milan is considered the capital of European fashion and design. Rome brings together history, politics and culture. The entire country communicates, in an organic way, what it means to build something with identity and lasting value. For more information about the main Italian destinations to study, see this article about 3 fascinating destinations to study Italian in Italy.

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Does this program replace international high school?

No. The IBEM is a summer immersion, not a complete high school program. It works as a stage for preparing and enriching the curriculum, especially for those thinking of applying to universities abroad.

For those who are still deciding which exchange format makes the most sense for high school, it's worth reading this article about Whether high school is always the best option for teenagers. There are situations in which an intensive vocational program, combined with a traditional high school, creates a much stronger profile for university applications than either of them alone.

For those who are comparing international school formats, this Complete guide to boarding school and high school helps to understand the differences in structure and objective of each path.

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FAQ: summer business course in Italy for teenagers

1. Does the IBEM program have a language requirement? Yes. The program is conducted in English, so intermediate English is required. It's not necessary to speak Italian.
2. What is the recommended age range for the IBEM? The program is designed for high school students, generally between 14 and 18 years old, who want to prepare for business schools.
3. Is the program certificate internationally recognized? The IBEM issues a certificate of participation. The main academic value, however, comes from the account of the experiences experienced during technical visits and of the teachers with whom the student had direct contact during the interviews and university application essays.
4. Does the program work together with other summer exchanges? Yes. Many students combine IBEM with another international experience during summer vacation, such as a language course in another European country or a sports program. Be Easy can guide you on how to set up this itinerary.
5. When do the IBEM classes take place? The program is offered during the European summer. There is also a special condition for registrations made by the end of February, valid exclusively for the Business Program. It is worth contacting us to check availability of dates.

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Be Easy

Be Easy accompanies high school students who want to build a solid international curriculum before entering university. With over 18 years of experience in educational exchange and recognition among the best agencies in the world by the Star Awards 2024/2025, the team guides families through every step of the process, from program selection to boarding. If you want to know how the IBEM or other vocational programs fit your child's trajectory, contact us.