Universitas. Knowledge Without Limits. What’s the meaning hidden behind the topic of the 42nd annual UNIV Congress? It will all be unveiled at the Auditorium Conziliazione and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on April 7th and 8th, 2009…but we do want to give you a sneak peak!
The first day of the Congress, Tuesday, April 7th, the participants will have the opportunity to hear from two renowned personalities in the academic world whose words will aim to inspire in them a restlessness that will spring them into action.
Dr. Paoloa Binetti is a member of the Italian House of Representatives, as well as a medical doctor specialized in clinic psychology and neuropsychology. For ten years she has been directing the Center of Medical Education of the Università Campus Bio-medico di Roma, where she is professor of Clinic Pscychology, History of Medicine and Human Sciences. She is currently Director of the Department of educational and didactical research of the same university, where she oversees projects for the professional development of the faculty.
During her lecture, Dr. Binetti will share her experience in both the political and academic realms, highlighting the importance of university students' integral formation—the intellectual fruits which ought to contribute to the development of their country, conscious of the fact that on them falls the responsibility of creating a more just and more human society.
Dr. Florence Oloo is Deputy Vice Chancellor of Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya, the first inter-racial university in Africa. Previously, she served for several years on the faculty at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, where she taught chemistry, supervised projects of fourth year students, and helped organize the Kenya Chemical Society Conference. She collaborates in many initiatives and projects of professional ethics and women’s issues, serves as director of Strathmore University’s Centre for Professional Ethics, and also serves as counselor to Kenyan women science students seeking higher degrees.
Dr. Florence Oloo will share with the congress participants a bit of the history of the beginnings of Africa’s first inter-racial university, and with the example of Strathmore University, outline the authentic identity and true foundations of the University.
The second part of the Congress will be in the afternoon of Wednesday, April 8th. What will this consist of? The goal is to create a genuine experience of Universitas. The congress participants will be divided into different classrooms, according to the topics of the projects they've been working on all year. Within the framework of these smaller groups, each with its own moderator, the students will each present their papers and then discuss/debate the topics they’ve touched upon. They will have the opportunity to dialogue with university students coming from diverse backgrounds, fields of study, cultures and ways of thinking. This enriching experience is new to the UNIV program and we hope it will serve as an occasion to broaden horizons, spark new interests, and renew the intellectual restlessness of the participants. At the end of the afternoon, all the participants will gather again for one final and vital lecture on the art of communicating the truth.
