Stand has been talking about it for some time, finally we really start: the new Italian Erasmus is a reality. The first pilot project concerns master’s students of Engineering and those of primary education sciences of Bergamo And Reggio Calabria. There will be 5/6 students involved in each university, who will receive a scholarship as a contribution to the costs of board and lodging. They will attend courses and take exams that will be included in their curriculum, equal to 12 training credits.
A group of students from the University of Bergamo. Together with Reggio Calabria, the university has launched the Italian Erasmus pilot project. Photo Laura Pietra.
But how did we get there? «Italian Erasmus falls within the objectives set by the PNRR to increase the flexibility of the training offer and the interdisciplinarity of the study courses», said Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research recently. Bernini has just signed a new regulation of degree classes which allows students to build a personalized study path. Now it is up to the universities to sign collaboration agreements, “in order to encourage the exchange of knowledge and the development of competitive models”, added the minister.
The first agreement was reached between the universities of Bergamo and Reggio Calabria. «The Italian Erasmus could be the engine of a new cohesion of the university system», says the rector of Bergamo, Sergio Cavalieri. «For students there is the opportunity to grow as Italian citizens, grasp the sense of belonging to a community and deal with different territorial realities. For our students it can be a truly enriching experience: I think of a future engineer who can know the area in which the Messina bridge could be built, see its geographical and urban characteristics, understand the territory. Or, for those studying education sciences, do an internship in a Calabrian school».
Italian Erasmus and AlmaLaurea data
Giuseppe Zimbalatti, rector of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria adds: «Rather than doing Erasmus in a remote town in Finland, it may be more useful to get to know the industrial and manufacturing reality of Lombardy up close, while remaining however to live in your own city, with significant cost savings. There is a social aspect, as well as an educational one. The aim is also to overcome stereotypes by collaborating, without competition».
The latest report of AlmaLaurea, just presented in Palermo, has a specific focus on the territorial mobility of students, and confirms the tendency of southern students to move to the North. By comparing the geographical distribution of the diploma and that of the degree, the migratory balance is +23% in the North, +19% in the Centre, while it collapses to -26% in the South. Naturally, those who can afford it emigrate, especially male students with a medium-high cultural and economic background.
Italian Erasmus could help reshuffle the cards, making paths more fluid. Even here, however, there is a cost problem. «Erasmus is funded by the EU», remembers the rector of Bergamo. «For now, the scholarships of Italian experimentation are financed by universities. We hope that we will receive funding, including ministerial funding, to increase opportunities».
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