Dear friends,

I got to live the past six years intensely and always in a rush due to the agenda of both a Member of the Academic Senate and of the Head of the Department. When I started, I was confident that my previous experience, as the Vice Rector for Lecco Campus, as a member of the Department Board and, even before that as the department labs manager, was enough to easily face the challenges of this role. As this journey ends, I am aware that I travelled a rough road still filled with satisfaction and beautiful things, not because they were beautiful indeed, but because I could share them with my friends. Nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est (nothing is beautiful unless you have friends to share them with) – Lucio Anneo Seneca. Together we achieved remarkable and inspiring successes (i.e. the Department of Excellence 2018-22 project, …). But we also faced difficulties coming from building day by day a common path even with different expertise and scientific knowledge, objectives and governance models. On top, we also experienced the complications of the pandemic, which forced us to handle an emergency we weren’t humanly and practically prepared for. Still, each of us found in our own and in the DMEC “toolboxes” the tools to re-think teaching activities, the way we do research, our Third Mission and public engagement. The baseline was being unable to cut personal social relations (even though online only) with colleagues and students.  

Special thanks to my colleagues of the Department Governing Bodies: the managers, the members of the Department Board, of the Scientific Commission and of the Advisory Board. I warmly thank also the technical and administrative staff whose skills and passion made it possible to reach such goals.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and members of the University Senate with whom I share a “politecnico” sense, for the chance to discuss, plan and take part in bringing our University alive.