Bocconi and Politecnico: Working Together to Educate Cyber Risk Experts and Support Innovative Businesses

Expertise can be merged to better meet the needs of the job market and support the development of innovative entrepreneurship. This idea has led Bocconi University and Politecnico di Milano to design the partnership signed today in the presence of the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala.

It is a historical alliance between the two universities, one private and one public. They compete in the international market, each with a different area of specialization, and are both based in Milan, the perfect context for developing a system of collaborations, both at an institutional level and with finance and industry. The ecosystem in Milan and in the universities has thus made it possible to merge expertise and communities on two fronts. One is an entrepreneurship project with Borsa Italiana that aims to help startups ready to scale up to meet with the business community, starting with investors. The other is educational: a new Master of Science program in Cyber Risk, an increasingly strategic area for companies and institutions that is currently lacking on the job market.

"The best expertise must be offered to Generation Z, the future of the country, along with the best education for the needs of the constantly evolving job market and the best opportunities for developing their entrepreneurial ideas. This is the meaning behind the alliance between our universities," explains Gianmario Verona, Rector of Bocconi. "Our collaboration is only possible because it has been developed in a city, Milan, that is open, international and has the right institutional context. A system of agile rules, which acts to detonate creativity, is required for innovation in both education and business. This is the only way Italian universities can be increasingly competitive and support growth in Italy, aiming at developing competencies."

"This is an important agreement that is not measured by the return our universities will have, but rather on the impact it will have on society," says Ferruccio Resta, Rector of Politecnico di Milano. "It is an alliance that presents positive proposals on industry and institutions, contributing to making Milan even more attractive. It takes advantage of the expertise and credibility of two of the best universities in Italy, inaugurating a collaboration – the only one of its kind in the country – that multiplies their value through a mutual exchange."

Thanks to this collaboration between Bocconi and Politecnico di Milano, the educational offer of the two universities will expand with the new Joint Master of Science in Cyber Risk Strategy and Governance starting in the 2019-2020 academic year. It aims to meet an emerging and quickly growing demand through the complementary specialties of the two universities. The program will be held in English and is open to 50 students, providing the tools needed to understand, assess and govern the opportunities and threats of emerging technologies. In particular, graduates will be able to face cyber risks and their impact on the performance of organizations. The degree issued will be recognized by both universities, and is designed for students with a background in technology and computer science, engineering, management or political science and a strong interest in preventing and fighting cyber risk.

The alliance's second line of action concerns innovative entrepreneurship. In this area, the collaboration began last year with the integration of two communities and services available at the two universities. This has now been developed into BeReady2Fly (beready2fly.it), the first event created by Politecnico di Milano, Bocconi University and their respective incubators, PoliHub and Speed MI Up. It aims to promote contact between potential investors, industries and the best and high-potential startups within the two university ecosystems. Promoted and created in collaboration with Borsa Italiana and with the support of Citi Ventures, Officine Innovazione di Deloitte and Tinaba | Sator, the initiative started on Friday with a "Call2Fly." Twenty startups will be selected to participate in BeReady2Fly, scheduled for 26 November at Palazzo Mezzanotte, the headquarters of Borsa Italiana. During the event, the twenty companies will be introduced to the public, and will meet potential investors and partners during individual business matching sessions.

Download the Cyber Risk profile here
Download the BeReady2Fly profile here