We had the pleasure and honour on the morning of 9 November of hosting a group of 25 students from the CIMBA Institute, the famous American Business & Management school (a consortium of 27 American universities headed by the University of Iowa) which has been making it possible for people all over the world to attend master degree courses, undergraduate courses and higher training courses at its Italian base in Asolo and Paderno del Grappa.

Another group of students had visited the company in June last and, thanks to that positive experience, the institute decided to repeat it in order to provide an opportunity for another group to get an up-close view of what the teaching staff defined as "a case of excellence of a family firm run with a managerial structure."

First of all, the students, accompanied by Prof. Grachev (lecturer in International Business Environment) and by Prof. Bobina (lecturer in Global Economics and Business), attended a presentation of the company by the sales manager, Francesco Pettenon, in one of the company's meeting rooms. They were later guided along a path that gave them an opportunity to visit the various company areas: from the sales, marketing and administrative offices to the laboratory and production department.

Everyone, students and lecturers alike, were struck by the welcome received and the quality of the organization. Prof. Grachev had particular thanks for the Pettenon family "for sharing the secrets of Fila's international success" and underlined that "not only the students but also the lecturers were able to learn a great deal from the experience."

It was a truly positive experience for us too and we hope to continue the collaboration with the prestigious CIMBA Institute and host other international groups of students in the future.