The signing of two new Conventions – with the University of Bologna and the Catholic University of Milan – broadens the scope of partnerships entered into by the Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Unit with the Italian universities that are most involved at international level.
“The issue of the safety of Italian students in the world has become particularly topical following the tragic events that have recently struck major European capitals and universities twinned with Italian universities: from Paris to London, from Berlin to Barcelona, and from Brussels to Strasbourg,” said Stefano Verrecchia, the Head of the Crisis Unit.
He went on: “We want to support the internationalisation of our Universities, and guide the experience of our students abroad, providing tangible instruments and contributing to developing a culture of travel anchored to the founding values of responsibility, respect, and of the reliability and accuracy of information. We put our stakes on young people but also on their families, who travel around the world on business or for tourism: because safety is always important, no matter what the reason for travelling is.”
The conventions signed – in addition to those with the University of Bologna and the Catholic University of Milan, agreements are already in place with the LUISS and Bocconi Universities – represent a model for the world of university and envisage the organisation of workshops, simulations and visits to the Crisis Unit.
In addition to the ViaggiareSicuri portal which posts travel notices, already counts 13 million visits a year and that will shortly be completely renovated and downloadable through an App for mobile devices, the Crisis Unit also makes available to Universities sending students abroad a dedicated channel on the Dovesiamonelmondo portal, on which students can register and be swiftly tracked in case of the occurrence of a critical situation abroad.
The system is easy to use by all the Universities – but also by schools at all levels of education – in assisting all students in the simple registration phase prior to departure or in establishing a digital “bridge” between University information systems and the database of the Crisis Unit through the use of dedicated web services, in full respect of privacy and data security provisions.
