'European universities more attractive with brain circulation'

We need to activate brain circulation for the benefit of Europe's competitiveness: having universities that are attractive to human capital from other countries is crucial for our future. At the ANSA Forum, Elena Beccalli, rector of Milan's Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, which has 45,000 students on five campuses in different Italian regions, explained the recipe for reversing the brain drain. "We are among the largest private non-profit universities in Europe and the leading university in Italy in terms of student mobility, both incoming and outgoing. An important result that points to the possibility of breaking the brain drain phenomenon,' he said. The Università Cattolica is a reference centre for research with around two thousand projects, worth EUR 143.8 million. There are 16,000 publications by researchers at the university, with a total of 181,920 citations.

Papa Leone durante la benedizione della prima pietra del "Centro Cuore - Papa Francesco" del Policlinico Gemelli di Roma, Città del Vaticano, 27 Aprile 2026. ANSA/US VATICAN MEDIA

This morning, the Rector attended the ceremony in Rome in which the Pope blessed the foundation stone of the Heart Centre, the major new work at the Policlinico Gemelli named after Pope Francis. "The Heart Centre dedicated to the memory of Pope Francis," Beccalli emphasised, "was created with the intention of putting the patient at the centre of cardiovascular care in an integrated pathway, which takes care of the patient in all his needs and to do so with innovative means. We have no other similar centres in Italia or in Europe; it will be inaugurated in 2029'. During the forum at ANSA, the rector illustrated the lines and objectives of the 2026-2028 Strategic Plan of the university she heads, spoke of the establishment of the School of Knowledge, which will take place as early as September 2027, and of the FutureLearn platform for post-graduate courses, of the Africa Plan, which has more than 125 active projects in 40 African countries, of the opportunity to strengthen the partnership between public and private entities in education, and of the investment of 3 million, with resources from the university, to enhance researchers.

Furthermore, in May, the assembly of the European Federation of Catholic Universities, a network of 62 universities of which the rector is president, will be held in Zagreb. At the centre of the discussion will be three very current challenges: digital and Ai, demography, and the fragility of students. "After Covid we notice it everywhere: we have more fragile students, more anxious, very concerned about performance. We need to pay attention to their psychological well-being and activate resilience mechanisms. They need reference figures,' noted Beccalli, who added: 'The challenges posed by the first two issues are obvious, but the third deserves special attention. At the Catholic University we do this with psychological support courses for students and with a strong focus on wellbeing, also by providing spaces in which to cultivate peer relationships'.

'Our university,' he concluded, with an eye to the international crises, 'also aims to be an institution of peace, based on the approach of the scientific method and a daily commitment based on solidarity.