PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – The Rector of the University of Palermo, Massimo Midiri, has outlined the mid-term balance sheet, initiating a reflection on what has been done so far and indicating the guidelines for the next three years.”Since the start of the journey that began in late 2021 UniPa is increasingly consolidating itself as a constantly growing reality projected into the future,” said Rector Midiri. “In these years there have been changes and novelties concerning all the main activities of our University, starting with teaching, research, third mission, personnel, organization, inclusion and sustainability. Thanks to the commitment of all the staff, both teaching and technical-administrative and library staff, to whom I express my deepest gratitude, UniPa has conquered a leading role in the cultural, social and economic panorama both locally and nationally, attested to by its achievement of the fourth position in the Censis rankings among Italian Mega Athenaeums, after the Universities of Padua, Bologna and Rome La Sapienza.The program proposed at the beginning of our mandate was complex and highly challenging, and today we can say that a substantial part of the goals have been effectively and largely achieved. “The three-year period of work that is opening,” stresses Vice Rector Enrico Napoli, “will allow us to achieve even those goals that have not yet been achieved and that today are being completed or redesigned in light of a constantly changing context.”We continue under the sign of participation, confrontation and attention to the needs of those who live the daily life of our University, fundamental elements to confirm the successes achieved so far and aim at the new challenges of the future with projects of the greatest magnitude,” the Rector continues, “We are working on the construction of a new complex of classrooms at the Viale delle Scienze Campus, of the new Veterinary Hospital, and the redevelopment of currently unused properties such as the large warehouse on Via Marini and the Warehouses on Via Lincoln, for which a feasibility project has already been drawn up for the creation of a top-notch Museum Pole. For the realization of these projects, the Athenaeum is considering the possibility of activating a loan of very high weight, at the same time initiating interlocutions at the highest level of the Sicilian Region to obtain a significant participation in the coverage of interests – concludes Rector Massimo Midiri – Also of great prospect is the forthcoming realization of the new Polyclinic, for which about 350 million euros have already been allocated thanks to the agreement between the State and the Sicilian Region on the expenditure of funds under Article 20 for health care construction.”An examination of the data pertaining to Didactics shows an Athenaeum whose attractiveness has grown by 10 percent for Bachelor’s and Single-Cycle Master’s degrees and 25 percent for Master’s degrees. The number of regular enrollment attests to a 6.1 percent increase over A.Y. 2021/2022. Decisive for this result was the commitment to the Territorial Poles, which enabled a growth of more than 80 percent. Also of great importance is the growth in the attractiveness of foreign students, which has increased by 27% in the last three years.On the Research front, also thanks to the new tools provided to the Professors, the University of Palermo has achieved remarkable results, recording a 66% increase in the number of European projects presented by the University’s professors. Extraordinary results were achieved in the PNRR, in the different missions of which resources amounting to more than 165 million were acquired. The amount of resources for personnel, both Lecturers and Technical-Administrative and Library staff, returns the image of an Athenaeum strongly committed to the constant search for growth and improvement. The number of Lecturers grew by 9.4 percent, from 1,565 to 1,712. Of considerable interest is the growth in the percentage of women, from 38 percent to 40 percent in three years. The last three years have also seen an increase in the number of calls for external professors, the number of which has exceeded 22%, a figure well above the 20% required by law. Technical-Administrative and Library staff increased by 250 due to new entrants. At the same time, career progressions have grown, 243 compared to 45 in the previous triennium.On the building front, the efforts made in order to expand teaching spaces and improve existing ones are remarkable. The resources committed in the last three-year period amounted to more than 86 mln euros, including 10.5 mln euros for modernization and safety of classrooms, 11 mln euros for green areas, roadways, sports facilities, 20.5 mln euros for restoration of historic buildings (Martorana Complex and Botanical Garden), 4.8 mln euros for laboratory maintenance.-photo press office University of Palermo-(ITALPRESS).
