“Today, together with the four Veneto universities, we are bringing around the same table, on a permanent basis, those who train talent and those who welcome it, those who carry out research and those who need researchers, in order to build a Veneto in which young people find a concrete reason to stay, or to return. In a context marked by demographic contraction and by a decline in the younger generations and in the working-age population, the ability to make the most of people who are already trained, to retain talent and to attract new talent is an increasingly important condition for regional competitiveness and development. It is a strategic choice for the future of our young people and of this region, because we will always be students. I would like to thank Ca’ Foscari University, the University of Padua, the University of Verona and Iuav of Venice, together with their Rectors: they chose to sit at this table in a team spirit from the very first meeting in January, and without their contribution this process would not exist.”

With these words, the President of the Veneto Region, Alberto Stefani, this morning introduced, at Palazzo Balbi, the presentation of the memorandum of understanding between the Veneto Region and the Veneto universities, signed with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the University of Padua, the University of Verona and Università Iuav di Venezia.

The agreement, named S.T.A.Y. Veneto – Strategies for Talent Attraction and Youth: for the attractiveness, innovation and development of the knowledge and talent system, gives shape to a process begun in January 2026, with the first meeting between the Presidency of the Region and the heads of the universities held on 13 January at Palazzo Balbi. Its aim is to make Veneto more attractive to students, researchers and young graduates, and to encourage them to stay or return.

Alongside President Stefani, speakers included:
Valeria Mantovan, Regional Councillor for Education, Training, Skills and Culture;
Massimo Bitonci, Regional Councillor for Economic Development, Research and Innovation and Investment Attraction;
Benno Albrecht, Rector of Università Iuav di Venezia;
Marco Sgarbi, Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice;
Daniela Mapelli, Rector of the University of Padua;
Chiara Leardini, Rector of the University of Verona.

The Protocol identifies four areas of common interest: incoming and outgoing guidance, based on a shared information base on graduate employment outcomes; innovation, with the mapping and periodic presentation to the economic system of patents and other transferable research results; a regional network of research infrastructures also open to businesses; and the attraction and retention of talent, including from abroad. To these are added three experimental lines of action: Life Plan, Innovation and Housing.

The Rector of Università Iuav di Venezia, Benno Albrecht, stated: “For Università Iuav di Venezia, which this year celebrates one hundred years since its foundation, this Protocol is an opportunity to network, together with the Region and the other Veneto universities, a design culture that has always integrated technical, scientific and humanistic expertise. The challenges set out in the Programme Document, from the attractiveness of talent to innovation and technology transfer, all the way to urban regeneration, require precisely the ability to bring different forms of knowledge into dialogue. The Permanent Table will allow us to do so on a stable basis, while respecting the autonomy of the universities, bringing the contribution of architecture, design, spatial planning and the themes of water and the sea to a Veneto that is increasingly attractive to students, researchers and qualified professionals.”