The role of universities and research will be increasingly central in terms of training and new jobs, also in view of the projects linked to the Next Generation EU plan. Also for this reason, Intesa Sanpaolo and the Banca del Monte di Lombardia Foundation have decided to sign an agreement with the University of Pavia, aimed at supporting the innovation process in the University's educational offer and the economic, social and cultural enhancement of the territory of Pavia. “Our country, while being able to count on a good general positioning of its universities from an international point of view, suffers from a low level of investment in education, research and development. This translates into inadequate infrastructures, but above all into poor support for young researchers who are often forced to move to centers and institutes abroad”, reads the note announcing the agreement.
To provide its contribution to a turnaround and give a concrete signal, the University of Pavia has therefore promoted an important project to enhance the research doctorate, finding two partners in Intesa Sanpaolo and the Banca del Monte di Lombardia Foundation. The new agreement will start with the next academic year and will end in the 2025-2026 academic year: provides for eleven three-year scholarships per year for five consecutive cycles.
In particular, the 11 scientific contexts that will be supervised and strengthened are:
1. Neurosciences: a trans-disciplinary approach from modeling analysis to neuro-robotics, with human neuropathologies at the centre.
2. Sustainable photovoltaics, energy storage and production, decarbonisation and “Green” processes: efficient low-cost photovoltaics, energy storage and innovative materials in a circular economy from water to waste.
3. Microelectronics: development of integrated circuits for sensors, medical diagnostics and the Internet of Things, with particular attention to communications with the 5G standard.
4. Personalized medicine: from preclinical studies to the patient's DNA, passing through the "Next Generation Sequencing", the modeling of diseases, pharmacological therapies and medical devices engineered for the individual patient.
5. Digital Fluidics for Life Sciences: development of intelligent biomedical devices dedicated to hospital and home infusion in the therapeutic fields of hospitalization, artificial nutrition, pain therapy and resuscitation; development of new fluidic devices and advanced sensors for life sciences.
6. Emerging viral threats: not just Covid-19; molecular, epidemiological and clinical research of emerging viral infections also carried by insect pests.
7. Models and technology to monitor and predict movements of the earth's crust.
8. Archaeology, and archaeogenomics: the archaeological and archaeogenomic capital of Italy.
9. Linguistic resources and automatic speech processing: digitization and annotation of closed corpora of ancient languages and creation of corpora of contemporary languages.
10. 3D printing and advanced materials: design and production with innovative technologies of components in advanced materials for the manufacturing world and for the world of personalized health.
11. Legal regulation of complex stock companies, sustainability, interests.
“The agreement with the University of Pavia – he commented the president of Intesa Sanpaolo, Gian Maria Gros Pietro -, one of the oldest in the world and among the most prestigious, and the Banca del Monte Foundation, now a shareholder of Intesa Sanpaolo, constitute a powerful tool for developing the University's research capabilities and its ability to attract talent. Eleven three-year doctoral scholarships for five consecutive cycles represent an important stability factor for the planning of research and study activities. Our intervention is part of a program that sees over 60 Italian and some foreign universities collaborate with the Bank through scholarships and research projects, a commitment strengthened in the last year of the health emergency. We support the university system to promote the progress of knowledge and to train future leadership, two elements that we consider central to the country's development. The Group also benefits from this which, thanks to this lively and continuous exchange with universities, draws specialist knowledge and competent resources: in fact, 83% of the people we hire are university graduates, an important figure compared to the 3.500 young people who will join Intesa Sanpaolo from here at 2024”.
“The new agreement between the University of Pavia and Intesa Sanpaolo and the Banca del Monte di Lombardia Foundation – he added Francesco Svelto, Rector of the University of Pavia – will make it possible to involve young scholars in research activities through a significant increase in doctoral scholarships. In particular, we will propose topics related to sustainability and the new challenges facing society. It is my firm belief that a university engaged in research is a university that involves young people”.
