There were 1,699 participants in the "10 theses for sustainability" competition organised by the Symbola Foundation, Luiss and Unioncamere, with the support of Deloitte Climate & Sustainability and the patronage of the Ministry of Universities and Research, the Fratelli Tutti Foundation, with the collaboration of the AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium, Rus, the Network of Universities for Sustainable Development, the National Inter-University Consortium for Materials Science and Technology (Istnm) and 26 universities. The candidates come from over 80 universities across Italia. 61% are women, 39% men.
A 2,000 euro prize and the possibility of company traineeships
The ten winners will receive a prize of EUR 2,000. There will also be mentions for the most deserving theses and the possibility of internships with companies will be promoted for recent graduates to foster their relationship with the world of work. "The call for applications," emphasised the president of the Symbola Foundation Ermete Realacci, "has seen great participation that is worth much more than a survey. It can provide us with important information and stimuli. The possibility of facing the challenges ahead must also rely on the clean and renewable energies of the knowledge and young intelligences present in our country'. The prize, recalled Realacci, 'goes to valid university theses from all disciplinary areas that have strong and original references to the principle of sustainability. It is an opportunity to give strength to an Italy that makes Italy. Courageously tackling the climate crisis is not only necessary but also represents a great opportunity to make our economy and our society more people-friendly and therefore more capable of the future. A formidable push to counter the climate crisis has come on several occasions from the Pope and President Mattarella. Europe is moving in this direction, indicating cohesion, green and digital transition as the way to strengthen our economy'.
The 26 universities in the field
There are 26 partner universities: Bocconi of Milan, Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Ca' Foscari of Venice, Federico II of Naples, La Sapienza, Lumsa, Politecnica delle Marche, Politecnico of Milan, Politecnico of Turin, Rome Tor Vergata, Sant'Anna of Pisa, the Universities of Bari Aldo Moro, Basilicata, Brescia, Cagliari, Camerino, Ferrara, L'Aquila, Macerata, Milan-Bicocca, Padua, Parma, Perugia, Teramo, San Raffaele Telematic University of Rome, Universitas Mercatorum.
The Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee that will select the winners is chaired by Stefano Zamagni, (Professor emeritus at the University of Bologna), Emiliana De Blasio (Advisor for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability at Luiss), and Marco Frey (Professor at S.Anna in Pisa and chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Symbola Foundation).
The universities with the most applications
The universities with the highest number of applications are: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (203 theses), University of Bologna (107 theses), 'La Sapienza' of Rome (90 theses) and followed by Padua, Turin, Rome Tor Vergata, Federico II of Naples, Ca' Foscari of Venice, Marche Polytechnic University, Milan Polytechnic. At regional level, Lombardy (382 theses) leads the ranking 22.50 per cent, followed by Lazio (270) 15.90 per cent, Emilia-Romagna (208) 12.24 per cent, Veneto (166) 9.78 per cent, Campania (115) 6.77 per cent.
