An interest sparks a conversation, a conversation inspires a project, and a project creates opportunities for others. Across SDA Bocconi’s Student Clubs, this process gives MBA and Master students an active role in shaping their experience at the School and the opportunity to leave a lasting contribution to its community.

The recent presentation of the new boards and presidents of the School’s 13 clubs offered an opportunity to explore that role. In a conversation with Francesco Ausania, Alumni Engagement Manager, Stefano Pogutz, Director of the Full-time MBA, reflected on how club activities complement academic learning, strengthen relationships and empower students to contribute to the wider community.

Student Clubs connect learning with experience. Conferences, workshops and industry events bring students into dialogue with professionals whose decisions and challenges bring classroom concepts to life. These exchanges help students deepen their understanding of industries, explore career ambitions and discover perspectives that broaden their sense of what is possible.

For those organizing the activities, learning also comes through responsibility. Developing an initiative means setting objectives, coordinating a team, building partnerships and engaging an audience. Students put leadership into practice while creating value for others. In their interactions with speakers, companies and other organizations, they also represent SDA Bocconi and help strengthen its connections with the professional world.

As Pogutz highlighted, choosing how to participate is part of the learning process. Within a demanding program, students must decide where to invest their time and energy, aligning academic commitments and extracurricular opportunities with their backgrounds and ambitions. Club involvement gives them space to exercise that judgment, discover new interests and take on challenges that stretch their abilities.

The breadth of the clubs supports this exploration. Organized across Professional, Social Impact and Sport & Leisure, they bring together interests ranging from consulting, finance and entrepreneurship to healthcare, technology, sustainability and the creative industries. Their activities also advance responsible leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, while creating shared experiences through sports and Italian culture. Each offers a different starting point for students to connect, contribute and grow.

Shared interests also provide the foundation for meaningful networking. During the conversation, Ausania emphasized the importance of engaging with others through curiosity, mutual interest and an exchange of perspectives. These values are fundamental to SDA Bocconi’s MBA and Master programs: curiosity, openness and a willingness to learn from others enable students to broaden their outlook and make the most of their education. Clubs put these values into action through topics to explore, initiatives to develop together and relationships to nurture over time.

Those relationships connect generations of the SDA Bocconi community. Student boards work with the School and Alumni, with Alumni Senior Boards providing guidance, continuity and access to a broader professional network. This structure allows students to take ownership of their initiatives while building on the experience of those who came before them.

Participation extends beyond formal board roles. Students and Alumni are encouraged to propose ideas, contribute expertise and help develop activities. Every contribution can open a new possibility, from an industry discussion or a mentoring opportunity to a project with social impact. Through this collective effort, students help build the community they want to be part of.

Sport, cultural activities and social experiences further strengthen that sense of belonging. They give students time to get to know one another outside the classroom, build trust and support each other through an intensive period of study. As the dialogue highlighted, these shared experiences often become some of Alumni’s most enduring memories of the School, sustaining connections long after graduation.

For the 2026–2027 boards, the opportunity is to turn ideas and ambitions into experiences that others can share. Through the initiatives they lead, the people they bring together and the relationships they cultivate, they will shape their peers’ experience and leave a foundation for future students to build on.