Bocconi and African Students Join Hands

98 students from African countries enrolled at Bocconi and SDA Bocconi in 2022-2023, orientation and recruitment in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Rwanda, partnerships with 10 African universities and ad hoc programs to support young Africans in higher education: Bocconi University has increasingly close relations with various African institutions and is committed to encouraging the international circulation of talent.

"Bocconi is building strong partnerships with universities across the African continent, providing scholarships for African talents, and facilitating recruitment initiatives in collaboration with local associations. These collective efforts aim to strengthen Bocconi's presence on the continent, thereby enriching intercontinental relationships, and fostering synergies between Europe and Africa".

Partnerships and synergies have been activated by various initiatives in recent years. Among these, the institution of "Africa Scholarships" to financially support students coming from Sub-Saharan countries during their stay at Bocconi, with the aim of increasing exchange programs and strengthening collaboration with the key institutions of this geographical region. The Bocconi Africa Scholarships have supported 19 students so far (7 from Kenya, 6 from Ghana, and 6 from Nigeria).

Other initiatives include those developed with the United Nations, the Labia Foundation, and Bridge2Rwanda. Born from the collaboration between the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), the religious non-profits Caritas and Diaconia Valdese, and 33 Italian universities to date, the University Corridors for Refugees program (UNICORE) is part of the UNHCR strategy of "complementary paths" which aims to give refugees access to higher education. Refugee students admitted to the University who are residents of African countries have the opportunity to attend a two-year graduate degree program in Milan with a Bocconi full scholarship while they are supported in the transfer procedures by UNHCR and the other partners. Bocconi University has participated in the last two editions of the program, enrolling two Congolese students who were refugees in Malawi and Cameroon, respectively, and one Burundian student who had fled to Mozambique last year. In 2023-2024, Bocconi is hosting three additional African students through UNICORE (a South Sudanese student who was living in Kenya, and student from the Democratic Republic of Congo living in Uganda, and a Burundi student who was a refugee in Kenya).

Another partnership is the one signed in 2021 with Fondazione Labia, which involves collaboration in the recruitment and support of deserving high school students from poor backgrounds in the austral nation, giving them full financial support to attend a Bocconi bachelor's degree program. Two South African students have been admitted for the current academic year, while one candidate has been selected for the next one. As recounted by Mikyle George, a 19-year-old from Cape Town and first-year student at the Bachelor of International Economics and Management (BIEM): "I decided to pursue this opportunity at Bocconi because of the possibilities that will then open up to me. The beginning was difficult, being out of my comfort zone, but I am really growing to enjoy this experience."

Finally, the Bridge2Rwanda project selects the most talented graduates and helps them obtain scholarships abroad. Since 2022, Bridge2Rwanda has helped 262 African students from Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan secure more than $64 million in scholarships to study at 82 top-tier universities around the world. A first Bridge2Rwanda student was admitted with full scholarship to Bocconi for the academic year 2023-2024, and applicants are being evaluated for 1-2 full scholarships in the next academic year. "This is a challenging experience for me here at Bocconi but it is good to be challenged and I know it will open opportunities for me. I would never have made it here without Bridge2Rwanda – I value the work of NGOs and in future I would like to render my skills and services to one," says Albina Cyuzuzo Ntivuguruzwa, 19 years old, a first-year student of the Bocconi Bachelor of Science in Economics, Management and Computer Science (BEMACS).