Respect science. Always, not only in the face of a global emergency such as the pandemic. Sergio Mattarella is away from home but in a certain sense he plays “at home” in saying these words. Because the Head of State is at the inauguration of the new campus of Architecture of the Politecnico di Milano, a university that has made the promotion of knowledge and scientific research its strong point, the asset that leads it to be considered the best university in Italy, among the first in the world for design, engineering and architecture. Faculty that now has a new headquarters, a campus created from an idea of the senator for life (and graduate of the “Poli”) Renzo Piano, new spaces that integrate teaching, greenery (9 thousand square meters of trees), common areas and laboratories of Research.
Projection into the future
Campus – observes Mattarella – which “underlines the projection towards the future in harmony with the moment that our country is going through, a moment of new beginning, not of returning to the conditions prior to the pandemic, but of a beginning on different and new conditions” . Structure – recalled the Minister of University and Research Maria Cristina Messa -, which is an example of urban regeneration driven by universities, created by a university that embodies “planning skills and striving for continuous improvement”. Quality and beauty, “for an Architecture with a capital A”, are not by chance the main themes of the speech by the Rector, Ferruccio Resta, who looks forward trying to make the most of even the hardest experiences of lockdown, translated into a distance teaching that has nevertheless shown the great potential of the digital transition.
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Digital transition
Webinars and videoconferences which, however, can never replace direct experience, which in the new Campus is best represented by the new digital design, additive manufacturing and holographic techniques laboratories. The result of three years of work – explains Resta – to realize the idea of the Plan, putting in place speed and accuracy of execution. Qualities that should inform the activity of the Public Administration, now called to play a crucial role in grounding the projects of the NRP. “We need a capable and efficient PA – explains Resta -, who returns to represent the beauty and quality we have inherited”. A legacy that the university does not limit itself to managing but which it enhances looking ahead, as evidenced by the 20 construction sites opened in three years, the works in progress to strengthen and expand the Bovisa pole north-west of the city, the new laboratories, the forecasting center to assess the prospective impact of new technologies. Politecnico di Milano is now 142nd in the world rankings.
Reforms needed
Penalized, reminds the rector, above all by the relationship between teachers and students, and therefore by constraints external to the University. “This is why reforms are needed – adds Resta – to give Italy an ambitious system objective, which could lead Italy to have some universities, why not, among the top fifty in the world“. A crucial challenge also for the Head of State, who recalls in his off-the-cuff speech what must be the key task of universities, as well as of the world of culture and education: arousing ideas, helping young people to propose. Giving them the ability to elaborate and face the future. “And in this – concludes Mattarella -, this university is well equipped”.
The memory of Giampiero Pesenti
During the meeting Mattarella and Resta also recalled the figure of Giampiero Pesenti, a graduate of the Milanese University, to whom the lecture hall was named yesterday. In this regard, Carlo Pesenti, son of Giampiero, and president of the Pesenti Foundation and CEO of Italmobiliare commented: «This day will be an unforgettable day for me for my children and for our whole family. The memory of my father by the President of the Republic and the Rector of the Polytechnic – underlined Carlo Pesenti – is an extraordinary recognition of his figure, his history, his values. And naming the auditorium after his name consolidates the bond that unites our family with this great Milanese and Lombard institution, a process that began in the early years of the last century and which has gradually consolidated over the decades. I want to thank the President with respectful affection and the Rector with great esteem and gratitude for this extraordinary event and for this choice in memory of a great entrepreneur, a great engineer, but above all, for me, a great father ».