Former professor of Psychology of Media Communication at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Geneva (CH) and Director, for over ten years of the laboratory of multimedia technologies of the same University. Since 2000 he has occupied the position of full professor of Experimental Pedagogy and Technologies of Education and Learning at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Ferrara and professor of Psychology of Communication.
President of the degree courses in “Audiovisual and multimedia communication technologist” and in “communication sciences and technologies”, he held the position of director of the Department of human sciences and vice-rector delegate for orientation and distance learning of the University of Ferrara.
Currently, he is:
• Expert ANVUR National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System – Rome;
• Consultant at the Center for Social, Medical, and Environmental Prevention at the University of Ferrara;
• Member of the Academy of Sciences;
• President of IUSI Corporate University, Italy.
ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL CORPORATE UNIVERSITIES AS A MODEL OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
We live in a constantly evolving world where skills and knowledge are increasingly important to keep up with the demands of the job market. In this scenario, it is essential to build one’s own cultural and experiential background in order to stand out and have professional success.
There are many possibilities offered by non-formal training systems, one of these is represented by the so-called Corporate Universities. These are organizations managed by companies to provide education and training mainly to their employees, but increasingly open to professionals in need of retraining or young people wishing to start their own careers.
These structures offer programs that aim to improve the knowledge, skills and competences of the subjects, so that they can face the typical challenges of the sector in which they operate. They therefore offer opportunities for personalized learning, flexible continuous and focused on practical application. This form of learning can take place through ad hoc courses, workshops, seminars, laboratories, mentorships, etc., all actions aimed at improving the quality of the professional services of the subjects involved.
The Corporate University, IUSI, born in Ferrara and specialized in the field of security and investigative methodologies, is presented here.
Its main objective is the promotion, among employees, of a culture of safety understood as awareness of risk and the ability to forecast to counter it.
From this point of view, the training offer addresses the issue of security in all its forms – environmental, transport, food, economic, goods and people, geospatial, information technology – alongside investigative methodologies.
The courses are designed following a problem-solving and critical thinking oriented approach, despite having, in most cases, a laboratory nature; in fact, we believe that learning should be active, engaging, continuous and above all built on the right balance of theory and practice.