Luiss University opens the 2025–2026 academic year: The future of Europe takes centre stage

Among the guests: President of the Constitutional Court Giovanni Amoroso and Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina

ROME, Dec. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The future of Europe, international change and artificial intelligence were at the heart of the opening ceremony for the 2025–2026 academic year at Luiss Guido Carli University. Held in the Aula Magna at the university’s Viale Pola campus in Rome, the event brought together university leadership, students and invited guests. This year’s focus: Europe, examined through legal, institutional and economic lenses to reflect on its possible future trajectories. Guests of honour included Giovanni Amoroso, President of the Constitutional Court, and Carlo Messina, CEO and Managing Director of Intesa Sanpaolo.

“Europe is undergoing a complex and structural transformation,” said Luiss Rector Paolo Boccardelli in his opening address. “Geopolitical tensions, the industrial, technological and sustainable transition, and demographic and social changes are reshaping the very balance that has underpinned our stability for decades. In this context, our university cannot remain a passive observer: by mission and identity, we are called to take an active role, with vision, responsibility and a spirit of service to the country and to Europe. We are committed to contributing to Europe’s future by strengthening educational innovation, research, and programmes that shape new generations oriented towards the common good.”

During the ceremony, speakers outlined the main strategic directions guiding innovation at Luiss, the university named after Guido Carli. These include the creation of a new “knowledge architecture” by rethinking learning models, skills development, teaching methodologies, and the role of artificial intelligence in education. Another is the promotion of a new “Italian and European industrial renaissance”, highlighting the relationship between academic knowledge and practical expertise, supported in part by collaboration with Confindustria, Italy’s main business federation. International engagement will also be expanded, with new structured academic alliances and a stronger international presence, such as the Italy–France academic channel launched with Sciences Po, the Paris Institute of Political Studies.

President of the Constitutional Court Giovanni Amoroso addressed the relationship between the Italian Constitution and the European Union, and the evolving role of the Constitutional Court within current EU legislation. “The new approach in constitutional case law now considers it admissible to raise issues of constitutional legitimacy based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or on primary or secondary EU law, used as intermediate benchmarks, possibly in conjunction with domestic constitutional parameters,” he said. “This makes it possible for the Constitutional Court to be involved at the first stage of proceedings through the preliminary constitutional issue raised by ordinary judges.”

Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, also spoke during the ceremony: “Italy and Europe face crucial challenges. This could be a turning point, enabling a more solid path to growth, grounded in shared debt and market union. Our country can rely on political stability, careful management of public finances, and a diversified, dynamic manufacturing base. Our savings and investment capacity remain important strengths, supported by a robust banking system. But it is our human capital that makes the difference: talent, creativity, and adaptability. Young people must be listened to and supported in their ambitions. Their energy and intelligence are the key to long-term growth in our country.”

Closing the ceremony, Giorgio Fossa, Chair of Luiss University, said: “As a university, our duty is to equip students with tools and values so that education is not merely a transfer of skills, but preparation for the real world. It is in the collaboration between the production, institutional and academic systems that we can build a solid alliance capable of turning knowledge into vision, and vision into progress.”

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A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d9d1e673-a1fe-4571-a52d-aa1423fc272b