The Freshers Days of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano began this morning on the campus in the centre of the city. Three days (2 and 3 October) during which the University welcomes the newcomers and introduces them to their new life as students. It is an opportunity to get to know the faculties, study programmes and services, and for the student associations to present their activities, with the aim of making the new students' start at university as easy as possible.

This year, the number of new unibz students (undergraduate and graduate) is 7% higher than last year: this is good news, especially after 2022, when many universities have seen a drop in enrolments. As of today, the number of enrolled students is 998 (66 more than in 2022), which is 7% more than last academic year.

"Today is one of the best days in the life of a professor and Rector because I am looking at so many young people who have chosen to put their trust in us and study in Bozen-Bolzano", said Prof. Paolo Lugli, who emphasised that the choice to study at a trilingual university is an advantage when entering the world of work. "Among the many reasons that have brought you here, I believe that one is particularly important and concerns the ease with which our graduates find a job that corresponds to their aspirations and preparation. National and international rankings reward our efforts and you will see that the effort of studying in three languages is rewarded".

Director Günther Mathà emphasised the attention to students' needs which is the hallmark of a student-friendly university such as the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano. "You are not customers here, you are a living part of a community and thanks to your support and dialogue with the academic community and the services, you allow us to improve".

These two speeches were followed by those of the four Deans of the Faculties present in the capital: Engineering (Prof. Andrea Gasparella), Design and Art (Prof. Nitzan Cohen), Economics (Prof. Marjaana Gunkel) and Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences (Prof. Marco Gobbetti).

The Freshers Days will continue tomorrow with information sessions (e.g. presentation of the Language Centre and language courses) and seminars introducing student services. 

(zil)