Tuesday, November 11, 2025 the Community ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma He experienced a particularly intense day, marked by a sense of shared vision, responsibility, and service. It was much more than an institutional moment: a profound celebration of the University's educational mission, a moment of light and gratitude toward the roots that sustain it, and at the same time a renewed momentum, confident in what can still blossom in fidelity to the mission that has inspired it since its founding.
In a climate of sincere unity, made of faces and stories that recognize each other and come together around a shared common ideal, the academic community gathered around the Rector Prof. Rocco Papalia and to the people called to collaborate with him in daily guidance and service UCBMThere was a pervasive sense of continuity and renewal, of depth and simplicity, almost an invitation to rediscover the true meaning of being a university.
The President's opening: renewing in continuity
The day opened with President Carlo Tosti, offering a broad and grateful look at the path taken so far. With clear words, he recalled that growth UCBM It can happen through renewal within a framework of fidelity to the University's founding values, to the good already built, and thanks to the generosity of those who today accept new responsibilities for the future of the academic community. He recalled the beauty of renewing without breaking, of moving forward without losing one's roots, preserving what has been received while freely and courageously welcoming what can still be born. It is in this delicacy, in this ability to combine gratitude and vision, that we recognize the most authentic trait of the educational mission of theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
The Rector's speech: educating in the truth, serving the person
Il Rector Rocco Papalia He offered the heart of the day with an intense and deeply inspired speech, an invitation to view the University not as an institution to be administered, but as a good to be served. He began by expressing profound gratitude to the University's promoters, the President, the General Director, and all those who have shaped it over the years. Because, he recalled, one does not walk alone: every responsibility has its roots in a gift received. Papalia recalled that every great work is founded on solid roots. He quoted St. Josemaría Escrivá, "Big dreams are built with faithfulness in small things." and Blessed Álvaro del Portillo: "Serve, always serve: and serve with joy." "These are not abstract spiritual phrases." the Rector specified. "For me, they mean: leadership as service. Every position is a responsibility."
A vision that comes from afar
Papalia then retraced the founding intuition of the Professor Binetti and Prof. Arullani, who imagined not a new university but a new university, capable of asking students not only what they want to do but above all how they want to do it. "It's not a new University… but a new University." A place that asks students not only thing they want to do, but above all: "How do you want to do it?"
He recalled that the Bio-Medical Campus wasn't created to produce technicians, but rather people capable of putting their expertise at the service of humanity. He evoked Professor Binetti's words about soft skills. "The Campus style is not about standardization, but about the ability to cultivate diversity in a team-working environment." when no one else used this expression, emphasizing that the Campus style isn't about standardization, but rather the ability to cultivate diversity in a shared work environment. Soft skills, the Rector added, aren't techniques, but virtues in action that shape the ability to relate, care, and take responsibility.
The university we want
The Rector then outlined his vision for the coming years, envisioning a Biomedical Campus that is profoundly human, scientifically demanding, globally connected, and Christianly inspired. He emphasized, "We must be a place where people learn that healing doesn't begin in the operating room, but in the gaze. Where technology is supreme, but never soulless." He concluded with the words of Blessed Álvaro: "Professional competence is an act of love."
And with a summary that summarized the entire speech: "We want to put the person back at the center. Always. Our expressed desire is that every student who comes here can one day say: 'At the Campus Bio-Medico I became competent, but above all... I became better.'
The new academic team, composed of Emiliano Schena for Teaching, Sara Ramella for the Third Mission, Simonetta Filippi for Internationalization and Leandro Pecchia for Research, together with the Deans of the three Departmental Faculties: Chiara Fanali, Alessio Gizzi e Bruno Vincenzi. Introducing them, the Rector offered a summary chiara of the vision that inspires the new path, recalling that the team was born from the desire to educate people, not simply professionals. He reiterated that no one is called to obtain a role, but to serve, collaborate, and be at the center without being the center.
The intervention of the CEO DG Andrea Rossi"Human capital is the priority"
This was followed by the speech ofChief Executive Officer and General Manager Andrea Rossi, which forcefully recalled the challenge of our time in the field of skills in the age of artificial intelligence: "The real bottleneck is not technology, but human capital." and invited the University to promote an alliance that integrates universities, businesses, and institutions. A call to train people capable of leading change, according to the tradition and spirit that characterize UCBM.
An invitation to train people capable of leading change while remaining firm in their values: a distinctive feature of the spirit of UCBMA team that combines experience, vision, and institutional sensitivity, expressing the University's desire to grow in the quality and depth of its mission.
Leading with values: words, potential and network UCBM
To close the first part of the institutional greetings, the Identity Advisor dell 'Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Dr. Giorgia Zecchel, who shared with the academic community his excitement for this new beginning: "I'm very happy to be here with you and to be able to participate in the launch of the new academic team. - He then outlined the role and activities he will lead: the coordination of Humanities projects, designed to integrate and enhance the numerous initiatives already underway within the University, with the support of the Rector. He concluded by quoting St. Josemaría Escrivá, recalling the value of post-sales service: The University must instill in its students a spirit of service, oriented toward the common good, through professional work and participation in social life. University students must feel responsible, collaborate in problem-solving, and live generously, guided by the example of the adults around them.."
A University that grows united
Throughout the day, Pro-Rectors, Deans, and Rector's Delegates spoke, offering insightful and humane reflections. Each contributed something that enriched the shared perspective: the ability to look clearly at global transformations and imagine a University capable of navigating them; the educational sensitivity of those who know that the university is not just a place of professional training, but an environment for personal growth; and the concrete commitment to making the values of the University operational. UCBM Through projects, alliances, innovative pathways, research plans, and new forms of student support, their diverse and complementary voices have created a harmonious framework of shared responsibility, a mosaic in which the multiplicity of roles has found a single direction: to better serve the University's mission.
The day concluded with a widespread sense of gratitude, unity, and peaceful responsibility. This was not simply an institutional transition, but the beginning of a new journey, aimed at preserving and reviving an educational ideal that places the individual at the center and promotes a culture of care, research, and the common good. A University that grows because it is united, and that is united because it is, above all, a community.
