The university orientation course that the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, in conjunction with Telecom Italia, has organized in Cortona, near Arezzo, for the best students who are about to embark on their last year of high school, will begin on Sunday, June 28.
A total of 450 students, selected among over 2000 recommended for academic merits by more than 700 Italian high school headmasters (including of schools abroad), will be accommodated for a week in university campuses and will take part in classes and encounters with some of the most prominent journalists, economists, scientists and humanists, to focus on their personal interests and to make an informed choice regarding their future. After the first course in Cortona (June 28 – July 4) involving approximately 100 students, the other orientation courses will be held in Colle Val d’Elsa (July 11-17), in Camigliatello Silano (July 21-27), in Rovereto (September 1-7) and San Miniato (September 5-11). Applications may be submitted online until July 13 to participate in one of the two orientation courses scheduled in early September (Rovereto e San Miniato).
Moreover, for the first time this year, partly thanks to the technological platforms provided by Telecom Italia, the approximately 1,500 students recommended by high school headmasters who cannot be accommodated on campus will still have the opportunity to follow a selection of lessons from the orientation courses over the web.
The initiative, confirming the commitment of the Scuola Normale di Pisa and Telecom Italia towards developing young intellectual talent in Italy, is being met with increasing interest by high schools, which for this edition have recommended 500 more students compared to last year. Specifically, the highest number of nominations came from northern Italy, with 776 candidates, and more specifically from Lombardy (223 students), Tuscany (179 students) and Veneto (148 students). A considerable number of students were also nominated in Lazio, Campania, Apulia and Sicily. More information on nominations and the complete list of selected students may be requested from the Scuola Normale Superiore.