Alumnus Francesco De Luca Passes Selection Process to Become Italian Diplomat
Francesco De Luca, class of 2018, has recently passed the exam to begin a career as an Italian diplomat. The exam will allow him to work in Italian embassies abroad and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome.
After graduating from JCU with a major in Economics and Finance, Francesco obtained an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where he specialized in international security and politics. During his American stay, he grew more interested in a career in the foreign service. This led him back home to Rome, where he began earnestly studying for the examination while taking an intensive preparatory course offered by Luiss University.
What does the examination entail?
The exam is divided into three parts. First, there is the pre-selection, which is a multiple-choice test. Then there is a written section, and if you pass that, you end the examination with an oral exam. The first two tests are focused on five different subjects: the history of international relations, International Law and European Law, and economics. You also get tested on languages: English is compulsory, and then you have to pick one between Spanish, German and French, which is the one I chose. The official program is immense: for the international relations section, you’re required to know everything that happened since the Congress of Vienna in 1815. That’s why you usually start studying two years before taking the exam.
If you pass all three sections, you can start working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, usually a couple of months after your oral exam. I should start working at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2025 with a nine-month apprenticeship, where I’ll learn about the technical aspects and how everything works. After that, I’ll be sent to an Italian embassy in a foreign country for a month to learn how to work in a post abroad. Then, I’ll come back to the Ministry and work in various departments to learn every aspect of the job.
Do you have any advice for Italian students who are planning to take the examination?
As soon as you decide that that’s what you want to do, you should start studying immediately. You need to plan ahead, even before you start taking an intensive course to help you prepare. Otherwise, it’s very likely you’ll get overwhelmed by the amount of work, and it can get hard at times to focus on the objective. On a positive note, you can plan so far ahead because the program of the last few years and the textbooks you need to study haven’t changed yet. Personally, I didn’t mind studying so much because I liked every subject, but the time component is something you really have to deal with.
Also, get to know your fellow students. You can share notes, textbooks, ideas. If you’re able to form a friendship with the people you’re studying with, you can deal with the pressure a lot better. Chances are those are the people you’re going to end up working with.
The second piece of advice is, if you have a degree from JCU or any other foreign university, you should get it recognized by the Italian authorities immediately. Start the procedure as soon as you can because it can take very long. It’s a lot of pressure, I’m not going to deny that, but once you take and pass the exam, that’s the very first step forward in your career.
Where do you hope to be posted after your apprenticeship at the Ministry?
For my first post abroad, I would ideally like to be sent to somewhere in the Middle East, because that’s where my interests lie. But it’s ultimately up to the Ministry to decide where to send you. You can only choose where you want to go once you start progressing through the ranks. For now, I would like to go somewhere different, where I can learn about a new culture, a new language, about the people I’m surrounded by. Somewhere I can learn something new every day.
