“University Report 2026”: Sapienza, Bologna, Pavia and Eastern Piedmont are the most attractive universities
Tomorrow, at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome, the international careers fair, organised by the “Italia Education” Foundation, will open its doors. This year, the event opens with the rankings from the “University Report 2026”: the study, based on the new IQA index, identifies the ten most attractive universities, categorised by student population.
The 18th edition of the Young International Forum is set to begin. Tomorrow, at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome, the international careers fair – organised by the “Italia Education” Foundation in collaboration with Corriere Università (www.corriereuniv.it) – will open its doors. This year, the event opens with the rankings from the “University Report 2026”: the study, based on the new IQA index, identifies the ten most attractive universities, categorised by student population. The Report will be presented by Professor Stefano Ubertini, chair of the scientific committee of the Italia Education Foundation.
New career guidance tool: the IQA
“This year, at Young, we are introducing a new guidance tool: the IQA, or the qualitative attractiveness index for Italian universities. Schools, families and professionals will be able to rely on useful information to gain a better understanding of universities and degree programmes. The study is presented in rankings categorised by student population: large, medium and small universities,” said Mariano Berriola, director of Corriere Università e Lavoro and the Young International Forum. Another new feature of the Fair will be meetings with party secretaries: “Our analysis shows that in the upcoming 2027 general election, well over 2 million young people will be voting for the first time, and we felt it would be worthwhile to engage young people with politics, particularly in light of the high levels of abstention that have characterised recent elections,” concluded Berriola.
Sapienza, Bologna, Pavia and Eastern Piedmont: the most attractive universities
Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Bologna are joint top of the table with an IQA of 83, among the large universities; Pavia ranks first amongst medium-sized universities, with an IQA of 76; Eastern Piedmont ranks first amongst small universities with an IQA of 73. The Polytechnic University of Milan leads the way amongst polytechnics with 73 IQA points, as does Bocconi University, which ranks first amongst private/non-state universities.
Italia’s most attractive cities
Whilst a university may excel in the overall IQA, in a particular discipline, or in internationalisation, the regional IQA reveals a different ranking. The most attractive cities are, in fact, Pavia, Padua and Bologna. Rome ranks third amongst cities with a population of over 500,000. In Southern Italy, Bari stands out, ranking third amongst cities with a population of between 250,000 and 500,000; Naples and Palermo trail behind.
My first vote: Calenda and Fratoianni engage with young people
More than 2 million young people born between 2005 and 2008 will be eligible to vote for the first time in the next general election in 2027. This debate, dedicated to the younger generation, is an opportunity to ask questions, explore issues relating to education, training and work, and engage with politics through direct dialogue with its key figures. So far, Carlo Calenda, leader of Azione, and Nicola Fratoianni, secretary of Sinistra Italiana and leader of Avs, have confirmed their participation.
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