Focolare Movement

After the degree at Sophia

Jan 28, 2016

Are the professional competences offered to SUI students useful to an increasingly complex society? Are its educational objectives aligned with market demands? A first survey on the new graduates’ professional pathways

Sophia_IUS_01Sophia University Institute and the insertion of its graduates in the employment world: a more or less difficult relationship with respect to other academic programs? Eight years after the inauguration of the Sophia University Institute (SUI), the Italian professor of Social Research Methodology, performed a survey starting from these interrogatives. Some observations taken from the survey. The survey sample consisted in the first 80 SUI graduates, those who attended and concluded a two-year course with the achievement of a degree within the year 2014. In the first two months of 2015 this group was asked to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire, drafted to get some essential information on the professional pathways and lifestyles undertaken after their studies in Sophia. Out of a total of young graduates 61 gave their response (75% out of the total) coming from 30 different countries; their collaboration enabled to focus on the value their studies in Sophia played in their quest for a job. Above all the study programme concluded in the foreseen period of two years in 91% of the sample; 81% found a job within six months, and 96% within a year. Today 51% of the degree holders have a stable job, 26% have a temporary job; 62% of the cases have a full-time job, and 26% work part time, while for 13% have a second job. Most of the graduates (63%) are assigned roles of responsibility in companies, public administrations, universities and in other cultural, non-profit agencies: 28% are freelance professionals, entrepreneurs, consultants; 7% are top directors and managers, and 28% work in the field of scientific-cultural education and research. Effectiveness of the educational program, compared to the actual job placement seems to have been confirmed: more than two-thirds of the graduates (68%) think that the SUI programme offered is aligned with the job they now hold. This effectiveness is set in relation to some specific transverse skills the graduates retain to have achieved or strengthened during their studies in Sophia. They mention in particular the capacity to interact in a “plural” context under the cultural and disciplinary profile , and problem-solving skills through the integration of different perspectives and competences, and managing situation of conflict, working in synergy in with other social and cultural players, promoting innovative solutions. To note, lastly, that none of the graduates regretted having undertaken the chosen pathway: 72% would willing redo the course as is, while 28% would redo it and suggest some changes. Among these, they highlighted the lack of apprenticeship and internship available in the two-year programme, a priority targeted by the Institute’s competent Offices. “The analysis of the strong points is very interesting,” Licia Paglione commented, above all studying at Sophia meant getting involved in a programme of discovery and maturation of one’s own relational identity, a pathway that includes and upholds intellectual resources and at the same time imbues the psychological, affective, spiritual and operational dimensions and urges each toward commitment.”  

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Newsletter

Thought of the day

Related post

For a Politics of Fraternity

For a Politics of Fraternity

From 25th January-1st February, 100 young political leaders from 36 countries worked on a politics based on fraternity. Pope Leo: fraternity among you is already a new sign.

Let Justice Flow Like Rivers: A Call to Integral Ecology in Ireland

Let Justice Flow Like Rivers: A Call to Integral Ecology in Ireland

The “Let Justice Flow Like Rivers” Creation Care Conference, held in Newry on 17th January 2026, brought together church leaders, community activists, educators and faith-based organisations from across Ireland for a day of prayer, listening, and shared commitment to care for creation.

Closeness: a bridge to shorten distances

Closeness: a bridge to shorten distances

The presentation of the book “Closeness, a path to peace. Pages of life” written by Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, took place in the Jubilee Hall of LUMSA University (Rome) on the 30th of January 2026. It was a unique opportunity for exchange and dialogue, which aimed to offer a tangible experience of “closeness” with an outlook of hope towards the future.