There is a new home for the inter-university five-year Master's degree programme in Medicine and surgery, in the heart of the city, surrounded by history. The building was unveiled during a ceremony that took place at the end of the renovation works, which adapted the building to the new use.
Days ago students and staff left the Collegio Bernardo Clesio in Via Santa Margherita, which temporarily housed the course at the beginning of the year, and moved to Palazzo Consolati in Via Santa Maria Maddalena.
The new students are 60, of which 31 are young women. 41 are resident of Trentino Alto Adige (36 reside in Trentino, 5 in Alto Adige). A rather large group (16) are from Veneto. And there are three students from Lombardy, Sicily and Sardinia. At the admission test, 47 of the new students had picked Trento as their first choice. There were 60 places available.
675 candidates had submitted their applications to take the admission test in Trento. Among them, 450 had selected the University of Trento as their first choice for their studies in Medicine and surgery (360 applicants took the test in Trento, the rest in other cities).
The admitted students are now busy studying General biology, Chemistry and biochemistry, Medical physics and Computer science for medicine. In recent video interviews, some of them have explained why they decided to study medicine and how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on their choice, while the faculty were impressed by the commitment of the students.
The inauguration of the building was also streamed via Zoom, because only a few people could attend in person. The ribbon was cut by the Rector of the University of Trento Paolo Collini, with the Rector of the University of Verona Pier Francesco Nocini and the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento Maurizio Fugatti.
For Paolo Collini "the ribbon cutting ceremony marks the transition from project to reality, a very special one in the Italian academic environment. Our innovative and multidisciplinary degree programme in Medicine and surgery in fact responds to the demand for professionals with a solid background in medicine combined with training in health technologies. The Covid-19 emergency has demonstrated how important this is. Besides, our programme also aims to take advantage of health-related disciplines to promote quality research at UniTrento, not only in the areas of life sciences at the Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO, the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, and the Department of Psychology, but also in the development of sciences and technologies in a wider perspective, and in the humanities, in bioethics and law research, in sociology and management, to the enrichment of our students.
"This is the achievement of a long awaited goal for which the universities of Trento and Verona have worked – commented Pier Francesco Nocini, Rector of the University of Verona – an achievement that further strengthens the collaboration between us. The establishment of the School and the Department of Medicine in Trento will make it possible to integrate the hospital, training and research work provided by the two universities with the national and provincial health care service. Speaking for the university of Verona, I am proud of the contribution that we have made to create this new reality, and I am sure that with time it will benefit research and health care while responding to the demands and expectations of the population. As we build the new School of Medicine we will pay attention to respect and make the most of the skills and professionalism that are already available in Trentino, because we know that what has been done so far is a point of departure and not a point of arrival.
Nocini concluded his address with these words: "As we begin this journey of learning and hope, especially for our young students, I would like to remember those who have died during this pandemic, and health care workers in particular. We hope that their work and their sacrifice may inspire and be an example for medicine students and for all those studying health care professions".
Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, also addressed the audience: "I am very proud and satisfied with the start of the degree programme in Medicine and surgery, and the members of the provincial government and all those who worked for this achievement share this feeling. We were able, together with the University, to make a dream a reality, in a very short period of time. But this is just the beginning. In a sense, this prestigious building is a great starting point: we hope that this is where the doctors who will work in Trentino in the coming years will receive their training. But there is much more behind these walls: our duty to invest in people. These young people, with their motivations and skills, will take care of our health in the future, our most valuable asset. As we inaugurate this building today, in the middle of the pandemic, we hope in the future and give hope to our communities, underlining the value of our Autonomy".
Two more speeches were given by the Vice-rector for teaching and learning at the University of Trento Paola Iamiceli, and the Councillor for youth and education policies of the City of Trento Elisabetta Bozzarelli. The ceremony was also attended by the President of the University of Trento Daniele Finocchiaro, the Directors general of the University of Verona Federico Gallo and of the University of Trento Alex Pellacani, and by Alessandro Lunelli as a representative of the building's owners.
Other guests attended via Zoom, among them: the Provincial Councillor for university and research Mirko Bisesti, the Director of the Provincial Health Care Service Pier Paolo Benetollo, and the President of the Board of physicians Marco Ioppi. With them were the President of the Student council of UniTrento Edoardo Meneghini, the Coordinator of the degree programme Massimo Pizzato, the head of the FBK programme for health Antonella Graiff, and Cristina Ioriatti representing the Provincial education department.