What does the future hold for Italian universities? Critical perspectives from Bernard Stiegler

This article aims to provoke thoughtful reflection on the university’s raison d’être and the factors contributing to its current state of crisis in an era marked by efficiency and rapid technological advancements. Drawing inspiration from Bernard Stiegler’s philosophical ideas, it explores potential new roles for the university within the current educational context, with a particular focus on the Italian case. Given the transitory nature of the industrial model inherited from the twentieth century, the discussion, framed through a pedagogical lens, addresses how higher education can be reoriented to foster critical thinking and promote societal and moral transformation amid neoliberal reforms and technological progress. It also highlights the importance of de- proletarianisation in education as a means to counter the limited perspectives perpetuated by marketisation.