Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia

MODENA AND THE FOUNDATION

"[...] the historic building refurbished and dedicated to the Foundation, a decision strongly supported by the institutions of Modena, testifies to the emotional response of the people of Modena and the esteem the city had for Marco Biagi and his professional role as a professor and scholar at our University. The link between Marco Biagi and the city of Modena was profound, and was reflected not just in the two decades of his academic career that he spent in the city, but also in the close colloration with the City Council, in designing and implementing social policy. For this reason we came forward to support the project for the Foundation dedicated to him [...]. We feel the need to honour his memory, and we believe that the best way to do so is to promote an academic and social project in his name, dedicated to the issues that he cared so much about, in a building that has great symbolic value, also in terms of its location, so that part of Modena will always be dedicated to Marco Biagi and his work"

[Translated from: T. Lugli, L. Rivi, Fondazione Marco Biagi. Restauro e ristrutturazione dell'Ex Gruppo Rionale XXVI Settembre, Franco Cosimo Panini, Modena, 2008, pp. 4-5]

During the first six years of its existence, the Foundation has set up an extensive network of relations with institutions, enterprises and associations of Modena and the region, giving rise to collaborative projects for the design and implementation of mixed training programmes (for example, advanced-level apprenticeship schemes). In addition, projects have been set up for research into and analysis of the labour market in the province of Modena and the Emilia Romagna region, and for the organisation of conferences and seminars. In compliance with the guidelines laid down by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, over the next six years (2009-2014) the Foundation intends to consolidate this network, and to play a central role in bringing together University expertise and the economic, social and cultural bodies in Modena, Reggio Emilia and the region as a whole, while strengthening relations between the academic world and the labour market.