I.06. New Social, Professional and Educational contexts: Rethinking the Italian University System

​Recent data from Eurostat and the OECD confirm that the Italian university system is going through a critical period: results below the European average in terms of the percentage of young graduates and the adequacy of their skills to meet the challenges of contemporary society. In fact, considering that only 29% of young people aged 25–34 are graduates, compared to around 44% of the EU average, and that basic literacy and problem-solving skills are significantly below the OECD average, Italian universities do not seem to be contributing adequately to the education of future generations and the growth of the country's human capital.

Therefore, it's necessary to consider the actual effectiveness of the current Italian university education model, which is still strongly anchored to educational paradigms that do not respond to the learning methods of the new generations and the demands of today's knowledge society.
For this reason, the panel intends to critically address this misalignment, questioning the meaning, function, and prospects for transformation of the current university system. Scholars from all disciplines are invited to submit theoretical, empirical, and comparative contributions that explore the implications of this crisis and propose innovative visions for redesigning the role of universities, starting from the conventional educational model.