Luca Attanasio, from memory to permanent commitment: Bocconi consolidates the scholarships in his name
In 2021, in the aftermath of the attack that claimed the life of Luca Attanasio, Bocconi University alumnus and Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Bocconi community responded with a fundraiser that involved over 900 donors. Thanks to that collective contribution and the University's matching gift, the first five scholarships dedicated to him were activated.
Today, that initiative is no longer a one-off event linked to a moment of strong emotional participation. Starting in the 2024/2025 academic year, Bocconi has established a total and permanent scholarship named in memory of Luca Attanasio, entirely supported by the University, which will guarantee full coverage of fees each year for a student from fragile countries or linked to contexts in which Attanasio worked.
This is a clear decision: to transform a mobilisation into a stable policy of access to education.
Access, merit, responsibility
The permanent exemption is part of a broader strategy with which Bocconi is strengthening its tools for inclusion and support for merit, alongside other permanent scholarships and dedicated initiatives. This is not an image operation, but a structural investment in human capital.
“Making this exemption permanent means taking memory as a lasting commitment and translating it, year after year, into access to study and the promotion of merit,” says Rector Francesco Billari. “The most authentic way to treasure an example is to transform it into an opportunity for new generations.”
The reference is direct to Attanasio's personal and professional trajectory: a diplomatic career built in the field, in complex contexts, with constant attention to local communities and international relations.
The beneficiary students
The scholarships in memory of Luca Attanasio have already supported several students, selected on the basis of merit and origin from contexts characterised by economic or institutional fragility.
Among the beneficiaries of the fundraising campaign involving the Bocconi community are:
- Matthias Georges Benoiton, a bachelor graduate in Business Economics and Management, born in Mozambique;
- Alembe Akili Dikonzo and Lea Christine, MSc graduates in Economics and Management of Government and International Organisations, from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon respectively;
- Hafsa Nagawa, a MSc graduate in Marketing Management, from the Republic of Burundi;
- Jessica Obi Kalu, enrolled in the fifth year of Law degree programme, from Nigeria.
The beneficiaries of the full exemption established by Bocconi are:
- Amirsadra Mahjobiyan, enrolled in the first year of the Bachelor in International Economics and Management, originally from Iran;
- Mohamed Esayed Ehamdi Ahmed Mahmoud, enrolled in the second year of the Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and Management, from Egypt.
Their academic stories represent the most concrete result of the University's decision to establish a permanent opportunity that allows talented and determined young people to access a path of high-level international education.
A place that bears a name
Alongside the establishment of the permanent scholarship, Bocconi has decided to name the Salone della Rettoria in the Rectory in Piazza Sraffa, a historic space for discussion and dialogue for the academic community, after Luca Attanasio. It is a simple but significant gesture: linking the name of an alumnus to a place of learning and discussion in the heart of the University.
The choice combines memory and function. It is not a matter of celebration, but of permanently integrating the memory into spaces and tools that affect university life.
Five years after his death, Luca Attanasio's name remains associated with what a university can do most concretely: open doors, guarantee access, support merit. Without rhetoric, with a commitment that is renewed every year.
