Milano-Bicocca raises the “no-tax area” threshold to €30,000. This represents an increase of €2,000 compared with the 2025/26 academic year and of €8,000 compared with the threshold established by the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research under Ministerial Decree No. 1014/2021. The decision was unanimously approved by the University’s Board of Governors at its meeting yesterday afternoon. Students benefiting from the exemption must have an ISEE of up to €30,000 and meet specific academic merit and university admission requirements. The measure will apply to 14,000 students, accounting for 39 per cent of the University’s total student population.
The University has also introduced a gradual transition into the tuition fee bracket for students with an ISEE between €30,000 and €30,500, making the increase in contributions even more progressive. The measure will cost the University approximately €540,000.
Milano-Bicocca has confirmed that it will provide scholarship funding for all eligible students who were not awarded a scholarship, for a total value of more than €3 million, thereby strengthening its commitment to ensuring full access to university education, including for students in more financially vulnerable circumstances.
«Raising the “no-tax area” threshold represents a further element of our policies to protect the right to education, alongside measures relating to housing, financial support and services dedicated to students. Our commitment is to broaden access to education and training and ensure continuity throughout students’ academic careers: public universities have a direct responsibility in this area,» explains Marco Orlandi, Rector of the University of Milano-Bicocca.
«The right to education, understood in its broadest sense,» Rector Orlandi continues, «is the cornerstone of efforts to counter inequalities in people’s starting conditions and ensure that everyone can complete their studies under the best possible circumstances. We are convinced that this investment will create lasting value, not only for individuals, but for society as a whole and for the country.»
The financial measure forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen services supporting the right to education and the wellbeing of the student community. Milano-Bicocca continues to invest in university housing and in the quality of residential life, promoting initiatives aimed at making its halls of residence increasingly welcoming and inclusive.
These include an exhibition installed throughout the U42 hall of residence, designed to enhance its shared spaces, and the organisation of sporting and recreational activities such as chess, table tennis and five-a-side football tournaments. As part of the PRO-BEN project — an initiative launched by the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research in 2024 to strengthen the psychological wellbeing of students through the development of individual skills and resources and positive forms of social interaction — the University has begun purchasing sports equipment for bodyweight training.
Milano-Bicocca currently has 831 beds available and is working to establish agreements with private operators in Milan, Monza and Cinisello Balsamo to provide accommodation covered by right-to-education measures. In the latter case, an agreement is currently being finalised under which, in addition to the contracted places — 108 beds by 2028 — the operator will provide approximately 16 further beds at regulated rents, intended for students whose financial circumstances are just above the thresholds for accessing right-to-education benefits.
«As students, we are proud that our University is strengthening initiatives supporting everyone’s right to education, particularly by emphasising the inclusive and empowering role played by universities,» says Eleonora Zanetti, student representative on the Board of Governors. «This measure, which increases the resources available to students, represents a virtuous example of the kind of action that we hope the University will continue to develop, through constructive dialogue with student representatives, to protect the right to education, university spaces and student participation, which are often particularly at risk during the difficult historical and economic period we are currently experiencing.»