(Finance) – UniCredit Foundation awarded this week 40 students and researchers and 9 economics departments, which in 2020 and 2021 were the winners of the competitions launched by the Foundation. The amount of prizes awarded this year is 2.3 million euros. The winners – Unicredit says in a note – are students and researchers in economic and financial disciplines, enrolled at universities and research institutes in the countries where the Group operates.
The award ceremony, which took place at the UniCredit headquarters in Milan, saw the participation of the president of UniCredit, Pier Carlo Padoan; the head of UniCredit Foundation, Silvia Cappellini; the director of the Foundation, Giorgio Barba Navaretti of the University of Milan and prof. Tito Boeri, president of the Marco Fanno Scholarship Association.
“I am particularly pleased to open this day which – declared Cappellini – rewards merit and talent, both in the academic and professional world. Forty students in the field of economics and finance from all countries of the UniCredit perimeter will join an international network of over 500 alumni from today. Thanks to these scholarships, UniCredit Foundation confirms its commitment to improving the quality of the European education system, in favor of future generations and all communities “.
“At the basis of the success of the numerous initiatives awarded today, – he underlined Boers – there is a close and convinced collaboration with the UniCredit Foundation, which has its roots in sharing the same commitment aimed at supporting merit and combating educational inequalities “.
Padoan, spoke during the ceremony with a lecture on the challenges that Italy and Europe, together with the entire banking system, will have to face following the succession of the most recent crises. “The Next Generation EU and the PNRR – highlighted Padoan – represent, respectively for Europe and Italy, a unique opportunity that must not be wasted. The credibility of Italy, in particular, also depends on the effective and timely implementation of the PNRR so that the country positions itself on a more sustained growth path “. In closing, the president of UniCredit greeted the young winners, underlining the importance of studying abroad as well as the enormous value of scholarships for the careers of future generations.
THE competitions launched by the UniCredit Foundation have a dual purpose. On the one hand, they aim to support students’ specialization abroad, to follow doctoral courses in universities of excellence, as in the case of the Crivelli, Marco Fanno, Saccomanni and Giovannini scholarships (8 scholarships of 65 thousand euros each for a total of 500 thousand euros, for a PhD at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, but also LSE, Zurich). On the other hand, they offer the possibility of obtaining research Masters through the Masterscholarships initiative which, with a commitment of 300 thousand euros, offers 8 scholarships for Masters abroad lasting one year in as many of the most prestigious European universities: Barcelona School of Economics, London School of Economics, Mannheim University, Oxford University, Sciences Po, Stockholm School of Economics, Toulose School of Economics, Bocconi University of Milan. Furthermore, UniCredit Foundation offers specialization opportunities abroad for UniCredit Group employees, supporting Summer School scholarships at three of the most prestigious European universities: Barcelona School of Economics, London School of Economics and University College of London.
The Foundation also continues its commitment on the front of “brain return”. In 2021, over 700 thousand euros were invested in this direction. This area includes the calls addressed directly to university departments committed to attracting talents, such as the Foscolo Europe Top-up Fellowship competition (3 three-year scholarships of 150 thousand euros each), which in 2021 – in its seventh edition – was won by CERGE – EI in Prague, from the Carlo Alberto College of Turin and from the Department of Economics and Finance of the Tor Vergata University of Rome and the Marco Fanno Fellowship competition, top-up aimed exclusively at Italian public universities (3 three-year scholarships of 45 thousand euros each) , won in 2021 by the Milano Bicocca University and the University of Turin. This area also includes the Modigliani Reaserch Grants (4 biennial grants for a total of 80 thousand euros) reserved for supporting research projects developed by researchers from all over Europe.