- Milanese universities continue to attract students from abroad.
In the academic year 2021 2022, in fact, 1 arrived7 thousand international students in the eight universities of the metropolitan city of Milan. By themselves, they represent more than 80% of international enrollees of the entire Lombard university system, which has almost 20.300 in a total of 13 universities. The number is growing by one +13% compared to 2020-2021.
This is what emerges fromannual survey di Assolombarda on the topic "Internationalization of Universities": the research, now in its twelfth edition, aims to measure the degree of international openness of the academic center of the territory, during the academic year 2021-2022.
Despite the recent turbulent years, universities have not stopped investing in internationalization strategies, participating in international orientation fairs and events, strengthening the network of international agreements and offering specific online open days for international students.
They have been signed 6.100 agreements more than in the previous two-year period. The main countries involved are Spain, France and Germany.
Where do the students come from?
Almost half (45%) of the students present in the Milanese universities comes from Asia, 38% instead it is of origin European. In practice more than eight international students come from Asia or Europe.
The most common countries of origin are China, India and Iran, which alone represent a third of international students in the area.
Mainly these students choose i STEM courses. The number of subscribers, in fact, is equal to 43%, much higher than the average 30,2% of young people present overall in Milanese universities.
Assolombarda: Working alongside universities to support this trend
“The increase in the number of students from other countries constitutes an opportunity for the entire university system and for the entire Milan area. The increasingly global approach taken by universities also has a positive impact on Italian students, allowing them to dialogue with different cultures and thus anticipating the dynamics of the world of work in which they will have to operate in a economic system increasingly interconnected between geographical areas. Partnerships with European universities are also growing and strengthening, functional to promoting a virtuous circulation of knowledge and student mobility. The Association, in this sense, still intends work alongside universities to support this interesting trend, capable of facilitating the great transitions taking place in the post-Covid era, of making us leap forward in the rankings and projecting Milan more and more onto the international competitive scene” declared the Vice President of Assolombarda with delegation to University, Research and Human Capital, Monica Poggio.
“The historical period we are experiencing is profoundly characterized by a worrying factor mismatch between labor supply and demand. This is a trend that has a negative impact on companies' growth prospects and, in particular, on their ability to innovate in this difficult economic situation. The commitment of the universities, in these two years, has been crucial in reversing the trend: they have reacted immediately and the fact that they have recovered ground on the subject of attractiveness is, without a doubt, a circumstance that bodes well. Indeed, it is necessary attract talent from abroad by creating the conditions for them to remain in our country to work. Of course, at the same time, we must avoid the 'brain drain'. To do this, you also need to think about tax benefits: one idea could be a 5% tax on employee income paid to new Italian hires under 35” added the President of Assolombarda, Alessandro Spada.
Mobility programs in decline
As regards the mobility programs, i.e. the activities that allow students to train in a university abroad for a limited period of time still remain highly critical issues.
The restrictions imposed on traffic in recent years have reduced the number of students involved. Alone 5.900 Italian students from Milanese universities participated in these programs, a third less than in the previous academic year (already strongly affected by a decrease in departures).
The dynamics of incoming foreign students was even more negative, with a variation of -57%, an important reduction which, however, must be read within the pandemic framework.
