Bocconi 2018/2019: Skills and Research in a Europe That Works
CAMPUS |

Bocconi 2018/2019: Skills and Research in a Europe That Works

THE ACADEMIC YEAR HAS BEEN OPENED. THE MAIN TOPIC WAS THE EUROPE OF INNOVATION, IN THE WORDS OF EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER MOEDAS, PRESIDENT MONTI AND RECTOR VERONA

The Europe of innovation and research works. This is the main message of the inaugural ceremony of the 2018-2019 academic year, which took place today at Bocconi. With the President of the European Research Council (ERC), Jean-Pierre Bourguignon seated in the audience, that theme was underlined by the President of the University, Mario Monti, argued by European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, in his keynote speech (Bridging the Gap: Connecting the Futures of Technology and Democracy in Europe), and emphasized by Rector Gianmario Verona in his address.
 
«The Europe of innovation works,» said Monti, «because the ability to innovate and compete today is based on two elements: scale and skills. In innovation, as in the economy, the scale necessary to compete is European, which is why, for example, a system of research funding comparable to that in place in the United States is of fundamental importance.»
 
Rector Verona focused his address on the development of skills and entrepreneurship to face the changes in a global and interconnected world. «The educational system,» he said, «must anticipate these new trends and design the work profiles needed to bridge the gap between supply and demand in the future job market. This means, first of all, developing solid basic skills in traditional disciplinary areas, but also requires the transfer of digital skills: a new form of language, which requires a different literacy from that to which previous generations have been accustomed.»
 
Bocconi, the Rector said, reaches its objective of developing skills and entrepreneurship thanks to the human capital of its faculty and students, and to the knowledge that is created through research. The human capital of the faculty is exemplified by the new professors recruited on the international academic job market: 24 in the last year alone, 21 of whom came from international universities, 17 non-Italians, 8 Full Professors, reflecting an increasing international attractiveness. The human capital of the students is also a function of Bocconi's attractiveness, and its five schools have been able to selectively admit students from a number of applications that has increased by 19% in the last two years to over 20,000, with applications by non-Italians up by 40.7%.
 
The quality of the research is attested by the number of citations of scientific articles written by Bocconi professors, which almost doubled (+ 95%) in two years. Further proof is clear in the business world’s interest to finance named chairs (there are 16 at Bocconi) and in the growing success in winning competitions for national or international funding based on the quality of the projects, as in the case of ERC grants.
 
Since it was established in 2007, ERC and Bocconi have made a parallel journey. The ERC, the first European organization to fund frontline research, proved to be a great success. In order to promote basic research across the continent using scientific excellence as the sole criterion for selection, it financed 9,000 projects for a total of 65,000 researchers involved and has influenced the way many member states structure their research funding programs. Over the past 11 years, Bocconi has hosted 32 projects, headed by 26 researchers, in every field of the economic, social and legal areas, for a total of €34mln of funding and involving over 200 researchers.  Bocconi has found in the ERC an authoritative body that has contributed to its legitimacy as a top European player in social research.
 
President Monti recalled the pioneering role played by Bocconi in 1990 in the promotion of European research with the establishment of a European economic research center with a critical mass capable of stemming the brain drain process that characterized those years. The center in question is IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), designed in collaboration with the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London and the American National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which still participate in its governance. Among those that contributed to its creation in various ways, besides Monti himself and Francesco Giavazzi, are Richard Portes, Luigi Spaventa, William Branson and Stanley Fischer.
 
This year also saw the establishment of an important research center, focused on the economics of space, the SEE (Space Economy Evolution) Lab at SDA Bocconi, which collaborates with institutions such as the Italian Space Agency, the National Institute of Astrophysics, the European Space Agency and the Space Research Committee. The SEE Lab also signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affair a few days ago.

READ ALSO:

Bocconi 2018/2019: A University of Entrepreneurship and Skills

Fact Sheet: ERC@Bocconi

Rector's Address

by Fabio Todesco
Translated by Richard Greenslade


Latest Articles Campus

Go to archive
  • Pact4Future Is About the Planet

    The first edition of the Bocconi and Corriere della Sera forum will close on 28 March with a day focusing on Nature, featuring Filippo Grandi (UNHCR) and two astronauts from Axiom Mission 3

  • Pact4Future Focuses on Purpose

    Artificial intelligence, haute cuisine, sustainable fashion, family entrepreneurship, creativity and research will be the topics of conversation during the forum. Speakers Allen Blue (LinkedIn), Francesca Pasinelli (Telethon), Roberta Ventura (SEP the brand) and chef Davide Oldani will tell their stories, all linked to their values and a sense of responsibility to create a better world. There will also be a performance by Ditonellapiaga

  • Pact4Future Is for the People

    The international forum promoted by Bocconi and Corriere della Sera kicks into gear with Shirin Ebadi, Alessio Boni, Luca Trapanese and Maya Ghazal discussing rights and conflicts, gender equality and educational poverty

Browse the magazine in digital format.

View previous issues of Via Sarfatti 25

BROWSE THE MAGAZINE

Events

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
        1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31