ROME (ITALPRESS) – Green light to the allocation of more than 321 million by the Ministry of Universities and Research to support the administrative operation, teaching activities, and structural and technological modernization of institutions of higher education, art, music and dance. Among the main funds provided by the MUR are 45.5 million euros (500,000 euros more than last year) to fund music conservatories, academies of fine arts and higher institutes for artistic industries.
The funds will be allocated according to criteria that take into account not only the number of students enrolled, but also the quality of management, the efficiency of facilities, and the ability to offer innovative, inclusive services.
As part of the ordinary funding, 4 million euros have also been allocated for research projects of relevant national interest (PRIN) related to interventions to combat youth distress as well as with a social innovation character on issues of relevant interest to AFAM.
Special attention is given to students with disabilities, for whom an additional 950,000 euros have been allocated to improve services and infrastructure dedicated to them.
In addition to funding for ordinary operations, the Ministry also approved the ranking of projects for structural and technological modernization of AFAMs. Fifty-four institutions have been selected to benefit from the ministerial funding of 272.5 million, which will enable them to renovate their infrastructure and adopt cutting-edge technological solutions to make these places even more suitable for training the professionals of the future.
“AFAMs are the places where passion for the arts is transformed into profession and culture. These institutions are our Italian ‘universities’ of the arts: spaces of creativity and identity, capable of enhancing our immense cultural heritage and projecting it into the future,” stressed Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of Universities and Research. “With these investments,” she added, “we are taking concrete action to enhance the Academies, Conservatories and Higher Institutes for Artistic Industries, a fundamental segment for our country, not only in terms of training, but also in economic and cultural terms.
Minister Bernini also stressed that the MUR’s action is going beyond financial support, with an overall renewal of the sector’s policies with the aim of aligning AFAMs with universities.
“We have innovated the discipline, outlining recruitment paths and teaching on the basis of what is provided for universities, in order to ensure greater quality and consistency between the various levels of training. The goal,” the minister further highlights, “is to create a more integrated and internationally competitive system, with a sector capable of responding to the challenges of a global market that demands increasingly high artistic and professional skills.
The enhancement of AFAM is a key element of the MUR’s strategy for strengthening the Italian higher education system. The next steps will involve improving regulations on research planning and evaluation and adopting the new Governance Regulations, which will ensure greater autonomy and capacity for development.
– Photo: Photogram Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
