Vasari Institute Launches Business Course Linking Education and Industry
On Monday, classes begin at the Vasari institute in Castiglione for the post-diploma course for business administration and finance technician, funded by the European Social Fund. “A pilot initiative – emphasizes Manlio Paganella, scientific director – which aims to establish strong connections between higher technical education and the business world and university. I regret that the other Ifts course, for logistics expert and intermodality techniques, although approved and funded, could not start due to the Casa del Giovane’s withdrawal from managing it.”
The course includes a 360-hour internship with companies, out of a total of 1,200 hours, distributed over 40 hours per week. It has 23 students, coming from the Mantovana area and Lower Brescia, who will be mentored individually. The subjects offered in the first semester are computer science, statistics, economics, English, and business organization.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect is the presence, alongside teachers from schools and universities, of managers, entrepreneurs, and professionals from Castiglione, who have committed to organizing meetings with the students, where theoretical learning meets practical experience.
Participants and opinions
Among them, Sandro Crescini, general manager of Bertani: «I have endorsed an initiative I find interesting, capable of supplementing and completing school preparation. When recent graduates are integrated into companies, there is always a need for a trial period to align their theoretical knowledge with practical needs. The interaction and direct knowledge of the business world, as planned in this course, can in some way reduce this gap.»
Alfonsina Ciarico, responsible for personnel development at Wella, also welcomed the initiative enthusiastically: «This course is one of the first steps toward bringing the school and work worlds closer together. The program is demanding, but I believe that along the way, better synergies will develop between the two realities, especially thanks to the presence of figures from companies».
For Franco Spoladore, administrative and financial director of Golden Lady, initiatives like this should be encouraged: «These are pathways that follow a model long present in post-university training, where graduates measure their knowledge by engaging with real business environments. I believe this dialogue is important, but I think it should preferably happen within post-diploma training so as not to overly tailor curricular paths to the needs of the production environment.»
