“‘The last editorial for MAP as rector ... a farewell that, I confess, brings with it many memories. I think back to the emotion I felt on election day, in that cold November of 2016. The same that accompanied me two months later when this ‘adventure’ officially began. One of the most fantastic of my life!’
Thus begins prof. Ferruccio Resta, outgoing rector of the Politecnico di Milano, recounting his journey at the helm of the Politecnico: from ‘Breakfasts in the Laboratory’ (because, he writes, ‘our soul lies in research’) to responsibility towards the many boys and girls of our University, ‘even greater during the pandemic’.
‘In the emergency, I faced the appointment as President of the CRUI: reading, after a few hours by train on the Rome-Milan line, the tragic news arriving from Wuhan. A real baptism of fire for me. Today, after three years of living on the edge, I admit that I am proud of how the university system has reacted to the pandemic. It has proven to be the backbone of the country’.
In the editorial, Resta traces some of the challenges that marked his mandate. ‘Keeping on a straight course was not easy, but possible thanks to a clear and shared vision of where we wanted to go. The mission outlined in the Strategic Plan has indicated the course, that of a ‘European Leading University’, with an eye open to international comparison, capable of interpreting change’.
He concludes by quoting Henry Ford: ‘Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success. And you, dear Alumni, have always been there for me and for the polytechnic community.
Thank you so much’.
Ferruccio Resta
