University, a Feasible Choice for Everyone

Today's job market, which youth of all nationalities are entering for the first time, has become more competitive, but also offers additional opportunities with respect to the past. A university must supply not only knowledge, but also the skills, experience, and attitudes needed to face the job market with confidence. First of all, a university must offer opportunities to anybody who merits them. These were the points on which Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Vodafone Group and 2004 Bocconi Alumnus of the Year, and Andrea Sironi, Bocconi Rector, were in agreement, in their appearance as guests of Coltivare talenti (Cultivating Talent), a videochat hosted by CorriereTv and moderated by the Vice Editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera, Daniele Manca.

Starting point for the conversation was the recent initiative Una scelta possibile (A Feasible Choice), thanks to which Bocconi, with the help of donors funding the program, intends to give an opportunity to talented youth living in degraded social environments and conditions of economic hardship, who could not otherwise think about continuing education after high school. Colao was the first alumnus who personally funded the new program.

MANCA Do universities, then, have a social function?

SIRONI Bocconi has always favored social mobility. Every year, we give students €20 million in financial aid according to our traditional procedures, which entail an application by the prospective student and verification of his/her pre-requisites on our part. But with Una scelta possibile, we have decided to be proactive and go searching ourselves for high-potential youth who are seriously economically and socially disadvantaged, so that we can say to their families: "For the next three years, it will be us taking care of your son or daughter," by giving him/her free tuition, a scholarship, guaranteed housing, textbooks, and a PC. We started from Milan, with the collaboration of the Public Education Supervisor for the Province of Milan, but now we would like to expand our reach.

MANCA There are those who propose to solve the problem of access to higher education by increasing tuition for the richer students, so that poorer students can get tuition-free education.

COLAO I do not believe in this kind of government intervention. I rather side with the idea of a generous capitalism, according to which those who benefited from past opportunities can now make an effort to offer them to today's youth, too. It seems natural to me that the initiative is funded by the university's alumni, who have enjoyed upward social mobility thank to their studies, and today are able, each according to his/her possibilities to give back to the community. I, for instance, will never forget to have benefited from a scholarship to study in the U.S.

MANCA A reader asks if it's still worth getting an education in Italy, a country now devoid of opportunities and ideals.

SIRONI The country where one studies is increasingly less relevant, as long as your university offers you the opportunity to gain international experience. At Bocconi, we have almost 2,000 foreign students, we send 1,300 students abroad each year, and recruit our faculty internationally. The competition to attract the best talent – be they students or researchers – is a European, if not global, race. And donations help you to be more competitive.

MANCA Readers keep complaining about the poor state of our political and economic élites. How can it be that in order to get recognized one has to migrate abroad?

COLAO We should stop crying over our own misfortunes. I see lack and greatness a bit everywhere in the world. The purpose of initiatives like Una scelta possibile is to give young generations the opportunity to study in an internationally competitive environment.

MANCA A reader asks how Mr Colao picks his collaborators.

COLAO Naturally, it depends on the position, but the common characteristics are enthusiasm, passion, and openness to the world. I look for people who, when they see something good elsewhere, immediately think: "Why don't we have it, too?" and activate themselves to do it. If I supported this initiative, it's because nobody who has these characteristics should have to enounce studying at Bocconi only because they think it's out of their financial reach.

MANCA What are Bocconi's selection criteria?

SIRONI We seek to evaluate personal aptitudes as wells as commitment and dedication. Just like any other human endeavor, our system might not be perfect, but those who get admitted are motivated and, generally, obtain good results. After graduation, we actively support them as they enter the job market.

MANCA What are the indispensable skills of the future, and how can continuous education provide them?

COLAO In the current reality, and not only in the industry where I operate, it is essential to know about technology, about the world, and have commercial and marketing abilities. As for continuous education, a few days ago the CEO of a U.S. biotech company was telling me he downloads online classes which pertain to his (not only professional) interests, which he listens to during his frequent business flights. The possibilities for continuous education are many, but we must have the athlete's mindset, who knows he/she must always keep in shape.

MANCA Among our readers, there are those who complain about the low propensity of Italian public universities to go international. Is there progress on this front?

SIRONI I think that judgment is ungenerous. Public universities can also boast cases of excellence, and thanks to exchange programs like Erasmus, internationalization has improved enormously there, too. The point is that every university must do its own job well, by leveraging the country's strong points, which are there and which are envied by the rest of the world. Only in this way, things will improve for everybody.

MANCA What kind of career opportunities are there in a country where, to quote a reader, relational capitalism is dominant?

COLAO In fact, that is the opposite of merit. A boss too aligned with the existing power system should send a warning signal. But, within limits, one can choose his or her boss, one can change, make his/her voice heard. If young people are in a university that doesn't send its students abroad, where professors are feckless, they should protest and put pressure.

SIRONI Luckily, things are changing. At our university, we have decided to exclude from our faculty recruiting whoever got his/her PhD at Bocconi. Young people must get on the market, and go where they can learn new things and have their value acknowledged.

MANCA What is your advice to young people who have to make educational and professional choices: should they heed their hearts or their minds?

SIRONI Both passion and discipline are useful. Listen to your heart about the basic choice of what to study, but rationality must be applied to the actual choice – choosing where one should pursue a degree in his/her beloved subject.

MANCA Is it harder for today's youth with respect to when you were students?

COLAO It is harder. The world is more competitive, but also larger, and with more opportunities. Today you don't go to Bocconi to work in Milan. Possibilities are opening up all around the world.

SIRONI I agree. Before, Italy's youth had only to compete with Americans and other Europeans. Now there is also the competition coming from the fiercely determined students hailing from emerging economies.

MANCA I would like to conclude on an optimistic note. There have been hard times in the past, too, but the horizon of today's youth should not be Italy losing 1% of GDP each year, but the whole world, which is growing at a 4% rate.