La Dolce Vita Eludes Italian Students Found Unemployable

By Oliver Staley. Alessandro Ortenzi, 26, entered the University of Bologna in 2006 to study pharmacy. When he finally graduates next year, he still won’t qualify for hospital work.
“I’ve spent a lot of time here studying,” Ortenzi said, taking a cigarette break outside the library. “I wish I could have finished earlier.”...
Oldest University
The University of Bologna dates its founding to 1088, making it the oldest university in the western world. In 1158, Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor, granted the first rights of academic freedom to Bologna scholars. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the university drew students from across Europe, including astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. Bologna, which has about 87,000 students on five campuses, is one of 55 public universities Italy. No Italian schools, public or private, are in the top 200 in the Times Higher Education’s rankings of global universities, and Bologna is grouped in a tier ranked between 276 and 300. Read more...