Next Stop Milano
While the students were busy with their finals, Bocconi was crowded with many researchers from all over the world, who came to attend the four congresses that were organized and hosted on campus in June (Customer Journeys in a Digital World, ERES, BAIC, ARCS). And many more will arrive between July and August, for the scheduled conferences of LEAP, SIMA, Geoinno, and EEA-ESEM.
This is a doubly positive sign: on the one hand there is the resumption of international mobility after pandemic restrictions, on the other the confirmation of Bocconi's attractiveness and reputation among our partners and academic stakeholders. Likewise, the success of the recently concluded Design Week is a signal that Milan is back on track and running as fast it was during the years following Expo 2015. The race is on in order to be ready for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, towards which Bocconi University is already working by contributing impact studies.
It is without doubt that Bocconi, and the Milanese university and research system in general, benefits from Milan's rise in international attractiveness. In the same way, the growth of the city is aided by its university ecosystem and its centers of excellence in the life sciences, digital technology and the social sciences. Milan with its 220,000 university students and droves of researchers populating its universities and new research hubs like the Human Technopole, is one of Europe's capitals of talent, a city that more than others has put human capital at the center of its strategy. Bocconi has worked hard to build an academic environment of value, providing services and hospitality for international researchers and their families. Now a third of its faculty comes from abroad, joining an international student body, with 25% of students coming from more than 90 countries around the world.
In recent years, a lot has been done jointly to attract talent. Now the time has come to devote efforts to make sure these young talents stay here and give back to Milan (and Italy) part of the investment that was made in them. We have to close this virtuous circle, and in order to do so we must, for instance, be equally attractive for multinational corporations, so that they choose Milan to set up their EU headquarters.