Student Associations: 110 Ways to Experience the University

These days, Students for Humanity’s group chat is full of photos of a construction site. They are from a site in Wasa, Tanzania, where some of the members of the Bocconi student association are following the renovation of a school that inspired the Working for Wasa project. At the same time, more than 13 years ago, it also inspired the creation of a student group that would deal with social issues at Bocconi. Today the school hosts 70 students and represents one of the main projects that Students for Humanity (SforH) supports as a volunteer organization recognized by the Lombardy Region. "I myself was in Tanzania two years ago, helping register the facility with the local government," recalls Anna Artese, in her second year of the Master of Science in International Politics and Government and president of SforH. Since its inception in 2011, SforH has also grown as a Bocconi association with over 100 members and is now a point of reference among student groups focusing on social-oriented initiatives: it organizes events, promotes fundraising, participates in awareness campaigns and supports the projects of other NGOs. "But most of all we try to encourage our classmates to actively participate in the various activities," adds Anna. "And we act as an intermediary between associations that need volunteers and students who have expressed their availability. In recent years we have participated in lots of one-off initiatives, from collecting medicine for children to prison visits. More consolidated collaborations are also created when we are able to guarantee adequate and ongoing participation."

"There are about 110 student associations active at Bocconi today," says Paola Profeta, Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability and President of the CASA Committee that brings together the leadership of the associations but also members of the staff, academics and the Campus Life offices. "Some groups are active on general issues, others have specific interests, regarding individual countries, economic matters or social issues. It is a very interesting area that makes life on campus more exciting. It has grown over the years in terms of numbers, perhaps because the younger generations are more inclined to develop extracurricular interests and look for other people at the university they can share them with. In this sense, they can be considered part of student education, understood not only as teaching or research, but creating a context where students can put themselves to the test in developing and implementing ideas by creating a professional network and a community of people. At Bocconi we try to make sure they do not become closed, exclusive circles, but that they remain as inclusive as possible."

This is a topic that Angelo Hu – newly elected head of the Bocconi Chinese Student Association (BCSA), founded in 2010 with the aim of extending a bridge to Chinese heritage – understands well. "It is therefore not an association only for Chinese students, but it is open to anyone interested in the country and its culture," Angelo points out. For this reason, activities more related to business aspects are interspersed throughout the year with others of a more recreational nature. "For example, this year we hosted some senior members of the Alibaba group who shared with us the strategies of their success in international and online commerce, but we also celebrated several typical holidays such as the Moon Cake Festival, and of course the Chinese New Year with a Dumpling Event, during which we prepare dumplings by hand and get to eat them together." The most eagerly awaited event on the BCSA calendar is the Welcome Dinner, a dinner attended by over 200 people and which includes speeches, dance and singing performances, as well as ice breaking games. Activities also include volleyball and badminton sports challenges with other universities and winter sports, confirming that the main objective of the association is to promote cohesion and the creation of strong bonds between members. "Above all, we would like to reach out more to international students, who today represent 15% of currently enrolled students," continues Angelo. "Chinese students in particular are more likely to get to know us as soon as they arrive at Bocconi because we offer a dedicated tutoring, orientation and academic support program for them. We have also created a page on the Chinese social network Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) that shows university residences, lecture buildings and study spaces, with vlogs that explain a typical day at Bocconi."

Every year there are changes to the panorama of student associations, with some closing shop and others being founded. "Students who would like to propose a new association must submit a list with a certain number of interested classmates," explains Dean Profeta. "We evaluate their purpose, we look at whether there are other similar groups present, possibly suggesting a merger, we approve the calendar of events and we monitor that they remain active over time, i.e. that they are organizing activities. And we also promote special events, such as the Associations Fair, in which the different groups can introduce themselves on campus and to other students."

It was during one of these initiatives last year that Lea Casucci came across a presentation by Bocconi Students for Diplomacy and International Cooperation, an organization where she is now the outgoing president. "It was my first year, but I was immediately impressed by the initiative because I already had an interest in international cooperation and it seemed like an opportunity that I shouldn’t miss." The association is active in the organization of events and conferences on the subject and it promotes contact between students and international organizations. Today there are about 70 members. Recruiting sessions are held twice a year to assess which new members should join, evaluating their motivations and skills to understand what activities they can contribute to. "But events are not reserved, many are open to all students," Lea points out. "Last year, for example, we organized a day in memory of Luca Attanasio, the Italian ambassador and former Bocconi student killed in 2021 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There was a commemoration with Attanasio's family, followed by a panel on the impact of humanitarian aid in Central Africa with very high-profile speakers." The projects in the pipeline for the new year include organizing an exchange with SDA Bocconi on the topic of space diplomacy, and learning more about embassies and consulates in the local area."

There is also no shortage of initiatives scheduled by ALBI, the Bocconi d'Inchiostro Literary Student Association. One of the oldest groups at the University, it was co-founded in 2012 by Gerardo Masuccio, now editor at Utopia. Since then, the group has been responsible for suggesting literary insights to the entire university community, promoting events with writers, poets, publishers and translators, and raising awareness of reading with various initiatives. An example of this is Bookcrossing, created in collaboration with the university: an area located near the entrance to the Bocconi Residence Hall and intended for a book exchange. In just a few months, more than 120 books have already been shared on its shelves. "We try to organize at least three or four events a month, some reserved for our internal Book Club and others also open to the whole city, such as those during BookCity," explains president Valentina Benassi. "As well as the event organized on the Bagutta Prize, which was held here because the historical archive of the Bagutta trattoria’s works and its literary prize is preserved at Bocconi." Bocconi d'Inchiostro also awards a prize, the Dante d'Oro, which for several years was given as a lifetime achievement, but now is intended for unpublished poems. "The selections are in the final stages. This summer we will discuss the poems and in September we will have the awards ceremony." The association's activities have even inspired a new cultural magazine, 'Turbine'. Though it was founded at Bocconi, it is now maintained on the initiative of the individual founding students.

Translated by Jenna Walker