Now it is Europe’s turn to attract scientists and young people seeking better research and working conditions
“Tariffs are redrawing the map of world trade”, writes Il Sole24Ore (6 April), trying to understand not only the extent of the general shock caused by the decisions of Donald Trump’s White House and the consequences of US protectionism, but also the possible next moves of the various international players. This is true both of the necessary negotiations with the United States and of the possible new relationships between the Asian giants (China and India in particular), Europe, Mercosur, two large American nations such as Canada and Mexico, the Arab countries and the most dynamic players in the recovery of Africa. But it is difficult, treacherous and slippery terrain, amidst tensions and new players in the difficult climate of the Great World Disorder.
It is to be hoped that the wisdom of those who, like the economist Nouriel Rubini, insist that “we must negotiate with America” because “without an agreement global growth will collapse” will prevail, knowing full well that “the financial markets are afraid of a US trade war” and that, in such a tense situation, “the European Union can avoid the worst by increasing fiscal stimulus and defence spending” (La Stampa, 6 April). Some wisdom that, unfortunately unheeded, was already present in the thoughts of the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, at the Assiom Forex in Turin on 15th February: “In a context already marked by geopolitical, trade and war tensions, the US strategy of using tariff announcements as a bargaining chip to redefine economic and political relations with other regions of the world could spiral out of control, producing effects far beyond those intended, exacerbating existing disagreements and opening new rifts”. So, better to negotiate: “Negotiated solutions based on cooperation are not only a preferable alternative, but are necessary to avoid a spiral of conflict that would threaten global stability’.
In short, we need far-sighted and wide-ranging responses, away from the escalation of tariffs and counter-tariffs, threats and retaliation.
Beyond commercial action, business and academic circles are beginning to think about research and science, and thus long-term sustainable development. In summary: economic growth and better social equilibrium, especially in the era of the primacy of the “knowledge economy”, are strongly influenced by human capital, or rather the intellectual and productive capacities of people. The US has traditionally been very attractive with its large universities, which are among the best in the world, and research centres with solid financial resources. Now, however, the landscape is changing. “American academics are fleeing the country,” writes Viviana Mazza in Corriere della Sera (2 April), reporting on the cuts and reductions in federal funding for public research institutes and the most prestigious universities (Harvard, Columbia, Penn).
Journalistic tensions and disputes aside, it is worthwhile for Europe to address the question of how to make itself more attractive to the intelligence of so many young people who can now look to French and German, English and Italian, Spanish and Dutch universities and European companies. The answer is to provide robust support for training and research programmes, and for the reception of ‘brains’, including returnees. And by using both the leverage of joint programme funding (with an EU-UK agreement) and attractive policy choices for young researchers, professors and students from around the world (salaries, housing, schools and kindergartens for children, etc.). Facilitating the return of the thousands of European academics who have left. And a call to those who might want to study and work in Europe.
Such a strategy could be most appropriate for Italy, not least to try to slow down and then reverse the ‘record exodus’ of our young people abroad: 352,000, in the decade 2013-2022, in the 25-34 age group (ISTAT data on those who have moved abroad), including 132,000 graduates. The phenomenon is increasing dramatically over time: 191,000 Italians emigrated in 2024, 20% more than in the previous year. And so the picture of an Italy that is experiencing a deepening ‘demographic winter’ (only 370,000 children were born in 2024), an ageing population and the exodus of the youngest, most qualified and innovative energies. A burden on the future, not only in terms of production, but also in terms of culture and society.
What is needed is a “new pact for the future” that invests in education but also in the quality of work and life, argues Francesco Profumo, former rector of Turin Polytechnic and former president of the Compagna di San Paolo (La Stampa, 6 April). And Carlo Rosa, CEO of Diasorin, a high-tech company in the pharmaceutical sector with a strong international presence, adds: “We can get our brains back”. And already “the EU is giving an extra bonus to researchers and scientists returning from the US with the ERC (European Research Council) programmes”. We can do better, and more.
What is needed, in short, is good policy-making, with far-sighted intelligence and imagination, beyond the much-needed negotiations on tariffs. Relaunching European industry. Leveraging our productive and cultural capacities. “Go back to thinking about factories and build a European autonomy from the US in terms of digitalisation and energy decarbonisation,” argues Patrizio Bianchi, one of Italy’s leading economists (QN/ Il Resto del Carlino, 6 April). And how do we compete with the US giants? ” We have to consider what we already have, such as the research centres and technohubs in Bologna, Trieste, Ispra, Brussels and Luxembourg. Not least because with the research cuts imposed by Trump, many academics are considering leaving the US. We have to attract them, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves”. And it is in Bologna that the new Leonardo supercomputing centre can act as a high-level European technostructure for the relationship between artificial intelligence, scientific research and industrial competitiveness.
A good example of the attractiveness of high-tech industrial projects comes from Emilia Romagna, a reality characterised by a strong industrial vocation, a robust dialogue between companies and regional and local public administrations, active “pocket-sized multinationals”, a strong link with the production know-how of the territory and a social capital that has, over time, privileged the values of cooperation rather than the tensions of confrontation with competitors and adversaries. Knowing the true meaning of competition, a word that comes from the Latin cum and petere, moving together towards a common goal.
“No company can think of being competitive if it does not make the place where it is located competitive,” says Andrea Pontremoli, CEO of Dallara, one of the high-tech automotive companies in the Emilian Motor Valley, an area where other leading automotive industries are also concentrated, from Ferrari to Lamborghini and then Maserati, Pagani, Ducati, Hass Formula One, Racing Bull and Marelli HP. Ten internationally renowned manufacturing champions. With solid roots in an area historically devoted to mechanical excellence. And the wings to fly in the international universe. Driven by a strong spirit of competition between them, but also capable of working together with foresighted intelligence. This is how the Motor University of Emilia Romagna was born, a centre of excellence that attracts talented young people from all over the world.
Pontremoli, guest speaker at the Assolombarda conference on growth strategies for the Monza and Brianza area, the manufacturing heart of Greater Milan (QN/ Il Giorno, 2 April), had this to say: “We are an ecosystem, thanks to the relationship between local businesses and the four major universities in Emilia-Romagna. And we have designed nine master’s degrees, all in English, in sectors that we believe will be our future: race car design, supercar design, motorbike design, supercar production, electric vehicles, self-driving vehicles. And this year we have two hundred Masters graduates. 25% of students come from outside Europe to study the car of the future by working with the world’s best brands. And the majority of graduates stay and work here: beautiful surroundings, good jobs, friendly towns and villages. And of course, you eat well”
Pontremoli goes on: “In addition to the university, we have also invested in the ITS. Two thousand students a year come to Fornovo from all over Italy to be trained in five skills: 3D printers, Cad, robotics, carbon fibre and CNC machines.”
And the investment? “We have invested ourselves, the ten car companies and the other fifty related companies because it is in our interest to invest and have motivated, passionate, qualified people.
Research, training, technology and quality work. In short, “competing in the world means working together in Italy to build the talent of the future.” And, indeed, knowing how to attract the best intellectual and entrepreneurial energy from the rest of the world.
(photo Getty Images)
“Tariffs are redrawing the map of world trade”, writes Il Sole24Ore (6 April), trying to understand not only the extent of the general shock caused by the decisions of Donald Trump’s White House and the consequences of US protectionism, but also the possible next moves of the various international players. This is true both of the necessary negotiations with the United States and of the possible new relationships between the Asian giants (China and India in particular), Europe, Mercosur, two large American nations such as Canada and Mexico, the Arab countries and the most dynamic players in the recovery of Africa. But it is difficult, treacherous and slippery terrain, amidst tensions and new players in the difficult climate of the Great World Disorder.
It is to be hoped that the wisdom of those who, like the economist Nouriel Rubini, insist that “we must negotiate with America” because “without an agreement global growth will collapse” will prevail, knowing full well that “the financial markets are afraid of a US trade war” and that, in such a tense situation, “the European Union can avoid the worst by increasing fiscal stimulus and defence spending” (La Stampa, 6 April). Some wisdom that, unfortunately unheeded, was already present in the thoughts of the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, at the Assiom Forex in Turin on 15th February: “In a context already marked by geopolitical, trade and war tensions, the US strategy of using tariff announcements as a bargaining chip to redefine economic and political relations with other regions of the world could spiral out of control, producing effects far beyond those intended, exacerbating existing disagreements and opening new rifts”. So, better to negotiate: “Negotiated solutions based on cooperation are not only a preferable alternative, but are necessary to avoid a spiral of conflict that would threaten global stability’.
In short, we need far-sighted and wide-ranging responses, away from the escalation of tariffs and counter-tariffs, threats and retaliation.
Beyond commercial action, business and academic circles are beginning to think about research and science, and thus long-term sustainable development. In summary: economic growth and better social equilibrium, especially in the era of the primacy of the “knowledge economy”, are strongly influenced by human capital, or rather the intellectual and productive capacities of people. The US has traditionally been very attractive with its large universities, which are among the best in the world, and research centres with solid financial resources. Now, however, the landscape is changing. “American academics are fleeing the country,” writes Viviana Mazza in Corriere della Sera (2 April), reporting on the cuts and reductions in federal funding for public research institutes and the most prestigious universities (Harvard, Columbia, Penn).
Journalistic tensions and disputes aside, it is worthwhile for Europe to address the question of how to make itself more attractive to the intelligence of so many young people who can now look to French and German, English and Italian, Spanish and Dutch universities and European companies. The answer is to provide robust support for training and research programmes, and for the reception of ‘brains’, including returnees. And by using both the leverage of joint programme funding (with an EU-UK agreement) and attractive policy choices for young researchers, professors and students from around the world (salaries, housing, schools and kindergartens for children, etc.). Facilitating the return of the thousands of European academics who have left. And a call to those who might want to study and work in Europe.
Such a strategy could be most appropriate for Italy, not least to try to slow down and then reverse the ‘record exodus’ of our young people abroad: 352,000, in the decade 2013-2022, in the 25-34 age group (ISTAT data on those who have moved abroad), including 132,000 graduates. The phenomenon is increasing dramatically over time: 191,000 Italians emigrated in 2024, 20% more than in the previous year. And so the picture of an Italy that is experiencing a deepening ‘demographic winter’ (only 370,000 children were born in 2024), an ageing population and the exodus of the youngest, most qualified and innovative energies. A burden on the future, not only in terms of production, but also in terms of culture and society.
What is needed is a “new pact for the future” that invests in education but also in the quality of work and life, argues Francesco Profumo, former rector of Turin Polytechnic and former president of the Compagna di San Paolo (La Stampa, 6 April). And Carlo Rosa, CEO of Diasorin, a high-tech company in the pharmaceutical sector with a strong international presence, adds: “We can get our brains back”. And already “the EU is giving an extra bonus to researchers and scientists returning from the US with the ERC (European Research Council) programmes”. We can do better, and more.
What is needed, in short, is good policy-making, with far-sighted intelligence and imagination, beyond the much-needed negotiations on tariffs. Relaunching European industry. Leveraging our productive and cultural capacities. “Go back to thinking about factories and build a European autonomy from the US in terms of digitalisation and energy decarbonisation,” argues Patrizio Bianchi, one of Italy’s leading economists (QN/ Il Resto del Carlino, 6 April). And how do we compete with the US giants? ” We have to consider what we already have, such as the research centres and technohubs in Bologna, Trieste, Ispra, Brussels and Luxembourg. Not least because with the research cuts imposed by Trump, many academics are considering leaving the US. We have to attract them, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves”. And it is in Bologna that the new Leonardo supercomputing centre can act as a high-level European technostructure for the relationship between artificial intelligence, scientific research and industrial competitiveness.
A good example of the attractiveness of high-tech industrial projects comes from Emilia Romagna, a reality characterised by a strong industrial vocation, a robust dialogue between companies and regional and local public administrations, active “pocket-sized multinationals”, a strong link with the production know-how of the territory and a social capital that has, over time, privileged the values of cooperation rather than the tensions of confrontation with competitors and adversaries. Knowing the true meaning of competition, a word that comes from the Latin cum and petere, moving together towards a common goal.
“No company can think of being competitive if it does not make the place where it is located competitive,” says Andrea Pontremoli, CEO of Dallara, one of the high-tech automotive companies in the Emilian Motor Valley, an area where other leading automotive industries are also concentrated, from Ferrari to Lamborghini and then Maserati, Pagani, Ducati, Hass Formula One, Racing Bull and Marelli HP. Ten internationally renowned manufacturing champions. With solid roots in an area historically devoted to mechanical excellence. And the wings to fly in the international universe. Driven by a strong spirit of competition between them, but also capable of working together with foresighted intelligence. This is how the Motor University of Emilia Romagna was born, a centre of excellence that attracts talented young people from all over the world.
Pontremoli, guest speaker at the Assolombarda conference on growth strategies for the Monza and Brianza area, the manufacturing heart of Greater Milan (QN/ Il Giorno, 2 April), had this to say: “We are an ecosystem, thanks to the relationship between local businesses and the four major universities in Emilia-Romagna. And we have designed nine master’s degrees, all in English, in sectors that we believe will be our future: race car design, supercar design, motorbike design, supercar production, electric vehicles, self-driving vehicles. And this year we have two hundred Masters graduates. 25% of students come from outside Europe to study the car of the future by working with the world’s best brands. And the majority of graduates stay and work here: beautiful surroundings, good jobs, friendly towns and villages. And of course, you eat well”
Pontremoli goes on: “In addition to the university, we have also invested in the ITS. Two thousand students a year come to Fornovo from all over Italy to be trained in five skills: 3D printers, Cad, robotics, carbon fibre and CNC machines.”
And the investment? “We have invested ourselves, the ten car companies and the other fifty related companies because it is in our interest to invest and have motivated, passionate, qualified people.
Research, training, technology and quality work. In short, “competing in the world means working together in Italy to build the talent of the future.” And, indeed, knowing how to attract the best intellectual and entrepreneurial energy from the rest of the world.
(photo Getty Images)