Posts by Michele Covolan

Following more than 100 days of lockdown due to the containment restrictions caused by the Covid-19 emergency, Castello del Valentino will be open for visitors once again starting from Saturday 18 th July 2020.

The palace was originally one of the residences of the House of Savoy and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Today it belongs to Politecnico di Torino and is the seat of the Faculty of Architecture. The rooms on the first floor are open only during free guided tours offered by graduates selected by Politecnico.

The average one-hour tour includes a visit to all rooms on the first floor, plus the Sala delle Colonne and the chapel on the ground floor. It is possible that tours may be restricted in case of reconstruction or restoration work and/or some rooms being booked for meetings. Tours will strictly adhere to safety measures. Access will be limited to groups up to 15 visitors who will be requested to comply with all rules regarding public spaces: they will be required to wear masks and their temperature will be checked upon entrance.

Castello del Valentino will be open for visitors every week at two different entrance times on Saturday morning: at 10:00 or at 11:30 am. Booking in advance on the website of the Castello is required. “We have elected to reopen the Castello to citizens and tourists as soon as possible, as we are aware of the
heritage we are privileged to own, guard and promote,” declared professor Annalisa Dameri, Scientific Coordinator for Restoration Work at Castello del Valentino.

The special week dedicated to exploring the academic offer of IAAD (Istituto di Arte Applicata e Design) will be held from July 13 th to July 17 th .
All who are interested will be able to enjoy seven days to get to know IAAD, its professors and its teaching method. On Monday, July 13 th at 4 pm you will be able to discover everything you may want to know about the Bachelor Degree Course in Textile & Fashion Design!

On Monday, 13 th July at 5:30 pm, the School of Management of Torino has organized the first of three online open days to illustrate their new 1 st level Master’s Degree course in Business Administration.

The 1 st level Master's Degree in Business Administration aims to develop all the knowledge and skills required to become managers and/or business people working for firms, organizations or institutions. The Master’s Degree offers a learning programme where practical and sectoral skills are closely intertwined, according to the multi-disciplinary approach typical of anyone holding a managerial or executive position. In this regard, the aim of the course is to provide knowledge of all the ways to create new value and of all the essential tools for administration, accounting and performance audit. Its objectives also include the development of problem-solving and competitive analysis skills and the stimulation of a wider analysis of complex issues, taking into account the multifaceted nature of business administration.
You can find the link to the Webex page dedicated to the event here.
The next introductory meetings are scheduled as follows:
 14 th September 2020 – h 5:30 pm
 12 th October 2020 – h 5:30 pm

The letter of application to the Ministry for Sport to put forward Torino and Piedmont as candidates to host the 2025 Winter World University Games has been sent. The decision was carried out by a rather illustrious team, consisting of: Regione Piemonte, Città di Torino, Università degli Studi di Torino, Politecnico di Torino, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Edisu Piemonte e Centro Universitario Sportivo di Torino.

The application was carried through, despite the complicated times we are living in shelving all decisions regarding the future of international sport events, due to the never-dwindling enthusiasm for the nomination of Torino and Piedmont as hosts of the 2025 Winter World University Games. The general hope is that the Games could prove themselves an extraordinary way to implement a strategic development of the city that will further improve the
reputation of its universities.

After the suspension of all international activities due to COVID19 containment measures, the official announcement of the host selected by FISU (the International University Sports Federation) was postponed until December 2020. An estimated budget will have to be presented to the Minister for Sport and Youth Policy, Vincenzo Spadafora, within the end of July, according to the principles of maximum reduction of expenses. The budget will have to detail all planned contributions to the project by the institutions, the universities and the Region itself. Meanwhile, the technical departments of the involved universities are calculating the exact capital costs for the building of the Athletes Village, which will be turned into university student housings once the University Games are over. The structure will be built according to the most up-to-date criteria of accessibility, so that it will also be fit to house athletes with disabilities who will take part in the Paralympic University Games and in the Special Olympics, which should be held in Torino in the weeks following the University Games.

The event “Settimane della Scienza” is coming back to Torino and the surrounding district, with its two meeting- filled months dedicated to familiarize attendees to science and its protagonists.

The scheduled events are many, with over 40 Piedmont-based institutions, departments, museums and organizations participating even during this out-of-the-ordinary summer. They have chosen to keep meeting their audiences “live” in open-air spaces and in full compliance with safety measures, involving visitors in activities and formats tailored to their curiosity. Everyone involved shares the strong wish to physically “be there”, in order to share not only online
experiences, but also valuable meeting moments once again, so that this summer in our city can turn into an opportunity to promote science and discovery.
It is paramount, now more than ever, that we all consistently act according to what was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations with their 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which has set worldwide guidelines regarding the activities to be pursued in the upcoming years.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in it encompass several facets of social, economic, environmental and institutional development, all of which mutually influence one another. It is crucial to pay attention to the processes accompanying this development and to especially endorse those who could encourage a sustainable growth, from a global to a local level. This includes international cooperation and partnerships to be activated not only within the context of politics and institutions, but also within the private sphere, involving individual citizens.

Taking this particular context into account, “Settimane della Scienza” is an opportunity to show off the scientific, technological and cultural excellency deeply rooted all throughout Piedmont – a network born to encourage information exchange with the general audience. It is essential to create meaningful, frequent occasions of dialogue with our citizens, as is creating learning opportunities open to everyone and reaffirming the crucial importance of information and of spreading knowledge in order to boost the progress of our society.

From 0 to 99 years of age, you will find a meaty calendar filled with meetings fit for all ages.

The city libraries of Torino keep being reopened to the public, providing their borrowing and return services once again.

Starting from July 6 th , public city libraries “Italo Calvino” (Lungo Dora Agrigento 94 – tel. (+39)01101120740), “Francesco Cognasso” (c.so Cincinnato 115 – tel. (+39)01101138526), “Cesare Pavese” (via Candiolo 79 – tel. (+39)01101137080) and the musical library “Andrea Della Corte” (corso Francia 186 – tel. (+39)01101138350) will once again be open Mondays-Fridays from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.

On July 6 th , Bibliobus ( tel. (+39)3420100532) will also start running again, with the following itinerary:
– Mondays, 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm: Circoscrizione 2 – Mirafiori Sud district. “Emilio Pugno” Park (Via Negarville / Via Roveda)
– Tuesdays, 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm: Circoscrizione 4 – San Donato district. Piazzale Umbria (on the corner between Via Livorno and C.so Umbria, near the “Centro d’Incontro” (Meeting Centre)
– Wednesdays, 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm: Circoscrizione 4 – Parella district. C.so Telesio (on the corner with Via Servais)
– Thursdays, 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm: Circoscrizione 3 – Pozzo Strada district. Via Monte Ortigara 97 (in the courtyard of the library “Luigi Carluccio”)
– Fridays, 9.00 am – 1.00 pm: Circoscrizione 2 – Mirafiori Sud district. C.so Unione Sovietica 490 (in the courtyard of IIS Levi)
– Saturdays, 8.30 am – 2.30 pm: Circoscrizione 5 – Borgo Vittoria district. Piazza Chiesa della Salute, on the corner with Via Villar (at the Borgo Vittoria market).
Starting from July 6 th , the Intercultural Centre library (c.so Taranto 160, tel. (+39)01101129700) will also be open to the public Mondays-Thursdays from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. The city libraries “Dietrich Bonhoeffer” (c.so Corsica 55 – tel. (+39)01101135990), “Don Lorenzo Milani” (via dei Pioppi 43 – tel. (+39)01101132619) and “Primo Levi” (via Leoncavallo 17 – (+39)01101131262) will instead reopen on Monday, July 13 th , and will remain open Mondays-
Fridays from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.

In all the reopened libraries mentioned above, it will be possible to borrow books, DVDs, CDs or magazines by booking them over the phone and arranging a withdrawal date with the librarians.

A Higher Technical Institute (ITS, Istituto Tecnico Superiore) is a school with a “high-tier specialization in technology”, born to answer the demand from industries for new, highly specialized technical and technological expertise. ITS offer free, two-year post-graduation courses funded by Regione Piemonte, running parallel to university courses but closely interlinked with them, with the aim to train technicians who will be able to work in strategic sectors of the economic-production system, bringing their highly-specialized expertise and knack for innovation to the firms they will be employed by.

One peculiarity of this educational programme is that more than 50% of professors come directly from the world of work. This way, students are kept constantly up-to-date with job trends. The currently active courses are:

Digital Strategist
Web & Mobile App Developer
Backend System Integrator
ICT Security Specialist
Cloud Services, Big Data & Lot

All courses are completely free and require compulsory attendance.

The next upcoming virtual tours are scheduled as follows:
July 9 th , 3:00 pm: introduction to the Cloud Specialist + ICT Security Specialist courses
July 16 th , 3:00 pm: introduction to the Digital Strategist course
July 23 rd , 10:30 am: general overview of all courses
September 10 th , 3:00 pm: general overview of all courses
September 17 th , 3:00 pm: general overview of all courses