 So here we are. Welcome everybody. Can you please give me feedback if you can hear me and see me properly? We're waiting for the connection. Professor will be here. First appointment of International Virtual Studio. For the one of you who doesn't know, Virtual Studio is an interdisciplinary online project designed, promoted and coordinated by Yusiena Campus Cultural Activity and in collaboration with U-Radio and Chiklomaggio. And I welcome Professor Berdike Le, who's Professor of Political Science and the Rectors Delegate to Internationalization for the University of Siena. Welcome Professor. Are you so glad to have you in here? Can you hear me and can you see me properly? I can hear you. I don't know if my voice is clear because I got a little bit of noise, but I think it's fine. Okay. The one of you who's listening and seeing us, can you please give us feedback if you can see and if you can hear us properly? So Professor, I wanted to start this first appointment. You are the first one on International Virtual Studio and we are so glad for having you in here. I wanted to start by asking you why did you choose this a little bit provocative title, which is Unlocking Europe Mobility After COVID-19. Can you please explain it to us? Yeah, I can tell you quite clearly. I think that this is a wish in a way because I don't want to think my life and the life of all of you without mobility, especially through Europe, but in general because I've been, you know, spending my life in mobility, but as a traveler, first of all as a traveler, I have to say, and then as a professional and as a scholar as well, I don't see life without being mobile, discovering, traveling a lot and be curious. I used to say that my father was called Datt and my mother was both curious. I cannot live without mobility. So that's my answer. Perfect. The main theme, of course, of International Virtual Studio and of Virtual Studio itself is just spread knowledge and cultural thinking and reflections about this a little bit difficult time, of course, that we are spending times in our homes for the quarantine and social distancing. The first question, my first question, so it would be, how is this affecting our life and how this quarantine and this situation will affect, of course, the mobility? Yes, I think two levels, so to say, we have to think. The first is the level of emergency and I think we are learning about getting into something new suddenly, trying to get out from this and trying to get out from this, thinking to those of us who are objectively isolated because they live in a new place, maybe in small rooms, maybe they don't know exactly how is the health system in the country hosting them. They are without a family, maybe for the first time in their life. I'm thinking to these people, I'm taking care of every day in my profession and I think that this is the first thing. The first thing in history, because all the crisis, all the wars and everything in the past, they did not happen in a situation in which people were so mobile. This was an absolutely new situation, I think, astonishing and somehow shocking that we live. But there is a second level which is not necessarily a negative one and not necessarily a learning for crisis, it's a learning for life. We have to live with this kind of things, although I do hope that we don't have another crisis like that in 10,000 years. But the problem is that in any case we have to be ready and we have to use our resources at our best in order to cope with the third problems and keep going, traveling, keep going, learning about the rest, because especially in Europe, but not necessarily only in Europe, we need to keep mobility on. Based on your reflections, are you suggesting that we have to rethink your professional and social styles of life, way of life? True. Style of life, for sure, and this will be probably for months, because we have to test how this social distance or whatever you want to call to be safe become a sort of new style without erasing our human attributes but to try to be correct and to behave correctly. But these, especially for those who want to live abroad, want to travel and want to study abroad, there should be a special learning process in order to socialize at their best because we cannot stop our process. On the other hand, I think that for the longer run, for the life that we are going to do, I hope in a few weeks from now, we have to learn anyway how to mobilize our resources much better and actually how to use this experience to improve our way of being curious and traveling around Europe. We can really take a lot of benefits in terms of legacies from this emergency. Sorry, before asking the following question, I wanted just to remind to our guests that they can ask the professor's question in our comment section about the legacies you were talking about. The legacies of this pandemic situation in terms of social and economic effects, what about the legacies, what about this kind of legacies? The social and economic costs will be enormous and of course I really hope and this is a reaction from our governments and particularly from the European Union. Sorry, professor, but we are having kind of troubles in listening and seeing you. Professor, can you hear me? No, I think... Professor, sorry, but we have lost you. We just have lost you. You were missing because of the connection. Can you please just repeat your words? Okay, do you hear me now? Yes, I do, but I wanted to hear from our public. Can you hear and see professors? I'm waiting for you. I hear you, do you hear me? Yes, I do right now. Do you hear me now? Okay, yes I do, I do. Yes, I can see you. Okay, I'll try to get out from... Okay, do you hear me now? Yes, yes, probably, yes. Okay, maybe it's a problem. No, I was saying that we have to learn how to keep being trustful and keep being generous in terms of linking and maintaining our links, especially at the European and international level. This is a big challenge because my concern is that people would be less motivated, particularly in having professional and studying experience abroad. So my point is that just trying to keep this curiosity and this motivation to be mobile. Okay, are we going to face deep changes even in terms of inclusion and parsimony, as you were saying? Yes, this is a trade-off, of course. We need to figure out the resources that could be used in the future because of course we will get out from this crisis with the normal cost, as we said already. But at the same time, we need to invest in new programs and I do hope that especially the European Union could be generous enough with the next Erasmus program. But of course, if you want to be really inclusive and enlarge the number of people mobile, we have probably to rethink some aspect. We have to cut all these existing programs that reveal to be too costly and also not properly sustainable in terms of the Green Deal program of the European Union. At the same time, we have to rethink other forms and maybe virtual mobility can be an important instrument, an important but not the only one because we have to know the people around Europe and around the world. So we have to try to get the balance of these instruments and without any interruption of the... So here we are. Welcome everybody. Can you please give me feedback if you can hear me and see me properly? We're waiting for the connection. Professor will be here. First appointment of International Virtual Studio. For the one of you who doesn't know, Virtual Studio is an interdisciplinary online project designed, promoted and coordinated by Yusiena Campus Cultural Activity in collaboration with U-Radio and Chiklomaggio. And I welcome Professor Verdike Le, who's Professor of Political Science and the Rectors Delegate to Internationalization for the University of Siena. Welcome Professor. I'm so glad to have you here. Can you hear me and can you see me properly? I can hear you. I don't know if my voice is clear because I got a little bit of noise, but I think it's fine. Okay. The one of you who's listening and seeing us, can you please give us feedback if you can see and if you can hear us properly? So Professor, I wanted to start this first appointment. We are the first one on International Virtual Studio and we are so glad for having you in here. I wanted to start by asking you, why did you choose this a little bit provocative title, which is Unlocking Europe Mobility After COVID-19. Can you please explain it to us? Yeah, I can tell you quite clearly. I think that this is a wish in a way because I don't want to think my life and the life of all of you without mobility, especially through Europe, but in general, because I've been deaf in mobility, but as a traveler, I have to say, and then as a professional and as a scholar as well, I don't see life without being mobile, discovering, traveling a lot and be curious. I used to say that my father was called Datt and my mother was both curious. I cannot live without mobility. So that's my answer. Perfect. The main theme, of course, of International Virtual Studio and of Virtual Studio itself is just spread knowledge and cultural thinking and reflections about this a little bit difficult time, of course, that we are spending times in our homes for the quarantine and social distancing. The first question, my first question, so it would be how is this affecting our life and how this quarantine and this situation will affect, of course, the mobility? Yes, I think two levels, let's say we have to think. The first is the level of emergency and I think we are learning about getting into something new suddenly trying to get out from this and trying to get out from this, thinking to those of us who are objectively isolated because they live in a new place, maybe in small rooms, maybe they don't know exactly how is the health system in the country hosting them. They are without their family, maybe for the first time in their life. You know, I'm thinking to these people, I'm taking care of every day in my profession and I think that this is the first thing. And probably the first thing in history because all the crisis, all the wars and everything in the past, they did not happen in a situation in which people were so mobile. So this was an absolutely new situation, I think, astonishing and somehow shocking that we live. But there is a second level, which is not necessarily a negative one and not necessarily a learning for crisis, it's learning for life. We have to live with this kind of thing, although I do hope that we don't have another crisis like that in, you know, 10,000 years. But the problem is that in any case we have to be ready and we have to use our resources at our best in order to cope with the problems and keep going, traveling, keep going, learning about the rest, because especially in Europe, but not necessarily only in Europe, we need to keep the mobility on. So based on your reflections, are you suggesting that we have to rethink about our professional and social styles of life, way of life? True. Style of life, for sure, and this will be probably for months because we have to test how this social distance or whatever you want to call, in order to be safe, become a sort of new style without erasing our human attributes but to try to be correct and to behave correctly. But these, especially for those who want to live abroad, want to travel and want to study abroad, there should be a special learning process in order to socialize at their best because we cannot stop our process. On the other hand, I think that for the longer run, for the life that we are going to do, I hope in a few weeks from now, we have to learn anyway how to mobilize our resources much better and actually how to use this experience to improve our way of being curious and traveling around Europe. We can really take a lot of benefits in terms of legacies from these emergencies. Sorry, before asking the following question, I wanted just to remind to our guests that they can ask the professor's question in our comment section about the legacies you were talking about. The legacies of this pandemic situation, in terms of social and economic effects, what about the legacies? What about these kind of legacies? The social and economic cost will be enormous. And of course, I really hope, and this is from our government, particularly from the European Union. Sorry, professor, but we are having kind of troubles in listening and seeing you. Professor, can you hear me? No. Professor, sorry, but we have lost you. We just have lost you. You were missing because of the connection. Can you please just repeat your words? Okay, do you hear me now? Yes, I do, but I wanted to hear from our public. Can you hear and see professors? I hear you. Do you hear me now? Yes, I do right now. Do you hear me now? Okay, yes, I do. Yes, I can see you. I'll try to get out from... Okay, do you hear me now? Yes, yes, probably, yes. Okay, maybe it's a problem. So I know I was saying that we have to learn how to keep being trustful and keep being generous in terms of linking and maintaining our links, especially at the European and international level. This is a big challenge because my concern is people who'd be less motivated, particularly in having professional and studying experience abroad. So my point is that just trying to keep this curiosity and this motivation to being mobile. Okay, are we going to face deep changes, even in terms of inclusion and parsimony, as you were saying? Yes, this is a trade-off, of course. We need to figure out the resources that could be used in the future because, of course, we will get out from this crisis with the enormous costs, as we said already. But at the same time, we need to invest in new programs and I do hope that especially the European Union could be generous enough with the next Erasmus program. But of course, if you want to be really inclusive and enlarge the number of people mobile, we have probably to rethink some aspect. We have to cut all these existing programs that are revealed to be too costly and also not properly sustainable in terms of the Green Deal program of the European Union. At the same time, we have to rethink other forms and maybe virtual mobility can be an important instrument, an important but not the only one because we have to know the people around Europe and around the world. So we have to try to get the balance of these instruments and without any interruption of the movement of people and movement of ideas, especially through Europe. I think this is a crucial achievement for the European Union. Oh my God. Well, this is communication. Professor, we lost you again. Sorry for that. My connection probably because I have a lot of... Yeah. Okay. As I was saying, emergency communication, this can't happen. That happens. Yeah. So as you were saying, the integration of our knowledges will be possible only if we will be able to combine inclusion and parsimony. But I was thinking what about mindfulness and the Green Deal goals because we know that our university is really committed to these kind of purposes and goals. Yeah. This is probably the real challenge for the future. I think that we have to reduce all the travels and all the connection that can be really run, let's say, on the basis of different things, including all these streaming activities that we are doing in this period. At the same time, we have to reduce short-time mobilities that are sometimes really unrelevant in terms of experience. And at the same time, using the resources that you can save from this for getting longer periods of mobility, especially for students within small numbers of universities. And the idea of the European university alliances can be really helpful in this respect. So people, they should be mobile, as in the last 20 or 30 years. At the same time, having a more specific experience about knowing the other universities, being part of these universities, maybe doing exams, for instance, in two or three other universities, instead of only one, and spending a longer period without traveling so much back and forth. And this can be an alternative model. And then, of course, using co-working, using technology to work continuously from the first year to the third year using double degrees, using common programs, anything that can be useful to feel the same identity. So people should be connected to two or three other universities and being part of these universities, not simply a student from Siena having an experience, maybe in France or maybe in the UK. No, being a European or an international student. This is the challenge for the future, in my view. Okay. I was reading about a review from our international offices, and they were saying that the 60% of the international students of our university is on a physical or virtual mobility. What are the tips that we can give to them? Because some of them are still in Siena, some of them are on a virtual mobility still in connection with us. It is important, I think, as you as directors delegate to the internationalization to address some tips for them, some advice for them. Sure. I mean, this is a crucial thing. We are happy that we didn't lose so many students around. We have roughly 60% of people that they wanted to keep going, their experience of mobility, the outgoing students, and some of them, of course, they're isolated anyway. Some they decide to come back, but they want to go back to their Austin University. They are following the courses in their Austin University. And the same applies to the incoming students. I hope that some of them are still connected with us. And this is important. I repeat, we have to avoid interruption in this experience. Of course, this entails a big problem of socialization. It's not exactly the same. I'm talking to you, I'm trying to get a continuous work with my colleagues and my students, but this is not the same. So we have to learn how to make these people really able to socialize. And the virtual international virtual studio would be a fantastic instrument to involve them. At the same time, I think the critical thing that we have to avoid is frustration from the idea that we are burning our time. When I was in the Erasmus many decades ago, I was trying to use all single minutes of my life in order to get connected socially, culturally, academically and so on. I understand that now it could be really, really difficult to do that for people to stay in their small rooms. But we have to enforce this stimulation and this motivation. I'm sure if we are passing this, they would feel stronger and stronger and maybe they will repeat the experience maybe in Siena, maybe in another university. It doesn't really matter, but they will be stronger. Okay, thank you. I'm going to check if there is some questions. Okay, someone is saying hi to your professor from Colombia and he is saying we will meet again. You will meet again. Okay, we have a question from you Radio Siena. Professor, you mentioned a Green New Deal before. Could you please tackle this issue? Well, this is a big issue and a big challenge. Generally speaking, the goals of the Green New Deal are already set and of course in Siena we are very happy and proud that we have a special attention sensibility for the sustainability goals. But I think the effort for the future is to bring this goal within all the universities, not in a specific research center in a specific department. We have to integrate the system of the Green Deal in terms of policies from the little university, from the little institution to the gigantic projects of the European Union. And actually the Green Deal, let's say, aspect of our everyday work in the university should be simply trying to... This is my personal wish even for my future. I want to select my travels. I want to go to places, whatever, congresses, travels for private things, just to travel, which I did in the past. I have to confess because I love traveling. I want to select the traveling and I want to produce just a minimum of pollution in order to get the maximum of benefit from my traveling. Social benefit, collective benefit of course. So this is actually the principle that should be moving all our policies from our university to the European Union to the global world. Okay. Another guest, Valeria, is asking how could we have some news about the mobility for the following academic year? This is a kind of practical question. Well, we have a lot. And actually my colleagues at the Division de la Trientilación are producing, you know, continuously document that you can find on, of course, on the website, the frequently asked questions and so on. I think that we are going to a sort of postponement to all the deadlines for sure for the European Union, less sure for the bilateral agreements with the specific universities. But of course we are trying to allow, let's say, all the people already selected for this academic year as a mobile student to have more time to complete their learning agreement. We are probably going, but I'll tell you in the next days, to postpone even the mobility of the next academic year, hopefully not for a whole semester, but just for a few weeks in order to send all the people around. In any case, we are ready to start in a virtual mobility as we did in this semester to move as soon as possible to the physical mobility. Okay, so for every tip and every news you can check all the pages, the internet pages of the international department. Thank you. So we have a question from Sikwira92. Sorry if I spelled your name incorrectly. The guest is saying, hello, I'm from Costa Rica and I'm planning to move in September. The students' visas are on hold-on. What are the options for the students with this kind of problem? Well, I'm afraid that this is falling exactly in this period of transition because when we talk about postponement, although the postponement hopefully should be really short, September will be still within the post-lockdown regime. So I think that we have to wait for at least a one month or two. But, well, I'll tell you more, I'll tell you more and I'll discuss this with the officers in the next days. Okay, so you will, like, pass all the information to us and you can check all the news and the information on the Uniciana and the Uniciana Campus Accounts on Instagram and Facebook. Sofia Belluti is asking, how about the students that are going to start the Erasmus in the next academic year? What is their destiny? As I told you, we are planning to confirm all the mobility schemes. Of course, we cannot, you know, we have to consider the possibility that some destination will be disappearing because in some cases, some universities, they autonomously decided to stop the mobility for one year, for instance. This is not the case of Sienna. So I hope that I would be able to respond in a positive way to all the people that try to confirm their mobility for the academic year 2021. Okay, so let's hope together for everybody because this is really important to still be in connection and to still, like, can use this tool that the Erasmus is giving to us the opportunity that the Erasmus would give us. Okay, last question. Erasmus for students can be substituted by virtual lessons, but when it comes to Erasmus for a traineeship, the situation is more complicated. News on that horizon? That's another critical point. You're perfectly right. We try to save also the aspect of the traineeship using the idea of smart working wherever, where possible. I mean, this is not possible for many things. For instance, for the medical, you know, for the clinical aspects of the traineeship of students in medicine. If possible, we are using the smart working mode in order to not penalize too much the people who are in mobility as trainees. Okay, thank you. Professor, one of our guests knows that you are a great guitarist and he's asking us to play something, but can I answer that? You can check, actually, Facebook page because on that you can find all of his beautiful albums and music and plays. Okay, yeah, sure. I check that too, because I check that too. Professor, during this quarantine and social distancing time, do you have any reading tips for us? Well, I think I was thinking about that because this time I'm not talking about my discipline, I'm talking about the professional aspect of my life, but not necessarily connected to my readings. But I have a couple. Well, actually, I'm suggesting the book of my life, which is my favorite book ever, which is Kerouac on the Road. This is a wish. A wish that you can take your travel on the road as soon as possible. And this is a wish for me as well that I really need to get a little far away for a while. And the second is more professional. Maybe a student in zoology could find a little bit boring. But I think it's a reading for everyone. The discovery of the America from the point of view of a journalist of two hundred and a half ago. His name was Tocqueville and this book is called Democracy in America. This was my first book I could buy when I arrived in U.S. in 92, at the end of 92. And this is still one of my favorite political science books. So these are my suggestions for you today. Okay. On the Road of Kerouac is one of my favorite books. So the greatest reading tip I have ever, believe me. Professor, unfortunately the time is kind of over because we have some guests like after us, another live after us. I really wanted to thank you for your first intervention in International Virtual Studium. I do remind you that our next appointment is next week, next Thursday, always at 6 p.m. and you will see my colleague, Mattia, from Uradio Siena, which we'll discuss about with another professor always on International Virtual Studium. I do thank also the rectors of the University of Siena for giving to U.S.iena campus the opportunity to jump on the mainly account, the most important account of the University. And of course, thanks to U.S.iena campus, which I'm part of, and thanks to Uradio Siena and thanks to Ciclo Maggio. I wish you the very best of the evenings and I'm going to meet you next week with International Virtual Studium. Thank you, professor. Thank you so much. Have a nice evening. Thank you. Bye, everybody.