Adnkronos Milan, September 18 (Adnkronos) – The 22nd National Conference of CoDAU, the Conference of Directors General of University Administrations, currently underway in Milan, focuses on competition and collaboration among Italian universities, with a particular focus on human resources. Loredana Segreto, Director General of Sapienza University of Rome, opened the conference by emphasizing the importance of concrete strategies for attracting and retaining talent in an increasingly competitive international context, thus enhancing the role of CoDAU as a platform for shared analysis and action for the future of the university system.
"We are in Milan for our twenty-second national conference, discussing concrete issues regarding competition and collaboration in a competitive environment among Italian universities," Segreto stated. "We will focus on various areas of analysis, including international comparisons, particularly our ability, as a university system, to attract and retain human resources within our system." The event will open with a report produced in collaboration with Deloitte, which analyzed a sample of 15 universities to identify the distinctive skills to seek and retain.
"We will conduct analyses to understand the distinctive skills that need to be sought and maintained within the university system," the Director General continued, highlighting the urgent need for tools such as welfare and smart working, which represent key areas of focus not only for universities but for the entire public administration. Segreto also announced a salary survey to understand how to make the system competitive, not only internally among universities, but also with respect to other public administrations and the private sector, in order to combat the "drain" of qualified personnel. "How can we be competitive in this shared effort to retain quality resources? And how can we engage with other public administrations and the private sector to prevent this loss of our staff?" she asked, confirming that the discussions will not be limited to today, but will continue with thematic seminars throughout the year to translate the analyses into joint actions. CoDAU 2025, with over 300 participants including general directors and managers, represents a crucial opportunity to shape a more resilient and attractive Italian university system, capable of competing globally through the development of its human resources and management innovation, in line with the challenges of the post-PNRR and demographic decline.