Over the last few years, the pandemic emergency, the socio-political challenges of climate change and the biodiversity crisis have generated the need for a new conception of the relationship between human beings and the planet. This concept was underlined in 2022 by the United Nations, and defined with the name of One health, i.e. an integrated system of analysis of all the aspects that characterize human, physical, psychological and social health, included within an even broader whole, which concerns plant, animal and ecosystem life, in short the natural environment itself. In Italy, in 2023, the Chamber of Deputies has also demonstrated governmental sensitivity to One health by establishing a dedicated parliamentary intergroup.
A boiling planet: why climate change is a threat to our organism by Elisa Manacorda 30 December 2023
The Master of Wisdom
Sapienza University of Rome, to respond to this new framework, this year opened the first Masters to become One health analyst, i.e. experts on the topic of single health. This project is hinged on the prestigious School of Advanced Studies of the University, and promoted by the newly established research centre National Biodiversity Future Centerfinanced with European funds from the PNRR, so as to combine the tradition and knowledge of the Roman university with the most advanced research and skills in the field of environmental and political projects at an international level.
The course of study
The interdisciplinary vocation necessary to address the issue of One health is represented by the contribution of renowned teachers, coming first and foremost, but not only, from the Sapienza School of Advanced Studies and the National Biodiversity Future Center, by the presence of professionals in the planetary biology and representatives of health, business and applied politics.
The students, whether they are new graduates or young professionals, will follow a path divided into thematic modules, which concern areas such as biology, medicine, environmental ethics, ecology, urban planning, psychology, communication and marketing, politics. This path will be instrumental for working in public entities or in companies that need to align themselves with One health policies, in local and national government commissions that are looking for experts to define new policies on human and environmental health issues, or in contexts that want to exploit expertise communication and marketing to support innovative projects, not just “green”.
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Internships, workshops, simulations and games
To create new professional figures, the Master is based on a dynamic teaching model in which students can be active protagonists, through internships, laboratories, simulations and role-playing games that prepare them to participate personally and with awareness in future policies Onehealth. Combined with this, the Master can be followed in blended mode, so that people already engaged in work or far from Rome are not excluded. On the other hand, a master’s degree could only be created in the capital with the aim of integrating science and health within the context of political-institutional relations and policies at a national and international level.
How to sign up
The teaching modules will start in February 2024; Registrations will be possible until the end of January. The fee is 2,500 euros. For information on enrollment procedures and scholarships write to [email protected] or visit the website
Isabella Saggio is a geneticist at La Sapienza University of Rome