With Maestro Muti’s musical lecture Università Cattolica renews the alliance between generations

The Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini focused on this theme during her intervention: “History teaches us that true innovation arises from hybridisation between art and science. Our teachers have taught us that the first alliance is between disciplines, between universities and businesses, then between Italy, Europe and Africa, and finally between generations, which must be courageous, inclusive and permeable. For the first time in history, five generations coexist simultaneously: a novelty that brings life and new possibilities.” For Minister Bernini, “a teacher is someone who knows how to draw out talents in their students that they themselves are not even aware of, who educates them to love knowledge and teaches them what true freedom is. The combination of art, technology and higher education is the profound meaning of the alliance between generations.”

Amidst thunderous and prolonged applause from an enthusiastic audience, Riccardo Muti recalled the honorary degree awarded to him by Università Cattolica in 1999 and launched a memorable performance centred on the overture to Mozart’s Don Giovanni. With skilful musical emphasis, the Maestro retraced the paradox of a “dramma giocoso” that turns into a modern tragedy of rebellion against order.

“The task of a university,” said Professor Beccalli, “is not only to transmit techniques, but also to transmit knowledge through experience: this is the cultural value of education. There is no ranking capable of accurately measuring the effect of this new educational paradigm, just as it is not possible to verify the transmission of the cultural value of Italian opera. In both cases, however, their impact on society is visible. In fact, just as music is a form of civic participation, so universities are institutions called upon to educate informed and active citizens.”

The inaugural speech was also an opportunity to outline some key figures. This year, new enrolments reached 13,489, marking an increase in the number of students in master’s degree programmes. The strong presence of students from all continents is notable, with a 37% increase since 2021, reflecting the growing appeal of degrees in the global arena. The community now numbers 43,000 students, joined by almost 40,000 participants in continuing education programmes. On the research front, the University has received prestigious awards, including three ERC (European Research Council) grants funded in the 2025 call for proposals.

For the next three years, the University is committed to its Strategic Plan, based on defining principles: enhancing the profile of a non-profit Catholic university; promoting full integration between the educational community and the research university; building a place of knowledge experience and not just knowledge transmission. The originality of this plan lies in a “synodal method” inspired by “service that unites”.

According to the Rector, “education is not a unidirectional transfer, but rather a reciprocal process between generations where experience and innovation intertwine in a dynamic of exchange and co-construction of cultural meanings.” Closing her speech, Rector Beccalli recalled that “choosing music as the centrepiece of this inauguration is an invitation, if not an outright call, to reflect on the ability to transmit identity values to future generations. Only by keeping them alive does a university truly become a symphony of knowledge that educates, inspires and transforms the world.” This approach “enhances the dynamics of education power, whereby everyone contributes to creating knowledge. It is not about confusing roles, but about combining the knowledge transmitted by teachers with the awareness that young people act as true cultural pioneers.”

Completing the metaphor that guided the ceremony, she stated that “comparing the University to an orchestra means depicting it as an educational community, in which each person – student, professor, researcher, technical-administrative staff – plays their instrument with dedication and passion. As in a symphony, not everyone is a soloist, but every part is essential to the success of the performance.”

Monsignor Mario Delpini, President of Istituto Toniolo di Studi Superiori, spoke about intergenerational collaboration in his greeting and presided over the Eucharistic concelebration at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. Speaking of the decline of Western humanism, the Bishop of Milan saw numerous signs of resistance and hope in the philosophy of Università Cattolica. “We need a mature and courageous sense of responsibility capable of reading the time we live in and not shirking the commitments it entails; we need a dynamic of relationships between people, between university components, between the University and the Italian Church, between the University and the country, Europe, Africa, and Catholic universities worldwide.”