The University today: numbers and innovation - 2015

The reorganisation of the university system, the presence throughout the territory, the international outlook, the research, the programme catalogue, the information services: in these and many other areas, today the Alma Mater paves the way for innovation.

Cover of the folder 2015

The numbers of history 

1008: the Bologna "Studium" was founded by students and for students. It is the oldest university in the Western world.

1888: the celebrations of the Eighth Centennial relaunched the role of the University of Bologna within Europe, thanks to the work of Giosuè Carducci, who in 1906 won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

1988: on 18 September in Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, the rectors of 430 universities from all the continents signed the Magna Charta Universitatum Europaeum during the nine hundredth anniversary of the University of Bologna, formally recognised as the Alma Mater of all universities. Subsequently signed by another 400 rectors, the Magna Charta affirms the autonomy of universities, the solid ties between teaching and research, rejecting any limits posed by "all geographical and political boundaries".

1989: previously limited to the province of Bologna, the Alma Mater initiated a programme of decentralisation throughout Romagna, becoming the most extensive of all Italian universities. In 2000 the University recognised special forms of autonomy for the Romagna campuses, establishing the scientific and teaching campuses of Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini.
In 1998 the University also inaugurated a campus in Buenos Aires.

1993: the first reform of the University Statute, inspired by the principle of autonomy of the university.

1999: on 19 June in the Aula Magna of the University of Bologna, 29 European Ministers of Higher Education signed the Bologna Declaration, establishing a European Higher Education Area. This was the start of a reform process known as the Bologna Process, committing the signatory countries to a project to restructure the university systems with a view to convergence, ending in 2010.

2012: the entry into force of the new Statute (11 January) concluded the process of university reform which began in 2010, and the implementation of the new university organisation begins.

The numbers of culture and innovation 

84,215: the students who have chosen the University of Bologna, making it the most popular university in Italy. Teaching and extra-curricular activities take place in 1.086.134,88 m2 of space in the campuses of Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini.

11,000: (average) number of research products, 200 patents, 350 funded research projects (VII framework programme and other EU programmes), 7 Inter-departmental Centres for Industrial research (CIRI),  6 national technological clusters of the Ministry of Education; University and Research.

33: the Departments of the University of Bologna.

11: the Schools of the University of Bologna.

9: the Research and Training Centre.

5: the Campuses of the University of Bologna.

207: Degree Programmes: 92 first cycle 3-year programmes, 103 second cycle programmes and 12 single cycle programmes.

52: International degree programmes, 27 of which are delivered in English.

48: PhD programmes, 41 specialisation schools, 71 first and second level professional master's programmes, 14 of which are international.

2,288: international students from abroad on exchange programmes and 2,381 students enrolled at UNIBO who spent a study period abroad in 2014.

More than 136: projects running for internationalisation of teaching activities and capacity building. 14 new international projects approved in 2014.

273: agreements with companies abroad for internships, 25 Erasmus Mundus (action 2) networks running, 5 million EUR for European and extra-European mobility projects.

5,921 people: the university community of teaching and services staff.

The library system offers access to 44.955 on-line journals, 155.000 e-books and more than 600 databases.

603,7 million EUR: the University of Bologna budget for 2014.