dear Laura, dear graduate of Politecnico di Milano,
as well known are difficult times for the University and for our University. I'm glad to let you know below the letter I wrote to our students and information linking to the site of the Polytechnic www.polimi.it there is a pdf document (the "Annex") on the situation of the university.
Sincerely
Giulio Ballio
Dear Student, Dear Student,
In the last two years we are witnessing a smear campaign, more intense and aggressive with regard to the Italian university and all those who honestly there operate.
It 'campaign which threatens us all deeply discouraging and especially those young people who have been admitted or just wishing to enter it.
It 'campaign, which may cause legitimate doubts as you and your families.
Often people I meet ask me if it is real that the picture is represented by the many speeches given by the media, or whether we are witnessing, perhaps without realizing it, lacking confidence in an attack aimed at the state universities.
appears legitimate to doubt that there is a desire to replace the 'public university with a private system, devastating the expectations of more than half a million Italian households.
We, who are both teachers and researchers, we feel deeply offended because you want to de-legitimize their own before the community we have chosen to serve with our work and our sacrifices. These attempts to discredit
hurt all of us who believe in the university, which will work to train and ferry you to young people from secondary school to employment, to do research and serve our country where we still believe. We are losing enthusiasm, urge us to do the minimum required, separate us from the desire to work in a service that we chose and where we still believe. We want to respond only because, otherwise, we would do the game of who wants to destroy us by depriving them of that freedom, which alone allows you to do research and teach young people.
These days we talk of unrest researchers, the request for suspension of classes, will not take lessons, of claims by people that may seem lucky because they still have a job, but to which you are taking away that hope that led them to refrain from activities more profitable to begin the work that we, the oldest, has always seemed the best job in the world doing research while teaching young people.
career expectations of younger people are disappointed. For more than three years are not banned from competitions to pass a researcher and associate professor to full professor and one can not reasonably predict the number of years will still have to pass before these competitions are banned. Not to grow old without hope many talented young people are winning competitions for professor positions at universities abroad and those who go away are not replaced by foreign colleagues wishing to come to work in Italy.
There are prevented from doing research with foreign colleagues, even if we manage to make us by a public or private financing for a new legislative framework requires to spend in work assignments less than half that spent in 2009.
We are allowed to continue to provide training to date appreciated by the world of work because a recent ministerial decree stipulates a reduction of courses and degree courses, regardless of the number of students enrolled. Perhaps our university will be forced to reduce enrollment or to close educational activities which to date have met the needs of the territories in which the school is present.
There is a proposed Bill which, though necessary, make some critical points:
- the imposition of forms of government of the University very different from those adopted by us in the last decade that have allowed us to grow in reputation International
- the obligation to recruit faculty from other universities in a country that is doing everything to counter the mobility due to the lack of services provided
- heavy uncertainty over the fate of young researchers who work with us for the lack of planning in the progression of their careers
- lack of attractiveness of academic careers for the younger generation confronted with a series of fixed-term contracts that increases their sense of insecurity.
The approval of a law which took no account of this criticism is a multi-university funding could result in a current situation even worse.
How do you handle a university or make an appropriate programming when still do not know the amount of funding State of the Polytechnic for the year 2010?
This letter is born from the desire to share with you these feelings, to ask for your understanding, to search for your solidarity.
All of us want to continue the mission of the Polytechnic that for almost 150 years we have been entrusted, but we can not be left alone at the mercy of someone using a lawnmower to do the whole with the same brush, regardless of cut in one pass the dry grass, the green and the flowers have grown.
It 's just the ability to distinguish the good grain from the weeds that, together with you, regardless of any political faith, we would ask our country. We want which is not destroyed all the good we have, we strongly urge that we invest even on what is good to make it even better.
Probably many of you are asking a number of questions such as: What is the autonomy of the university? Universities are all the same? Who financially supports the university? Because teachers do research? What are the duties imposed by law for university teachers? How do you recruit a university professor? The Italian research is so low as it is painted? It 's true that our universities are far behind in international rankings? The Barons still exist? The so-called 3 +2 is a disaster? What do you mean legal title?
These and other questions, which you propose to write comunicazione@polimi.it will be answered on the site Polimi in the coming weeks. Sincerely Giulio
Ballio
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