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Interview – Excerpt
Carla Salvaterra
Bologna University, Vice Rector for International Relations
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Daniela Staicu: This is March 9 ; we are in Bologna, Italy with Ms. Carla Salvaterra. I will ask you to describe your job,
your attributions.
Carla Salvaterra: I’m currently the Dr. Rector of International Relations of the University of Bologna. This means that I
have responsibilities in coordinating the international activities of the University, from the political point of view, and I
work closely with the International Relations area; it’s the administrative area which carries on the projects and actions
we decide that are at political level. As a Dr. Rector, I work closely with the Rector and with the Board of Governors of
the University; it’s the board within the university that has the responsibility to elaborate proposals for the Senate and
for the Council of the University on specific matters and international activities are some of these.
DS: For how long have you had this position?
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CS: I started on the 2 of November 2009, so this means it is one year and four months.
DS: And before?
CS: Well, this is the specific responsibility. I’m a researcher within the university which is in the University career. In
Italy, we have 3 steps: researcher, associate professor, full professor. I am researcher in the field of Roman history. I
teach Papyrology and before accepting this responsibility, I was responsible for International Relations within the
Faculty of Arts and Humanities and I participated in the International Board of the University. I have some background
and expertise in international projects because, at national level, I am part of the Bologna Experts of my country.
Bologna Experts is a group which is formed on impulse of the European Commission and, in Italy, it is appointed by
the Ministry together with the Conference of Rectors to spread information about the European higher educational
area and to support actions at a national level to improve the participation of the country and the achievement of the
objectives.
DS: How difficult is managing rising and falling student enrollment levels? I read a European report, actually a
forecast, saying that the rise and fall of the population will affect also the enrollment in higher university. If you can
express a general point on that….
CS: Well, it’s not directly my area of competence because we have two Vice Rectors who are more competent on this;
there is the Vice Rector for students and the Vice Rector for teaching. What I can tell you is that, right in these days, a
report from the Italian University Council has been published which says that, in Italy, the student population has been
decreasing by, I think, 6% in the last year and, of course, this affects the European goal of having 40% of students
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between 30 and 39 with a degree within 2020. On the contrary, Bologna has not seen such a decreasing of
population. There has been a decrease in some areas, but there we have a restrictive number of students who can
enroll, and, on the other hand, an increase of enrollment in the second cycle can be observed. In Italy, this problem is
not affecting so much the budget because we have a law which foresees that the budget of universities cannot be
formed of more than 20% by student’s fees. So, it cannot affect the budget of the University for more than 20%. This is
a norm of, more or less, 20 years ago, so, I think that this will change but, in any case, the part of student’s fees is
quite limited in Italy comparing to other country where student fees make up for 50% of the university budget.
Nevertheless, as I have been telling you, it’s a worry for the overall objectives of increasing the number of graduates.
Of course, if students decide that they will not pursue the university studies, it’s a problem. I think that you could have
a glance at this research which has just been presented on Monday and maybe also at the articles that have been
published with the position of the University of Bologna on this topic and reflections coming from my colleagues.
You ask how is to want to manage rising and falling student’s enrollment levels. You know that a responsibility of
universities nowadays is not just to concentrate on students in the mainstream enrollment coming to us directly from
secondary schools, but it’s also concentrating on lifelong learning, improving competencies of graduates who are older
students. Lifelong learning is an important issue for universities. In Italy, it’s particularly important because student
fees, for students in mainstream education, are limited. They are usually between 1000 and 3000 per year depending
on university or the type of degree whilst universities are free to put their own fees on continuing education programs.
So that is an area which does not affect the 20% of the student fees over our budget. I think that there will be a kind of
investment in this area of continuing education, professional master, summer schools and those kinds of programs
which are not mainstream and in which the university has more freedom to, not to make a profit but to cover the real
costs of education.
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