Following the first 12, three new online master’s programmes for the Catholic University

Over 300 graduates and professionals have chosen to enrol on one of the twelve first-level master’s programmes delivered entirely online by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore as part of a project developed with the support of FutureLearn. The courses, which are delivered remotely and asynchronously, officially began on 7 September and have so far attracted 320 enrolments. This figure is set to rise further thanks to new intakes planned for the coming months and throughout 2027.

The flexible and interdisciplinary postgraduate programme devised by the Cattolica meets the genuine demand for lifelong learning amongst professionals and those interested in investing in their own development to update their skill set and broaden their career opportunities. All this is made possible by study programmes that can be reconciled with work commitments, alongside in-depth analysis of strategic issues that are reshaping the global landscape: from geopolitics to digital communication, from management to marketing, right through to global decision-making strategies and international politics. Furthermore, in January, the programme will be expanded to include three new master’s degrees: Sustainability and ESG; Public Affairs and Leadership; and Data Analytics for Management.

‘The results achieved during this initial launch phase are truly satisfactory: as well as exceeding all expectations, they demonstrate that there is a growing demand for advanced, flexible and high-quality training. This signals an increasingly widespread need amongst professionals and adults: to regard the updating and broadening of skills as a structural aspect that spans the entire lifespan. Responding to this demand, by becoming part of a high-profile international network, is our way of fulfilling this new educational responsibility,” explains Elena Beccalli, Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

This is confirmed by the profile of those enrolled: those aged over 35 account for 24 per cent of the total, a figure that highlights the need amongst those already in the workforce to refresh and strengthen their skills. Women account for around two-thirds of the total (66.9 per cent). Participation spans 19 Italian regions and ten foreign countries. Almost two in three participants, 63.8 per cent, come from outside Lombardy. The foreign countries include Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg, Romania, Switzerland and Turkey. The training programme is aimed at graduates and professionals who wish to invest in their personal and professional development, in line with the highest international standards of digital learning.

The portfolio of online master’s programmes forms part of the 2026–28 Strategic Plan, which, in its third pillar ‘High-quality educational provision, both face-to-face and remotely’, identifies the renewal of teaching content and methodologies, and the development of digital provision, as a strategic lever for responding to the transformations currently taking place. The evolution of skills required by technological innovation, combined with current demographic trends, is redefining the demand for university education, which is increasingly oriented towards flexible models and lifelong learning pathways, including on an international scale. Hence the aim of delivering comprehensive online programmes, intended both for institutional education and for lifelong learning, through professional development courses designed in consultation with the world of work, with a view to developing human capital and enhancing communities and local areas. In particular, the Strategic Plan provides for the launch of a total of 30 master’s programmes delivered remotely.
‘We must promote a culture of lifelong learning that helps people to refresh their knowledge and skills. Continuing education represents an increasingly crucial frontier for the university’s educational mission, which is broadening its scope to encompass multiple stages of life, transforming the university from a ‘five-year milestone’ into a lifelong companion in personal growth’, adds the Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.