Università Cattolica and Garda Uno Collaborate on Sustainable Water Management Courses
The event concluded with a visit to the interesting architectural site of Palazzo Cominelli and the ancient village of Cisano, marking the second meeting between representatives of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Brescia and the officials of the Azienda Speciale Consorzio Garda Uno.
Objectives and Participants of the Meeting
The purpose of the meeting was the shared will expressed by both promoting entities, also extended to the availability of other institutions, to establish a systematic collaboration framework between the Università Cattolica (represented at the meeting by Director Dr. Mauro Salvatore and Professor Antonio Ballarin Denti), Garda Uno (attended by President Guido Maruelli, General Director Arch. Franco Richetti, and Councillor Dr. Walter Romagnoli), the Garda Community (President Adelio Zanelli and Lucio Ceresa), and the Municipality of San Felice del Benaco (Mayor Ambrogio Florioli).
During the meeting, held in Manerba del Garda and coordinated by Professor Adalberto Da Casto, various indications regarding the establishment of a degree course in Physical Geography and the Environment were considered, with particular focus on the integrated management of the water cycle – its relationship with the territory and its activities, within the perspective of sustainable development.
Educational Proposals and Goals of the New Faculty
The course will complement the other two tracks of Physics at the Catholic University, namely Physics of Matter and Physics of Biosystems.
The experts stated that the purpose of a new faculty is tied to application and research, especially for a private University for which the connection with the local reality is essential to secure economic and financial resources, such as scholarships for recent graduates, research initiatives tailored to territorial needs, and opportunities to interact with surrounding conditions.
The new faculty will have a particular focus on topics related to land management, human impact, and territory preservation.
Role of Local Institutions and Future Outlook
Garda Uno and the Garda Community will be responsible for identifying applied research areas in which to include the institutional activities of the Università Cattolica through research, teaching, courses, and the dissemination of culture related to the local reality.
Palazzo Cominelli could become a reference location, while Cattolica will facilitate potential links with other campuses, such as the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Food Sciences.
Already during the 1999/2000 academic year, the first theses could be presented, leading to the awarding of the first degrees in the 2000/2001 academic year.
