Rome, 9 November (LaPresse) - While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to run rampant in Italy, the Government remains "committed" in the forefront of investment in training and research thanks to the Next Generation EU funds. And for university first-year students there is exciting news: an exception to distance learning is on the way. Giuseppe Conte chose the inauguration of the 2020-2021 academic year at LUISS University to launch the Government's action concerning the university system, which plays a "fundamental role in accompanying citizens through change".
Connected from Palazzo Chigi, the Prime Minister addressed the students directly and recognised the Roman University as the "flagship of the system" thanks to the role it has carved out for itself internationally since its foundation in 1974. Then came the long-awaited announcement: "We have decided to make an exception to the distance learning constraint. We must guarantee the presence of first-year students in universities". A measure that, as a matter of fact, follows the reasoning adopted for the sixth grade, where at the moment classroom lessons are also held in the red, high-risk regions.
Conte reiterates that the Government is currently drafting the National Resilience and Relaunch Plan, in which "primary attention will be given to investment in training and research, for the benefit of future generations", calling for the improvement of university-business connections by exploiting the creation of "digital education hubs".
These words echoed in the Aula Magna in Viale Pola in Rome, where the Director General of LUISS Giovanni Lo Storto, shortly before, had reiterated his commitment in times of pandemic: "Since 4 March, in just one night, we have organised virtual lectures; since the first lockdown, we have recorded 1,863,524 connections and 19,000 lectures".
The idea is that 2021 will be "difficult but full of opportunities" and that the University is ready to do its part to reactivate the social lift, also thanks to the confirmation of over 1,000 scholarships.
"We are in a prolonged phase of health crisis, but our commitment is unchanged: to stimulate intellectual confrontation and understand the reality around us", was the message of the Vice-Chancellor Andrea Prencipe during the inauguration ceremony, in which the Vice-President of King's College London, Funmi Olonisakin, and the CEO of Solvay, Ilham Kadri, also spoke, in video-conference format . In the final greeting, President of Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) Carlo Bonomi made an appeal to the students: "I am counting on you, never give up trying, don't stop at the first hurdle".
10 November 2020
