The series of four events hosted by Luiss Guido Carli University wrapped up with talks by Luciano Violante, Honorary President of italiadecide; Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, President of Intesa Sanpaolo; Paola Severino, Vice President of Luiss Guido Carli University; and Gaetano Manfredi, Professor of Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II. The events presented the second edition of the research on the reputation of Italian universities worldwide, conducted by italiadecide in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo.

The university sector is strategic for the development and competitiveness of the country and its businesses. The study “Italy and its reputation: the university,” led by Professor Domenico Asprone along with Professors Pietro Maffettone, Massimo Rubechi, and Vincenzo Alfano, aimed to analyze the state of our university system in an international context and propose effective policies to enhance its quality and global appeal, particularly in light of the changed landscape due to COVID-19.

Through a systematic approach to analyzing the QS and THE rankings—among the most prestigious and influential—Italy’s university system has proven to offer consistent quality across the country. While no Italian university ranks in the top 100, over 40% are in the top 1,000 globally, outperforming France, China, and the United States, which have fewer than 10% of their universities in that top tier.

Furthermore, in the face of the COVID-19 emergency, our academic system demonstrated resilience and flexibility, proving capable of responding and even increasing enrollment, thanks in part to the effectiveness of policies implemented at the institutional level. The “crisis” also provided an opportunity to test distance learning in the field, which in the future could help enrich, rather than replace, in-person instruction in a strategic, more technologically sophisticated, and more inclusive way.

During the meeting “What choices and what policies for the reputation of the university?”, several recommendations emerged to enhance the quality of the university system and, consequently, its position in the rankings. These include increasing investments, addressing policies for recruiting academic staff, improving administrative processes, expanding collaborations with businesses and between universities to promote internationalization and attract foreign students, and improving action and communication at the systemic level.

Luciano Violante, Honorary President of italiadecide, stated: “This research starts from the idea that we need to break down the complex of self-denigration, of speaking ill of ourselves. This is wrong not only because self-denigration is often incorrect, but also because it fosters attitudes that shift responsibility: if nothing works, it’s clear that no one is making an effort. The research explains a paradox: why aren't Italian universities among the top in the world, yet our graduates hold positions of the highest responsibility worldwide in the most diverse disciplines? This is likely because not only is the system as a whole better than individual universities, but also because many universities have specific areas of excellence. However, this doesn't mean we can avoid investing more, renewing our faculty, and relentlessly focusing on merit.”

Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, President of Intesa Sanpaolo, commented: “Proposing solutions to improve the country is the core of italiadecide’s work, particularly this research, and it’s with this spirit that we’ve supported it for many years. By 2024, Intesa Sanpaolo plans to hire 3,500 young people. This means we need skills that align with the bank’s evolving needs in the coming years, with a focus on gender balance as well. Having well-prepared young people and an education system that is more international and closely aligned with the job market is crucial for the competitiveness of a country and its businesses. The Group’s support for 70 Italian universities and a few foreign ones, including Oxford, through targeted collaborative projects, stems from its focus on generating and disseminating knowledge to ensure a fair distribution of wealth.”

Paola Severino, Vice President of Luiss, stated: “The research by italiadecide, sponsored by Intesa Sanpaolo, provides an important in-depth analysis to assess the role our universities play internationally. The rankings analyzed clearly show the quality of our universities across the country, which are focused on ensuring that young people have equal starting opportunities. When viewed as a whole, our country stands out as a positive example, as its university system boasts a high average quality. The great value of this research lies in its emphasis not on numbers but on the comparison between systems, highlighting the importance of striking a balance between a “broad” cultural foundation and specialization, including multidisciplinary specialization, as a foundation for professional careers. Education is the key to the future, especially during a period of change necessitated by the pandemic crisis. For this reason, we must aim for continuous improvement of the university system, while also fostering dialogue with the public administration and the business world to create the new professional roles that are needed. Finally, we also need to focus on improving communication, as the experts we interviewed unanimously agree that the perceived quality of our universities is lower than it actually is.”