Inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year was held today in the Aula Magna of the University of Milan. The ceremony opened with welcome remarks by the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, the Lombardy Regional Councillor for University, Research and Innovation, Alessandro Fermi, and the Vice-President of the Senate, Licia Ronzulli. They were followed on stage by President of the Student Conference Giacomo Pangrazzi, Director General Angelo Casertano and Rector Marina Brambilla, who delivered the inaugural address. This year's keynote speech, "Let's look up: reflections on 40 years of humanitarian work", was delivered by Filippo Grandi, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a University of Milan alumnus.
The ceremony closed with a musical performance by the University of Milan String Quartet, featuring Mozart’s "Divertimento in F major, K. 138, I. Allegro", followed by Ennio Morricone’s renowned "Gabriel’s Oboe" from the film Mission.
Filippo Grandi, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In the face of the major transformations reshaping the international landscape and the development of the university — now close to completing the MIND project — Rector Marina Brambilla chose to reaffirm the principles and values that have always guided the University and must continue to guide its actions.
At the heart of her inaugural address was a broad reflection on the meaning and contemporary relevance of academic freedom, the organising principle of the universitas. This should be understood not only, and not primarily, as "an individual right of academics, but also and above all a collective social guarantee", as "freedom in the service of democracy". Such freedom is currently at risk in many countries around the world, and therefore we must remain vigilant, preserve it, and nurture it. According to the Academic Freedom Index (AFI), compiled by the universities of Gothenburg and Erlangen–Nuremberg, academic freedom is severely restricted in as many as 34 countries worldwide (almost half of the world’s population).
This theme was in keeping with Filippo Grandi's address, which, through the lens of more than 40 years of humanitarian work, reflected on the need to look beyond the short-term perspective often dictated by international politics. He also emphasised the need to extend one's view beyond nearby borders, to confront the complexity of global challenges, to defend international cooperation threatened by the rhetoric of "my country first", and to not lose sight of the values of solidarity and compassion.
Rector Marina Brambilla.
Conceived during the Enlightenment and linked to the idea that knowledge should be free, universal and controlled only by reason, academic freedom is intrinsically linked to the scientific method and the profoundly political value it upholds: "a free society functions like science, because it allows criticism and the correction of errors; a free society opposes ideologies that present themselves as infallible and indisputable". Science and the scientific method remain the "pillars of modern freedom". "In a complex and fragile world, choosing science means choosing a demanding freedom, choosing the power of doubt, of confrontation and of respect for facts."
A fundamental aspect of this paradigm is the need for a balanced relationship between politics and science, based on mutual trust, because the major challenges of a complex society "cannot be addressed with opinions alone or data alone". When this trust is lacking, the consequences are very serious. "If politics ignores science, decisions become arbitrary, ineffective or dangerous. If science attempts to dictate the political agenda, it loses its public credibility. This leads to growing mistrust among citizens, which is fertile ground for populism and anti-science sentiment."
The Rector dedicated a significant passage to the value of secularism, understood as independence from any religious, ideological or political dogma: "In a secular academic context, such as that of the University of Milan, research is not guided by spiritual edification or ideological legitimisation, but by a responsibility towards truth and the scientific community. This guarantees not only the reliability of the results, but also their universality."
Freedom is always the fundamental building block of any path to growth, the necessary condition for young people to imagine their future with full confidence in their resources. Faced with the complexity of the present, the Rector reaffirmed the University's duty to "exercise empathy" in order to "nurture their hope and confidence" in their self-determination, countering what President Mattarella has called "the toxins of indifference".
Although university autonomy is now widely guaranteed in Italy, thanks in part to detailed constitutional provisions, and despite the fact that Europe continues to be one of the most advanced regions in the world in terms of its protection and promotion, in the current global geopolitical context, academic freedom is nonetheless facing challenges that call for the utmost vigilance.
The Rector then mentioned "the growing dependence on digital platforms and the spread of artificial intelligence, which raise questions about data ownership and control", but also internationalisation, which, while promoting scientific openness and thus consolidating increasingly rich interdisciplinary collaborations, "can expose universities to transnational political and economic pressures". She also highlighted the central importance of adequate public investment, without which any principle of freedom is meaningless because "the dependence of funding on market logic risks orienting scientific agendas towards fields with commercial application, relegating the humanities and basic research to the sidelines", which instead continue to be, as the Rector notes, "essential components of [the university's] identity".
Once far more protected, when universities were elite enclaves, academic freedom is now more vulnerable because universities have assumed a central role as drivers of social, economic and technological transformation and are therefore more exposed to public pressure.
Director General Angelo Casertano.
In his speech, Giacomo Pangrazzi reflected on the intrinsic limits of human knowledge and on the need for universities to always remain open to dialogue with others, acknowledging the importance of a plurality of viewpoints. Only through this willingness to listen and engage in dialogue – which makes it possible to converge on a greater common good – can the academic community responsibly address current challenges and rediscover its core identity.
In his address, Angelo Casertano provided an overview of the university’s growth, highlighting some of the achievements secured over the past year. The Director General noted the significant progress made on a number of major projects, including: completion of works at Via Mercalli 23, which will house classrooms and offices; the opening of the Santa Sofia student residence with 147 beds; renovation of the 450-seat auditorium at Valvassori Peroni, which hosted students in person during the open semester; and the opening of a new study hall with 87 seats in Piazza Sant’Alessandro. Mention should also be made of the MIND Campus, where construction is proceeding according to schedule (see fact sheet), and of Sesto San Giovanni, where the university has chosen to maintain the Department of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Mediations.
Lastly, research has played a fundamental role: the University was among the first in Italy to adopt the regulations necessary to activate the new “early-career track” tools, namely grants for young people, research contracts, post-doctoral positions, tenure track researchers (RTT) and research assignments, and has obtained significant funding from national and European calls for proposals: for example, twenty of the university's projects received funding from the FIS 3 (Italian Science Fund), ranking Milan University first in Lombardy and third in Italy and confirming its scientific excellence at the highest national level.
Inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala.
The Lombardy Regional Councillor for University, Research and Innovation, Alessandro Fermi.
the Vice-President of the Senate, Licia Ronzulli.
President of the Student Conference Giacomo Pangrazzi.
Inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year.
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