THE STRENGTH OF THE BOCCONI COMMUNITY IN COPING WITH THE GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS CRISIS, THE VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CAMPUS LIFE EXPERIENCE: A MESSAGE FROM RECTOR GIANMARIO VERONA FOR THE NEW ISSUE OF VIA SARFATTI 25

As I write these lines, the Council of Ministers has just announced its decision to extend the suspension of teaching activities. For Bocconi, as for all schools and universities in Lombardy, it means that we are in the third week of stoppage.

That is a rather long time, and two images from it have stayed with me.

The first is our beautiful and lively campus in the heart of Milan suddenly empty, devoid of its students, its soul and driving force. Bocconi’s tree-lined plazas and the corridors of our buildings, designed by extraordinary architects (including two Pritzker award winners, SANAA and Grafton) no longer echo with the many diverse voices that are expressions of our multicultural community. This image,  perceptible by sight and sound, conjures up negative emotions of isolation, closure and estrangement.

But that image is not really true. It does not represent our community’s attitude during this emergency . The fact is that all of us, students, professors and staff, have shown the strength to respond promptly to difficult, unexpected and global situations. We did it by working together, rolling up our sleeves and sharing processes and emotions. The places where we continue to meet, discuss, teach and learn are no longer the physical places of the campus but the virtual ones on the platforms we have implemented over the years. This has allowed us to give a timely response when our needs suddenly changed. And this second image is the most truthful one, the one that best describes us.

The emergency of Covid-19 will pass and we will all leave it behind, more aware and stronger than before.  We will have leaned more than one lesson: that crises are overcome by collaborating, and that technology is mankind's friend and helps us improve and share experiences. But a third important lesson  is that the time we habitually share on our campus is precious and enriching. It can never be replaced and when we go back to work together, physically, I am sure we will appreciate it even more.

Link Via Sarfatti 25