Department of Communication and Economics
Main address
Palazzo Dossetti
viale Antonio Allegri, 9 - Palazzo Dossetti
42121 - Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Web site
» www.dce.unimore.it
DirectorProf.ssa Giovanna Galli
Presentation
In 2001 a new cultural project was created in Reggio Emilia which aimed at the integration of teaching and research with a focus on the development of multidisciplinary skills for the study and teaching of issues related to communication, economics and business management. The professors and researchers who took part in the making of this project belong primarily to the Faculty of Humanities and Economics of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. They were soon joined by new scholars from other Italian universities and, albeit to a more limited extent, the non-academic world. This project took shape and matured against the background of significant institutional change: the 1999 Berlinguer reform, enacted in 2004 by the Moratti project and, subsequently, in 2010 by the Gelmini law. All of these regulatory changes have been aimed at creating an Italian University within the European framework that will perform at the forefront of academic excellence and be able to meet the expectations of students in the 21st century. Moreover one of the main goals is to reinvigorate the University by improving the quality of both teaching and research in order to ensure the continued provision of a foundation of solid skills and a valid professional life for future generations.
In order to fulfill this goal, the Department of Communication and Economics has developed an innovative training process incorporating new and integrated independent lines of research. Following the completion of government reforms, the Department of Communication and Economics is now in a position to offer two bachelor’s programmes and three master's degree courses. It currently has more than 800 new students per year and a total of more than 2000 faculty members, employing 42 teachers and researchers, with expertise in a wide variety of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, management and business organisation, history, mathematics, statistics and finance.
The research and development of innovation
The research activities of professors and researchers have been characterised over the years by important contributions to both the national and the international economies. In 2002 the European project ISCOM, coordinated by Prof. David Avra Lane, was founded, and in 2004 Prof. Andrea Ginzburg won major funding for the Cetra project - Complexity Education For Trainers, which was established within the European Leonardo da Vinci programme. In fact, the Department goes beyond the ministerial recommendations, undertaking projects in the national interest, that have achieved recommendations for coordination and operational achievements on a national level, in the years 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 under the purview of Prof. Arrigo Bonisoli, Prof. Nicoletta Cavazza, Professor Esposito, Dr. Gabrielli, Prof. Lane, Prof. Rubichi and Prof. Voltolini. In 2011 Prof. Giardina won the FIRB young “Stochastic processes in interacting particle systems: duality, metastability and their applications” In 2009 a further important source of finance was received from the European Union for the Bemosa project, under the responsibility of Dr. Mariani. As well as aquiring competitive funding the Department has initiated collaborations with local entreprises and institutions in order to develop research projects for specific applications. Furthermore, in order to respond effectively to the demands and proposals of the provinces, several laboratories for experimental activities have been established, namely Attention and Perception Lab, Marketing and Research Lab, and the Juno, Opera and Relab TV. Thanks to the efforts of the professors and researchers, the departmental budget has grown significantly over time and in 2011, stood at approximately one million euro.
In 2011, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia defined its strategic lines of research. The professors and researchers of the Department of Communication and Economics outlined their interests and identified the prevalent themes, which expressed a clear statement that promoted the process of integration of multi-disciplinary expertise: Media Communication and Social Media; Internal and External Communication for Firm Innovation and Competitiveness; Innovation and Sustainability; Strategy, Governance and Managerial Behaviour; Financial Decisions of Firms and Households and Intermediaries' Behaviour; Basic and Applied Human Cognition; Statistical Mechanics of Social and Biological Systems.
