Me.Mo.: Bocconi puts merit into action
Bocconi University is joining Me.Mo. - Merito e Mobilità Sociale, the national programme promoted by Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and developed in collaboration with the network MERITA - La Rete per il Talento, created to guide deserving secondary school pupils from less privileged socio-economic and cultural backgrounds towards a more informed choice of university.
This participation forms part of the path set out by the Bocconi Strategic Plan 2026–2030 and Progetto 34, inspired by Article 34 of the Constitution, which recognises the right of capable and deserving individuals, even if lacking financial means, to attain the highest levels of education. The aim is to intervene before university entry, at a stage where a lack of information, confidence or role models can turn a potential path of personal development into a decision to give up before even trying.
Before talent goes unnoticed
Me.Mo. is aimed at students in their penultimate year of upper secondary school, with a particular focus on first-generation university students and those from less privileged family or local backgrounds. The programme combines career guidance, peer mentoring, local activities, residential experiences, preparation for post-diploma choices, and engagement with lecturers, tutors, students and alumni.
“Social mobility is a concrete responsibility for a leading university: it involves ensuring effective access to university education for all talented young people, whilst at the same time implementing initiatives that enable us to identify and recognise talent where it risks remaining unseen,” says Marta Cartabia, Dean for Social Engagement and Institutional Affairs at Bocconi University. “With Me.Mo., Bocconi is reinforcing its commitment to removing economic, social, cultural and educational obstacles and barriers that prevent talented young people from fully realising their potential.”
Bocconi’s contribution
Bocconi will contribute to the project by involving student mentors, organising local guidance activities, providing immersive campus experiences and facilitating opportunities for dialogue with the academic community. For the 2026/27 academic year, the plan is to involve 150 students supported by Bocconi, organised into 10 groups and accompanied by 20 Bocconi ambassadors acting as tutors.
“Article 34 of the Constitution is not merely a principle to be invoked, but a duty to be fulfilled,” adds Marta Cartabia. “This is why the university must reach out to students even before they come knocking on its doors: in schools, in local communities, within families, and in the places where aspirations, expectations and motivation take shape. Me.Mo. is a joint project involving various higher education institutions that is moving in this direction”.
A key part of the social impact strategy
Joining Me.Mo. strengthens Bocconi’s role within a national network committed to promoting equitable access to higher education, recognising merit and fostering the growth of the country’s human capital. For the University, the project represents a concrete step in its broader commitment to making academic excellence more open, inclusive and capable of generating social impact.
“MeMo stems from the conviction that talent exists in all social and geographical contexts, but that not everyone has the same opportunities to express it. In over ten years of experience at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, we have developed a model that supports first-generation students in their university choices. The new agreement, with Bocconi University joining the institutions of the MERITA network, reinforces this shared commitment: to create the conditions for merit to shine through, regardless of family background or region of origin,” says Nicola Vitiello, Rector of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.