Now we are first league players

THE BOCCONI PHD SCHOOL WELCOMES STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND, ABOVE ALL, COMPETES WITH THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES TO ATTRACT THE BEST TALENTS, AS DEAN ANDREA FOSFURI EXPLAINS

“When a student we want to bring to Bocconi ends up choosing Harvard or the London School of Economics, we don't take too much of it. That’s because sometimes also the opposite happens. What makes us proud in any case is that our reference target is now top-tier universities. We are for all intents and purposes a top-level university”, says Andrea Fosfuri, Full Professor at the Department of Management and Technology, who has been confirmed in the role of Dean of the PhD School, a position he has held for three years now. "Without a doubt a sign of esteem and appreciation," he explains, "but continuity in this case is important, because it takes four to five years to fully evaluate the results of my job". In addition, with the new mandate, Fosfuri will also be called upon to deal with Bocconi for Innovation (B4i), the pre-acceleration, acceleration and development platform for startups of Bocconi University: "A very interesting role for me. I have always been involved in innovation and start-ups in particular. What I will try to do in this regard is trying to integrate more and more B4i into the University's teaching programs".

Fosfuri, who graduated in Economics and Business from the University of Urbino and received a PhD in Economics from Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, ​​began his academic career at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, before joining Bocconi in 2012. “Needless to say, as with many of my colleagues, an academic career was not at the top of my mind when I started college. It was an idea that grew along the way, in particular it was my colleague Alfonso Gambardella who convinced me to enroll in the PhD program". Upon his arrival at Bocconi in 2012, the University was already in the midst of rapid change: "When I arrived, the trajectory of the Department of Management and Technology was that of becoming one of the best in Europe", says Fosfuri, "and now it has become so and we are a model to follow for many. The same kind of reasoning can be extended to the University as a whole, which has made a truly incredible path to increase its openness to the world ". In his role, Fosfuri acts as an intermediary between what happens in the PhD and the Rectorate: “The School has five programs, each with its own director. We must create standards that are common to all, and best practices that need to be shared. And above all, improve the placement. This will be one of my main objectives”.

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti