Design and Education: Why Invest in Beauty, Culture, and Knowledge

Beauty, culture, and knowledge are the tools at humanity's disposal to counteract the ugliness and horror we are experiencing. Still, they are also some of the aspects that characterize the relationship between the Bocconi world and design. This was stated by the Dean of SDA Bocconi School of Management, Stefano Caselli, during the “Value by Design” meeting, which ideally concluded the activities related to Design Week on Thursday, April 18th.

The economic dimension of the design supply chain and its need for education were highlighted by Claudio Luti, Chairman of Kartell, who spoke of “a supply chain that revolves around Milan and that must be safeguarded,” and by Roberto Palomba, Architect and Designer, co-founder of Studio Palomba Serafini and winner of the Compasso d'Oro, who referred to “a sector that has not yet created sufficient economies of scale and that needs managers. SDA Bocconi can train them based on the values we have worked on for the exhibition.” Architect Palomba, in fact, selected the objects representing some Bocconi values, on display at the lobby of the School of Management.

The relationship between Bocconi and design, as a subject of research and education, was retraced by Paola Cillo, Associate Dean for Research at SDA Bocconi, who placed it within a broader category, including also fashion and food. “In an ideal tree,” she said, “research constitutes the roots and education programs the fruits that, in this case, attract many foreign participants due to the attractiveness of the Milan-Made in Italy pairing.”

Bocconi University’s Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, Antonella Carù, underlined how the University has been able to evolve without giving up its values and traced the roots of one of them, inclusion, to the first class of students in 1902, half of whom received some form of support.

SDA Bocconi School of Management