The MERITA Network of Higher Education University launches its first vodcast: “MERITA, when it’s worth it”
Six episodes will be available every Wednesday, starting June 11, on major listening platforms and on the websites of the universities participating in the project. The episodes will focus on academic life, from studying to research, from inclusion to mobility: a journey through the stories of those who make university a place truly worth experiencing
MERITA – the Network for Talent, which brings together five Italian universities of excellence, today launches its first vodcast: “MERITA, when it's worth it”.
A vodcast is a story that comes to life through voice and images: a direct, intimate, and accessible tool to bring the public closer to authentic, lived, and shared stories. With this project, the vodcast gives voice to those who animate the university every day with passion, commitment, and vision: students, teachers, researchers, and doctoral students.
Behind the project are the five founding schools of the Network: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa (lead partner), Scuola Normale Superiore, Collegio Superiore dell'Università di Bologna, Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori dell'Università di Padova, and Scuola Superiore di Studi Avanzati della Sapienza Università di Roma.
Each episode of the vodcast tackles one of the central themes of academic life—from study to research, from inclusion to mobility, to internationalization and orientation—offering a direct, personal, and often unexpected perspective on the university and what makes it a unique and transformative experience.
It starts with professors and directors reflecting on the values of higher education: social mobility, inclusion, and merit. Then we discover seasonal schools, true interdisciplinary laboratories, described by a professor from the Galilean School. This is followed by the story of a student from the Normale who faces the challenges of women in STEM subjects, followed by a testimony on international mobility from a student at Sant'Anna. The podcast closes with an episode in which a student from La Sapienza recounts his experience in the MEMO project, dedicated to promoting talent in the most fragile contexts, and another in which a PhD student from the Collegio Superiore talks about the importance of global education and the opportunities offered by MERITA.
All episodes end with a simple but powerful question: “What do you think really matters in life?” The answers, intimate and often surprising, reveal dreams, values, and hopes. They remind us that behind every choice and every effort, there is always something that is truly worthwhile.
“MERITA, quando ne vale la pena (MERITA, when it's worth it) was created to give a voice to the people who live our schools,” explains Sara Barsanti, operational coordinator of the MERITA network, “by recounting experiences of commitment, growth, and passion. Because university is not just a place of study, but a journey of personal transformation, where stories, made up of doubts, dreams, obstacles, and daily achievements, have the power to inspire those who listen.”
The vodcast is available free of charge on all major listening platforms and on the websites of the universities participating in the project. Episodes are published every Wednesday, with a new voice, a new story, and a new answer to the question that unites us all.
All episodes are available here: https://open.spotify.com/show/64PHVZNjMEplsXCZVRSavN
Stay tuned…
The MERITA vodcast does not stop there: five more episodes are in the works and scheduled for release in the coming months. They will offer a more in-depth look at the educational programs, research projects, and campus life of the five schools involved in the talent network.
