There is too little talk of universities and research in party programs
Let's see the positions of the various parties:
+ Europe Center-right coalition Brothers of Italy Forza Italia Italexit Italia Viva - Action Lega Movimento 5 Stelle Democratic Party Possible People's Union Green Europe - Italian Left From high school of made in Italy less than years of study: the parties' proposals on school Many differences emerge from the schools in the field, but almost all converge on the idea of bringing forward the end of studies by a year + Europe + Europe field proposals that take into account both the peculiarities of education, avoiding reducing it to an empty economic concept, and the importance of a management that comes out of baronage. Emma Bonino's party proposes to train university staff so that the public management acquires important managerial skills. In addition, it opens up to the management of cultural and artistic heritage to the private sector but without it being the master: the control of the work by the public service would take place through the results obtained. To conclude, it not only proposes an incentive for Stem subjects, but proposes it especially for women, who, although representing 55% of those enrolled in universities, only 37% choose a technical and scientific subject.
Center-right coalition Sport for the center-right is a central point. Even in universities, in the form of scholarships for sporting merits and a strengthening of facilities dedicated to physical activity. At the same time, it is their intention to encourage the Stem professions and give support to students who need it.
Fratelli d'Italia The Fratelli d'Italia program on universities and research brings together many phrases, little slogans that are disconnected from each other. that aim to touch on as many topics as possible. But without structuring any real path. There is no evidence of any increase in expenditure or simply in the distribution of resources. We propose a relaunch of the figure of the researcher and an undefined ten-year financing plan, in addition to the umpteenth reform of the infamous 3 + 2.
Forza Italia A lean program is also that of Forza Italia, where they propose " scholarships for sporting merit ”and policies aimed at letting our brain drain return. What is offered to these brains to return, with what guarantees or funds, is not known here. Still with an entrepreneurial base, Silvio Berlusconi's party proposes to streamline the bureaucracy in favor of greater interdisciplinarity. One wonders, however, if a university education and therefore by definition highly specialized, finds real benefit from an interdisciplinary approach, or if this risks dispersing knowledge.
Italexit Three lines, this is the complete program of Italexit for university and research. Although they propose themselves as the new enlightened minds, those who see us long and know things unknown to the sleeping masses, one might think that the university topic is not treated because it is little known.
What they promise to young people the parties Employment benefits, investment in training, lowering of the age to vote: many ideas, little concreteness. Here's what the Italia Viva-Action programs say The vision that the Italia viva-Action cartel has of the University is completely at the service of the company. The funds and programs dedicated to them are mainly from a corporate perspective. By way of example, in Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda's program words such as company and the like are repeated more often than the word university. The aim is therefore to provide the funds so that universities are at the service of companies and give them the necessary figures to be competitive.
Lega The Lega program suggests that the parties in via Bellerio do not really know the subject . There is talk of tenders and deductions for SMEs, degree courses for employees, but the university is not a company and the research does not involve events. The very idea of university and research is missing from Matteo Salvini's party program. It is therefore impossible to highlight the points of a program that does not exist: the League has literally gone off topic.
Movimento 5 Stelle The party led by Giuseppe Conte completely overturns the assumption from which Italia viva-Action starts: it is not the university that is at the service of the company, but it is the company that supports and makes itself available to university training. The basic idea is in fact that Italy will not be able to return to having a strong entrepreneurial and social fabric without investing heavily in culture. The 5 Star Movement proposes the concept of lifelong learning: a life path characterized by continuous training and updating that today's professions require and to which the university can fully respond. The pentastellati also recall the commitments of Horizon 2020: A decidedly utopian perspective according to which, within the next three years, the country should have 40% of the population in possession of a university degree. To be clear, Italy is currently penultimate, followed only by Romania.
Democratic Party The University is hardly mentioned in the program of the Democratic Party. There is a vague reference to the rejuvenation of university professors and a confused student welfare. The dem would like to finance young journalists through a fund and create startups for digital information in order to counter the widespread phenomenon of disinformation. But one wonders where the university is in all this. What is up to research in addition to the phantom "tax incentives"?
Possibile The Possible program talks about numbers, investments, increase in GDP dedicated to research. It is clearly stated that, despite having to create a bridge between the world of work and the university, the latter must remain a training body and certainly not a factory for the supply of manpower to companies. Alongside all this, the party founded by Giuseppe Civati reaffirms the importance of creating mobility programs as a necessary diffuser of culture, but also as a vehicle capable of providing tools that can be spent tomorrow in the world of work.
Unione Popolare Unione Popolare aims to increase funds for the University by 500 million and add 40,000 posts for professors and researchers to the workforce. Who wants to know more, wait for the elections.
Green Europe-Italian Left For the Green Europe - Italian Left alliance, today's University is a factory for companies that produces superficially professional figures who pay little and this also by virtue of the 3 + 2 reform. According to the electoral cartel that unites the parties of Nicola Fratoianni and Angelo Bonelli, when it comes to the faculties, professionalization and specialization must be the masters, under penalty of professional decay of the highly specialized figures. Declared objective, the achievement of the objectives of the European Treaty of Lisbon which commits Italy to reach 3% investment in training and research.
