Fondo Agostino Gemelli
Ongoing campaigns
Università Cattolica for Ukraine
Since the beginning of the conflict, Università Cattolica has been mobilised in support of Ukraine. On its five campuses in Milan, Piacenza-Cremona, Brescia and Rome, economic, psychological, and educational support initiatives have been set up for university students from the areas affected by the conflict. For students already enrolled who come from the areas affected by the conflict and who have applied for it, exemption from paying university fees has been provided.
The University intends to make an extra effort to collect donations from both the university community and companies and foundations to financially support projects for Ukrainian students through the Gemelli Fund.
"Now that Russians and Ukrainians are driven to hate each other, please intensify opportunities to meet, keep cultural relations between us and them alive"
Università Cattolica has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv. In recent months, the Ukrainian university has undertaken to host students from other universities in the country, particularly from the regions and cities to the east of the country, which have been hardest hit by the military conflict.
The three-year cooperation includes numerous activities to promote the continuity of studies and research at the Ukrainian university:
- student mobility for the three-year degree course in psychological sciences and techniques, Psychology profile (3 students per semester, for a total of 6 per year);
- the possibility for lecturers from Ukraine to attend our university (2 per semester, for a duration of 6-8 weeks, for a total of 4 lecturers per year);
- the possibility for 1 student per year to participate in the university's first level Master's degree course in Corporate Communication.
Università Cattolica will provide exemption from university fees and will cover accommodation and board at the University's Colleges or Residences; visiting professors will also be provided with accommodation and board by our university. Scholarships will also be provided for students so that they can meet their ordinary needs during their stay.
On the education front, the Department of Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures, in collaboration with the University Centre for International Solidarity (CeSI), has made available the expertise of the Faculty's students and professors.
The project is being implemented in partnership with AVSI and the Christian Russia Foundation and is coordinated by Professors Adriano Dell'Asta, lecturer in Russian Language and Culture, and Anna Paola Bonola, lecturer in Russian Language, supported in the psychological field by Fabio Sbattella, lecturer in Emergency Psychology.
The initiative includes the organisation of free Italian language lessons held by students in Russian language courses at Università Cattolica with a level of B1 or higher or an adequate knowledge of English. The lessons, lasting about an hour and a half each, are aimed at groups of a maximum of 3/4 people and take place twice a week in telematic mode. The teaching material is provided to participants free of charge.
