Thursday, June 4, 2009

University of Bologna

The Ranking of University of Bologna

www.eng.unibo.it

The University of Bologna (Italian: Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088. Since 2000, the University's motto has been Alma mater studiorum (Latin for "fostering mother of studies"). The university of Bologna received a charter from Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158, but in the 19th century, a committee of historians led by Giosuè Carducci traced the birth of the University back to 1088, making it arguably the oldest university in the world[1]. The University of Bologna is historically notable for its teaching of canon and civil law, and has been ranked as one of the world's top 50 universities.


The University counts about 100,000 students in its 23 faculties. It has branch centers in Reggio Emilia, Imola, Ravenna, Forlì, Cesena and Rimini and a branch center abroad in Buenos Aires. Moreover, it has a school of excellence named Collegio Superiore di Bologna.

History

The University of Bologna was probably the first University in the western world. Its history is one of great thinkers in science and the humanities, making it an indispensable point of reference in the panorama of European culture.
The institution that we today call the University began to take shape in Bologna at the end of the eleventh century, when masters of Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic began to devote themselves to the law. In the nineteenth century a committee of historians, led by Giosuè Carducci, attributed the birth of the University to the year 1088.

The first recorded scholars were Pepone and Irnerio, the latter of whom was defined by the former as "lucerna iuris". With the advice of four doctores thought to be their pupils, in 1158 Federico I promulgated the Constitutio Habita, in which the University was legally declared a place where research could develop independently from any other power.


In the 14th Century, so-called "artists" - scholars of Medicine, Philosophy, Arithmetic, Astronomy, Logic, Rhetoric, and Grammar - began to collaborate with the school of jurists. In 1364, the teaching of Theology was instituted.
Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Guido Guinizelli, Cino da Pistoria, Cecco d'Ascoli, Re Enzo, Salimbene da Parma and Coluccio Salutati all studied in Bologna.

In the 15th Century Greek and Hebrew studies were instituted, and in the 16th Century those of "natural magic", that is, experimental science. The philosopher Pietro Pomponazzi upheld the study of the laws of nature against the traditionalist position of Theology and Philosophy. A representative figure of this period was Ulisse Aldrovandi, whose contribution ranged from pharmacopoeia to the study of animals, fossils, and marvels of nature which he collected and classified.

In the 16th Century Gaspare Tagliacozzi completed the first studies of plastic surgery. But the golden era of Bolognese Medicine coincided with the teachings of Marcello Malpighi in the 17th Century, employing the microscope for anatomical research.

The University's fame had spread throughout Europe and it was a destination for many illustrious guests. Famous scholars and students included Pico della Mirandola and Leon Battista Alberti, who devoted themselves to canonical law. Nicolò Copernico began his astronomical observations while studying pontifical law. Paracelso, Raimundo de Pegñafort, Albrecht Dürer, St. Carlo Borromeo, Torquato Tasso and Carlo Goldoni all spent time at the University.

With the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century, the University promoted scientific and technological development. In this period came the studies of Luigi Galvani who, along with Alessandro Volta, Benjamin Franklin and Henry Cavendish, was one of the founders of modern electrotechnical studies.
Following the establishment of the United Italian State came a period of great prosperity in which the figures of Giovanni Capellini, Giosuè Carducci, Giovanni Pascoli, Augusto Righi, Federigo Enriques, Giacomo Ciamician, and Augusto Murri stand out.

In 1888 the eighth centennial of the University was celebrated, with a grand ceremony where all the universities of the world convened in Bologna to honour the mother of universities, representing their common roots and ideals of progress and tolerance. The ceremony became an international festival of studies.

The University maintained its central position on the scene of global culture until the period between the two wars, when other countries came to the forefront in teaching and research. Bologna has thus been called upon to forge relationships with institutions in the most advanced countries to modernise and expand its activity. Among the many challenges which it has met with success, Bologna committed itself to the European dimension which has now led to adoption of the new university system.

Research

Opportunities for researchers
Information on opportunities for young people in research activities. Calls for research grants, post-PhD grants, research PhDs.

Services for teachers and researchers
European Research, National, Regional and Local Funding, Commissioned research contracts, Knowledge Transfer, Research Assessment

Services for companies
This service supports an active cooperation between the University and companies, with a network that meets the needs of companies on a national level.

Post-Doctorate Research Fellowships
Researchers holding doctorate degrees can continue their research activity benefiting from study grants awarded by the University.

Research Structures
List Research Centres of the University of Bologna.


Library

The University of Bologna includes a wide network of library and document structures and services to support teaching, research, professional and cultural activities of students, professors, technicians, graduates and scholars from every country.
The library network contains several million titles and promotes the awareness of the best scientific and academic publications from every country and the global diffusion of results obtained by research carried out at the University.

Affiliates and other institutions

In early 1950s some students of the University of Bologna were among the founders of the review "il Mulino". On April 25, 1951, was published in Bologna the first issue of the review. In a short time, "il Mulino" became one of the most interesting reference points in Italy for the political and cultural debate, and established important editorial relationships in Italy and abroad. Editorial activities evolved along with the review: in 1954 was founded the il Mulino publishing house (Società editrice il Mulino) that today represents one of the most relevant Italian publisher. Besides were initiated research projects (focusing mostly on the educational institutions and the political system in Italy), that eventually led, in 1964, to the establishment of the Istituto Carlo Cattaneo.


Departments

The departments are the structures in which teaching and research come together in order to promote the scientific activity of the various fields of instruction homogeneous either through their objectives or by research methods. The departments of the University of Bologna are coordinated by a director and they integrate activities belonging to one or more of the Faculties thereby rendering interdisciplinary study in didactic and research matters.

Advanced School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators — SSLMIT — Forlì
Faculty of Agriculture
Faculty of Architecture Aldo Rossi
Faculty of Economics
Faculty of Economics — Forlì
Faculty of Economics — Rimini
Faculty of Education Sciences
Faculty of Engineering
II Faculty of Engineering — Cesena/Forlì
Faculty of Exercise and Sport Sciences
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature
Faculty of Industrial Chemistry
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Letters and Philosophy
Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Pharmacy
Faculty of Political Sciences
Faculty of Political Sciences Roberto Ruffilli
Faculty of Preservation of the Cultural Heritage
Faculty of Psychology
Faculty of Statistical Sciences
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine


University of Bologna was ranked 192 in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.

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