The graduation ceremony for the first 22 graduates of the Bachelor’s Degree in Health Care was held at the Gorizia Campus. The event held great significance for the area, since these are the first fully trained healthcare assistants in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the forerunners for future generations of students who will follow the same path.

Among the keynote speeches, Fabio Barbone, coordinator of the degree course, emphasised the strategic importance of the choice of Gorizia as the location for this course: ‘The choice of Gorizia proves the centrality of this UniTS-UniUD inter-university degree course in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Health care assistants are figures that are in great demand in our region, for which they play an essential role.’

The Bachelor’s Degree in Health Care, inaugurated in the 2021/2022 academic year and active in Gorizia from the following year, has rapidly established itself as an ideal pathway for students interested in public health, epidemiology, health psychology and the promotion of healthy behaviour, responding to the growing demand for professionals in the field of prevention and the promotion of health. During the ceremony, Francesca Larese, lecturer and former coordinator of the course, recalled the challenges faced during the pandemic period: ‘The course started in the Covid era with great enthusiasm, now a cycle has been completed with graduates that are much needed in the Region. The challenges of prevention are many and urgent.'

The healthcare assistant is a key professional in prevention and the promotion of health, working in public and private settings. The main contexts of employment include prevention departments, community homes, addiction and mental health services, schools and care homes. the high demand for these figures in the area ensures that new graduates have an immediate entry into the world of work.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Manlio Palei, Head of the Prevention Service of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Antonio Poggiana, Director of local health services (ASUGI), Chiara Gatta, Deputy Mayor of Gorizia, and Leonardo Alberto Sechi, Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Udine, confirming the importance of this course for the health and well-being of the regional community.