A morning dedicated to high school students, about 400 in the audience, and to the issues of environmental protection - thanks to the experiences told by researchers - then the afternoon conference, in the Aula Magna of UniOlbia, with the round table on naval engineering for the sustainable development of the territory and the comparison between Universities, entrepreneurs and witnesses of innovation and development in the nautical sector.
A very rich container for the official presentation of the recently launched Naval Engineering Degree Course, hosted in the premises of the Ex Sep in Via dei Lidi, a course also created to support the requests for advanced professionalism of the thriving nautical sector of the territory. "The success of this very first edition, with students arriving even from outside the region - said the rector of the University of Cagliari, Francesco Mola - forces us to think about a master's degree, so much demand for which we will have to think of an answer". The rector also announced the memorandum of understanding signed with the State Property Agency that determines the acquisition, by the University of Cagliari, of the former barracks of the Guardia di Finanza in Corso Umberto and the Post Office building in Via delle Terme. The Municipality of Olbia is the implementing body; two buildings, once renovated, could be used as administrative offices of the UniOlbia Consortium, host new courses or accommodation for teachers and students.
“We must continue to work for cultural growth – Mayor Settimo Nizzi stressed – Having managed to do all this in one year is thanks to the Rector of the University of Cagliari and to us who have worked to ensure that the students had an adequate location. Thanks also go to the Port System Authority that gave us the location and to the Region that allowed us to change the destination from Biology to Engineering”. The mayor added that the event was desired to reiterate that the concept of sustainable development is the beacon of the actions that are being implemented in the vision of the future city. A good practice, also underlined by the economist Giovanna Iannantuoni, president of the Conference of Italian Rectors and rector of the University of Milan Bicocca. “The day we are living is significant because it represents the union between the Academy, the private sector and institutions so that the university can represent a sector of sustainable growth for the territory – she said – as an economist we teach our students that economic growth comes from two engines, the formation of human capital and technological innovation. In this case we work in these two directions: on the one hand the new course that will allow girls and boys to study and open many doors to the future, on the other science represents technological innovation for private individuals”. The goal is to achieve sustainability for all, not elitist. “We have used the term sustainability very often, perhaps overused, because at the beginning we interpreted it only as environmental – explains the rector Innantuoni – but, especially during the pandemic, we understood that it must bring advantages for everyone. So we will have to change paradigm, combine love for our land with giving our children the opportunity to realize themselves and their own path”.
