Bocconi: Rector Billari says, “A university committed to social mobility, because we change people’s lives”
This year, the focus has been on the issue of social mobility and education as a means of social advancement in a country where it is often pointed out that this pathway is blocked. And in a country where not all families can afford the tuition fees of a private university such as Bocconi, especially in a city as expensive as Milan.
Opening of the 2026–2027 academic year at Bocconi University in Milan, marking the 125th anniversary of its foundation. This year, the focus has been on the theme of social mobility and education as a means of social advancement in a country where it is often pointed out that this is stalled. And in a country where not all families can afford the tuition fees of a private university such as Bocconi, especially in a city as expensive as Milan. We discuss this with the Vice-Chancellor, Francesco Billari.
“The fact that social mobility is more constrained today than in the past is actually a potential misconception, because when education and universities expand, societies become more open. Universities are the social ladder, so a mistake we risk making is to think that in some idealised past there were open societies with high levels of social mobility. All data analyses show that in the past, societies were more closed and social mobility was lower. Social mobility is ensured by the expansion of higher education, and this holds true in general, not just for Bocconi: there is specific research showing that increasing the proportion of people attending university boosts social mobility. Italia, in particular, is lagging behind, because we have few graduates and a selective system; yet without education, we would have no social mobility in today’s world.”
And what policies does Bocconi implement to promote social mobility?
“Bocconi is an institution that can play a part in this work; it can do so by offering scholarships. At present, one in eight students has a full scholarship, so they do not have to pay to study at Bocconi. One in three students receives some form of financial support, and we will strive to do even more in this regard. Another area where we can take action is by reaching out to students in schools, because it is one thing to award a scholarship to someone who has decided to take the plunge and enrol at Bocconi and who has financial needs, as they do not have a family behind them that can afford the tuition fees. It’s quite another to reach out to students right from the moment they start thinking about going to university, because some students don’t even consider going to university; they don’t think it’s possible to go to Milan, which is an expensive city that can be daunting. So we go out and seek out these students.”
On the day of the opening, the importance of seeking out the ‘lost Einsteins’ and the ‘lost Marie Curies’ was emphasised.
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