Bernini in Jordan welcomes 39 Palestinian students and teachers

The Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, flew to Amman, Jordan, today to welcome 39 Palestinian students, researchers and visiting professors who will arrive in Italy to pursue their academic career in Italian universities. Together with Minister Bernini, also the Head of the Civil Protection Department, Fabio Ciciliano, who oversaw the mission organised with a flight of the Guardia di Finanza, and the Rector of Rome's La Sapienza University, Antonella Polimeni. "Welcoming these boys and girls, the researchers and the visiting professors," said the Minister for Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, "means giving them much more than an opportunity to study, it means offering a future of hope, restoring confidence, opening up new perspectives in a difficult time. This project recounts the most authentic essence of the Italian university: an open, inclusive, and supportive community that does not limit itself to passing on knowledge, but knows how to transform knowledge into a concrete instrument of peace, dialogue, and encounter between peoples".
"It is a commitment," added the minister, "that goes beyond the confines of the classroom and reminds us how culture and science can be extraordinary levers of human and civil growth. My sincere thanks go to those who have made this possible: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rectors' Conference, the Civil Defence and the Guardia di Finanza, who have worked together to give substance to a project that represents hope for many students".

The students, researchers and visiting professors arriving from Palestine tonight will be welcomed by several Italian universities: the largest group, fourteen, at the University of Milan; eight at the University of Siena; two at the University of Bari Aldo Moro and two at the University of Tuscia. Two will go to the University of Rome La Sapienza, another two to the University of Venice Ca' Foscari and two to the University of Padua. The others will be distributed among the University of Ferrara, the University of Trieste, the University of L'Aquila, the University of Parma, the University of Pisa, the University of Milan Bicocca and the University of Pavia, with one place each.

The arrival of these students is part of the Iupals programme - Italian Universities for Palestinian Students, conceived by the Conference of Italian University Chancellors (Crui) and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Maeci), the Ministry of Universities and Research (Mur) and the Italian Consulate General in Jerusalem. The initiative, which provides a total of 150 scholarships from 35 Italian universities, offers Palestinian students the opportunity to undertake a full university course in our country and strengthens academic cooperation between Italy and Palestine. Iupals is accompanied by additional funding from the MUR, amounting to 330,000 euro, for the provision of Italian language courses for Palestinian students awarded scholarships. The resources will be distributed over the three-year period 2025-2027 among the beneficiary universities (Ca' Foscari University of Venice, University of Milan, Roma Tre University, University for Foreigners of Perugia and University for Foreigners of Siena).