Cultural activities

https://www.uniupo.it/en/third-mission/public-engagement/cultural-activities

We are an engaged campus: we create and disseminate knowledge in our community, whose socio-economic and cultural fabric we recognise and enhance.

Small and large events enrich the cultural life of the territory and cities of our University, aimed at the most diverse and non-specialist audiences: from art, history, literature or science enthusiasts to theatre-goers.

Since we started surveying the activities (from 2015 - first on an online database, and now on the Third Mission Portal), we have registered around 700 cultural initiatives, from large annual University events to the numerous events organised by the Departments and individual teachers.

You can find the programmes in the News and Open Campus sections of the Mediacentre.

 

Inauguration of the academic year

 

This annual event is normally held at the Civic Theatre in Vercelli, in the period between December and February. The event has recorded a strong increase in public attendance over the years, with up to a thousand spectators in the twentieth anniversary year, and a high approval rating. It is one of the events and rites that contribute to an increased sense of belonging to the University, both for internal staff and the local community.

While retaining all the classic elements of the past - the Rector's report, speeches by the General Manager and the Student Representative, a talk by an important guest - our event also includes a marked festive component, with a narrative entrusted to images and voice of the protagonists. A key role is also played by the Choir and Orchestra of Università del Piemonte Orientale.

Inauguration ceremony of a.y. 2023-24

 

Graduation Day

 

This is the ceremony at which we celebrate our graduates of the previous academic year and that ends with the traditional throwing of the mortarboards, one of the most awaited moments. It has become the most recognisable and appreciated event and normally takes place in Novara on the first Saturday in June, when graduates parade through the streets of the city centre, starting from the Perrone Campus and arriving in Piazza Martiri della Libertà.

The procession, complete with neo-graduates, their families, teachers, the Orchestra and the Choir, and the technical-administrative-library staff who organise the event, involves around 5,000 people. The satisfaction questionnaire shows that 90% of participants are satisfied, convinced that they have participated in one of the most exciting and moving moments of their lives. They felt they were simultaneously protagonists and part of a group.

Graduation Day highlights the full and generous willingness of the City of Novara to co-organise the event, with the support of all its institutions.

Graduation Day 2023

 

“Viotti” Competition

 

The International Music Competition “G.B. Viotti” is one of the oldest music competitions dedicated to young artists. Established in 1950, it is the competition that boasts the most editions in the world. Since 2013, we have co-organised the Competition together with the Società del Quartetto, the Municipality of Vercelli and the Cassa di Risparmio di Vercelli Foundation.

Our contribution was fundamental to the relaunch of the event at local, national and international level, especially in 2019, when the 70th anniversary of its founding was celebrated. We presented the case study of the VQR-TM 2015-19 to ANVUR and it was awarded the rating of "Excellent and extremely relevant".

Competition website

 

Festival of Civil Poetry
 

The "International Festival of Civil Poetry", organised by the "Il Ponte" Cultural Association, has taken place in Vercelli since 2005. It is the only Italian festival that brings together the most significant voices of an important theme of contemporary poetry. It was admitted to UNESCO's World Poetry Directory and over time has acquired international prestige. The Festival has rewarded the greatest poets in the sector for their careers, and attracts internationally renowned guests for conferences and readings.

We have sponsored the Festival since it was founded, and the Department of Humanities has collaborated in the organisation of the "Translation Award for Unpublished Civil Poetry in Italy" since 2011, through the study courses of Modern Languages and Languages, Cultures and Tourism.

Since 2022, we have had a collaboration agreement with "Il Ponte" which aims to create a more intense network for the improvement of the entire Festival. Firstly, the Award has been expanded to inter-university status, involving other Italian and foreign universities in the organisation (L'Aquila, Bari, Milan, Modena-Reggio Emilia, Pavia, Rome La Sapienza, Savoie-Mont Blanc, the University for Foreigners from Siena, Turin, Verona and Venice Ca' Foscari).

Festival website

 

 

The Tĭllĭt Festival
 

The TiLLiT Project (Theatre in Language - Language in Theatre) started in 2004, and promotes the use of theatre in the teaching of foreign languages at university level.

Every year, at the beginning of June, it offers the public performances in four languages (English, French, Spanish, German) by students from the language courses of the Department of Humanities and some guest performances from other European universities.

The TiLLiT Festival is a unique event in Europe and the project received the "European Language Label" award for teaching innovation in 2014.

 

Tĭllĭt website

 

‘Camice bianco’ (White Coats)

 

The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage for students of Medicine and Surgery, who, at the beginning of the third year, put on the white lab coat as they progress from the study of pre-clinical sciences to clinical sciences.

The ceremony, which takes place in the Novara and Alessandria premises, strengthens the sense of belonging and responsibility of the students, around whom the academic community gathers to encourage them to continue their path with commitment and dedication.

Our university was the first to celebrate this ceremony in 2011, importing it from Anglo-American universities.

 

 

‘Non solo di venerdì’ (Not just Fridays)

 

These are cycles of conferences proposed by the Department of Humanities, during which we talk about culture, science, philosophy, art, politics and medicine, areas that are explored in an interdisciplinary way to talk about life and ageing in the history of tradition and ideas. The first cycle (September-December 2023) was sold out due to the enormous interest aroused by its topics and speakers.

The initiative is organised with the support of the Novarese Community Foundation and the Dodicidiciannove di Vercelli Provincial Council.

 

One-off events
 

There are many projects that take place only once, without returning each year, of which we are protagonists or co-organisers. These have included:

The 800th anniversary of the Abbey of S. Andrea in Vercelli. In 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Municipality of Vercelli, UPO, the Archdiocese of Vercelli, the three city museums and the Vercelli Historical Society. The University was assigned scientific and organisational supervision of the two main events: the exhibition "The Magna Carta: Guala Bicchieri and his legacy. Europe in Vercelli in the thirteenth century" and the international conference "Sant'Andrea di Vercelli and the European Gothic at the beginning of the thirteenth century". Together with the other institutions, it organised: liturgical celebrations, video creations, a competition for schools, the issue of a stamp by the MISE, a series of 22 conferences (with numerous university teachers), 4 concerts, 3 shows, 9 other initiatives of various natures (routes, walks, etc.). The events took place from 19 February 2019 to 22 February 2020. The initiatives took place under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic and the High Patronage of the European Parliament, and received patronage from numerous regional and territorial institutions. We presented the case study for the VQR-TM 2015-19 to Anvur and it was assessed as excellent.

Website of the Eighth Centenary 

Website of the Conference

 

Manzù e il suo tempo (Manzù and his time).

We promoted a series of conferences as part of the events linked to the exhibition “Giacomo Manzù. The sculpture is a ray of the moon" offered by: Municipality of Vercelli, Archdiocese of Vercelli, Studio Copernico, in collaboration with the Manzù Foundation.

Website of the exhibition

 

Collaborations
 

Our public commitment is also present in activities carried out in partnership with leading institutions, bodies and associations. These include (among many others):

  • Italian Classical Culture Association, to co-create annual conference cycles
  • Assocastelli, to organise courses and events aimed at enhancing the historical architectural heritage of Italy, made up of homes and residences (castles, farms, palaces, estates and villas), of both private and public property
  • Circolo dei Lettori di Novara, to carry out joint initiatives, projects, events and training courses aimed at raising awareness of reading
  • FAI (Italian Environment Foundation), to organise events with the involvement of our students
  • Coccia Theatre Foundation of Novara, to facilitate the participation of the university community in events organised by the Theatre and to implement shared initiatives
  • Order of Journalists of Piedmont, to jointly carry out continuous professional training seminars, advanced training courses and cultural initiatives
  • University of the Third Age of Novara, to implement joint initiatives, projects, events and training courses

We also collaborate on these cycles of events:

‘Il tempo di un caffè’ (The Time for a coffee) These are cycles of general culture conferences promoted by the Municipality of Vercelli in collaboration with DISUM. The meetings are held weekly, at 10.30 am. Almost all of the speakers are UPO teachers.

The “Cultural Thursdays” of the Culture and Development Association of Alessandria. DIGSPES offers ongoing organisation of conferences, debates, seminars, and public initiatives on various topics (political-economic, philosophical, sociological and scientific dissemination).