The University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and recognized as the oldest university in the Western world, is one of Italy’s leading research-intensive institutions. It comprises five campuses, a branch in Buenos Aires, over 260 degree programmes, 51 PhD programmes, 31 departments, and around 97,000 students, including more than 9,000 international students. Consistently ranked among the top universities nationally and internationally, it maintains extensive collaborations across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The University promotes excellence in teaching and research through innovative educational approaches, while fostering inclusion, equity, diversity, and equal access to education.

The Department of Management (DiSA), founded in 1983, is a leading centre for management education and research, with campuses in Bologna, Forlì, and Rimini and over 100 faculty members. Its research covers business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, organisation studies, and management engineering. DiSA publishes in leading journals, participates in international research projects, offers PhD programmes, and is a founding academic partner of Bologna Business School. It also hosts the Yunus Social Business Centre and the D.I.M.P.A.C.T. Research Center, focusing on sustainable entrepreneurship, digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and organisational change.