Helping students seize opportunities

"It often happens that students arriving at Bocconi do not have a clear idea about the studies they are about to undertake and their own future. It happened to me too. I had chosen DES for its multidisciplinary nature, for the possibility of exploring different social sciences with a quantitative approach which I felt was congenial to me. But I didn't really know what it meant to study economics. I knew even less about what direction my life would take after graduation, not to mention an academic career, which I knew nothing about. " Chiara Fumagalli, Full Professor at the Department of Economics, new Dean of the Bocconi Undergraduate School, thus remembers her first year at the university as a young student. A confusion common to many of the young people who start their studies at Via Sarfatti every year. "Bocconi and DES have opened my eyes to so many opportunities that I didn't know existed, showing paths that I didn't think I could take. I want to give all this back to today's students, but also make them understand that they must have an active role to fully grasp the possibilities that are offered to them." When the deanship was proposed to her, Chiara Fumagalli felt flattered, enthusiastic about being able to give her contribution, and curious about what awaits her: "Bocconi today is very different from the university I attended as a student, the international diversity of its current student body is self-evident. I will try to continue in this direction, seeking to make the University ever more diverse and inclusive".

Professor Fumagalli comes to the present post after being Director of the Bachelor of Science in Economic and Social Sciences for a few years. It was a good training ground: "It surely helped me gain experience in carrying out managerial tasks. Now I will do my best to put into practice what I learned there in my new position, on a much larger scale and in a context of greater responsibility".