Since its foundation in 1902, Bocconi University has been innovating and disrupting to keep pace with, and be at the lead of, changes in society and the world of business. Today, it is a leading European teaching and research university of international standing in the social sciences – from economics to management, from political science to computer and data science, to law - attracting talented students from all over the world and producing and promoting impactful research.

Based in Milan, one of Europe’s leading hubs, it was founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ferdinando Bocconi and has since embodied in its DNA his entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and desire to have a positive impact on society.

“Bocconi tries to change the world through production of original knowledge,” says Rector Francesco Billari. “And we aim to be increasingly international and attractive to young students and to be an inclusive community. We don’t want to live in a void – we want to make a real impact.”

Bocconi grants Bachelor, Master of Science, and PhD degrees and through its business school, SDA Bocconi School of Management, post-experience management education programs. The University aims to forge ‘future-proof students’ - ready for the upcoming trends in the world of work but who also want to make a positive impact in society, through their careers, entrepreneurship or civic engagement. In research, Bocconi believes in the advancement of knowledge through the promotion of rigorous and relevant research - providing insights on contemporary issues and developments, and offering guidance on emerging trends and thinking that may affect society in future

Innovation at Bocconi has also been driven by the desire to keep pace with the changes and challenges of today’s world – from digital transformation to climate change, the new industrial revolution and evolutions in geopolitics, up to Artificial Intelligence. It continues in fact to develop and update the fields of its teaching and research – with the recent introduction of political science and, the most recent, the field of computer and data sciences. In 2022 a new Department of Computer Science was created to advance research in the STEM disciplines and its applications and the University now offers a series of specialized programs in data analysis and Artificial Intelligence.

Bocconi’s strong belief in the hybridisation of knowledge has also been another driver of innovation on the campus. The many different fields of social sciences have been encouraged to contaminate and hybridise thus broadening the spectrum in which the University moves and in which it produces impactful research and relevant teaching to students. Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, for example, are studied vertically in the Department of Computing Sciences, with leading theoretical physicists, computer scientists and mathematicians from all over the world, and then also applied horizontally in all fields: from finance to marketing, from economics to accounting, and law and political science. 

And a university global in its outreach and committed to international cooperation – with students and faculty on campus coming from over 100 countries, 280 partner schools around the world and graduates embarking on careers all around the globe. Starting from an inclusive community in which everyone receives equal opportunities, which promotes social mobility and diversity and works on developing a sustainable campus and environment.