Thirty seven million euros: this is Bocconi's (growing) support for its students

COMPARED TO THE 2016/17 ACADEMIC YEAR, IN 2021/22 THE UNIVERSITY ALLOCATED 34% MORE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND BENEFITS, THANKS ALSO TO THE SUPPORT OF ITS DONORS. MANY INITIATIVES, ALSO FOR FORCED MIGRANT STUDENTS

Thirty-seven million euros, or 34% more than the 26.6 million euros of the 2016/2017 academic year: this is what Bocconi University has allocated to support its students in the 2021/2022 academic year, so much so that today 1 in 4 students benefits from some form of aid.  A figure that has increased steadily over the years,  demonstrating the university's desire to be the engine and positive agent of social mobility, contributing to increasing the diversity of its community and having a positive impact on individual students, their families and society.

In this role of promoting merit and inclusion, the role of the donors who supported the University was crucial: since 2016, over 23 million euros have been raised to support students, going from 2.6 million collected in 2016 to 5.7 million in  2021, in favor of programs related to social mobility. Among these, the program A possible choice, in support of young students in conditions of particular socio-economic disadvantage, Investing in the future, fueled mainly by small donations, and the entitled Funds. Overall, thanks to  corporate  donors and foundations,  the 14 fund entitled to support students have been established, 6 of which are dedicated exclusively to female students.

However, Bocconi's commitment is not only for its students. Through the 1stGEN@UNI project, Bocconi and Citi Foundation work together to promote university education among students in disadvantaged conditions from Italian high schools, while with Fondazione Labia a similar project involves students from South Africa.  These projects have become real gateways to the University.

Finally, a particular type of support is that which Bocconi University has allocated to students who have been forced to flee their country, risking that they will no longer be able to resume their studies.  This is the case of the various initiatives to support forced migrant students, initiatives that in recent months have opened the doors of the University to 12 Ukrainian students, 2 Afghan students and 3 refugee students in Malawi, Cameroon and Mozambique who arrived at Bocconi as part of the UNICORE project.

The outbreak of the war in Ukraine, moreover, saw Bocconi engaged from the first moments in supporting the Ukrainian refugee community  in Milan. Two initiatives in particular have been promoted: the Ukrainian Community Empowering Program, a development program dedicated to supporting continuing education and reintegration into professional and social life in the context of Italian culture, which provides a basket of specialization and training courses; and the creation of  UASI, the legal support unit for the Ukrainian community born within the Bocconi Lab in European Studies (BLEST).

by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Richard Greenslade