Francesco Morfuni, a graduate in engineering, was yesterday awarded a fellowship for a Master’s in Earthquake Engineering at University College London (UCL), co-financed by UCL itself and Niccolò Cusano University and coordinated by the Embassy of Italy in London. The fellowship funds the master’s programme for one student from the areas of central Italy hit by earthquakes in 2016.
Thanks to co-financing by University College London (UCL) and the Embassy of Italy in London, through a donation from Niccolò Cusano University, a one-year fellowship has been set up to allow an Italian student to attend the MSc in Earthquake Engineering with Disaster Management at the UCL Faculty of Earthquake Sciences.
After careful study of all the applications, UCL selected Francesco Morfuni, a graduate of La Sapienza University of Rome, as the winner of the fellowship. The Italian ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, and Professor Roberto Di Lauro, the embassy’s scientific attaché, attended the award ceremony at the UCL campus. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of UCL who are directly involved in the MSc programme, including Professor David Price, vice provost for research; Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker, dean of engineering sciences; Professor Dina D’Ayala, head of civil engineering; and Carmine Galasso, director of research for the programme. Professor Franco Orsucci from Niccolò Cusano University was also present, together with Professor Mauro Ciccolini, the head of Niccolò Cusano’s London campus.
In his opening address, the ambassador observed that cooperation between British and Italian institutions (the Italian Cultural Institute in London also contributed to the fellowship) is an indication of the close ties between the academic communities of the two countries. He also explained that the fellowship is one of a series of initiatives in support of those who were affected by the earthquakes in central Italy. These initiatives include a number of charity events organised by the embassy, which raised over £1 million.
Those present all acknowledged the importance of the fellowship in supporting the training of young students and as a further step towards both physical and cultural reconstruction in the areas affected by the earthquakes.
