A Winning Bet

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:25:54 +0000
Num. 5

A new economics faculty at the University of Ferrara.
Only a few days ago the National University Committee approved the project put forward by the University of Ferrara for the establishment of a Faculty of Economics, one of the few degree courses that the city's university still does not offer.
From my own personal standpoint - given that I have always been a staunch supporter of this option - this is no mean satisfaction and one that will put an end to a period of prolonged frustration. For the time being, the ministry has limited itself to granting what was originally requested: an Economics Department that will offer a degree course only in the Management of Public Administration and International Institutions. At a later date it will be possible to offer degrees in Commerce and Management.

This initiative has a clear sense and purpose. Good public administration at home and fruitful relationships with the international institutions are indispensable premises for the success of all national economic systems. The provision of academic training aimed at serving the public sector has already been the subject of experimentation in certain countries (in France with Ena, for example) and is well established elsewhere in Europe and in America.
And what are the prospects for Ferrara? An assessment of the "market" carried out on paper through statistical analysis led to the conclusion that the potential demand for a chance to take only the final two years (from students who have already completed the first two years elsewhere) would amount to over two hundred applications: a figure that would make for an optimum student/teacher ratio and therefore high quality graduates.

But the simultaneous establishment of the second two-year course (the final years) and of the first two-year course (a valid passport for any course not offered at Ferrara) would bring applications for admission, according to the same assessment, up to around a thousand units per annum.

It should be emphasized that the establishment of this new department will be funded by bodies from within the city, including the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara.