The pandemic has highlighted the importance of integrating different disciples and “we need to mix as much as possible different disciplines in new courses and teaching to help the young generations to face a world with lots of complexity. To face this complexity we need something different,” stresses Cristina Messa, Minister of University and Research, Italian Government, in a conversation in the Executive Chats series with Rector Gianmario Verona.

With the EU’s Next Gen Fund and Italy’s Recovery Plan both pushing on research, the Minister believes “We need a research community that involves many actors, from researchers to private entities, and that research be transferred more rapidly to the world of business. All creating a virtuous circle.”

Looking at Italy, the Minister says “our society needs graduates. We need to work on the links between university and the job market.“

With regards to the gender gap in academia, the Minister feels “we need to help women to choose STEM disciplines and, more in general, help women find a compromise between family and career.”