ENGLISH
WHY THIS BLOG?
My name is Roberto Donà. You can frequently find me at Shanghai International Airport. I always carry with me my love for Italy and F.C. Internazionale - my football team.
I have decided to open this blog to publish and disseminate the results of a research project to investigate what Italians living abroad think about Italy.
ITALY: AN INSIDE-OUT PERSPECTIVE
This research was conducted by distributing an online questionnaire to Italians residing abroad, or Italians who have recently completed a period of work (or study) abroad. The questionnaire was completed by 821 of these expatriate Italians.
I conducted this research because I believe that expatriates who have differing lived experiences of working abroad, such as I have, would like to be able to transfer ideas, experiences and projects back to our home country. This wish may come to mind as a consequence of having lived in different contexts, such as working in China.
For those of us who live abroad, going home is often a source of frustration: we see a country that is slow to innovate. We see a country that we would like to be able to help to change.
"ITALIA VIEWED FROM OUTSIDE"is a research project that I have launched in an attempt to answer many of the questions that we, as Italian expatriates, often ask ourselves. This research project has a dual purpose, best summarized with two words: PROBLEMS and SOLUTIONS.
"DO WE ALL AGREE?"
The first result I wanted to find from the research project is to check whether, by analyzing a sample as large and varied as possible of Italians abroad, it was possible to extrapolate homogeneous data. Finding a shared vision of what are the most pressing problems for Italians living outside of Italy would mean being able to highlight the gaps that we expats detect with such urgency. Furthermore, this project may help to develop a strong set of priorities on which to work to bridge these perceived gaps.
The second result is a natural consequence of the first. Once the problem has been identified, the questionnaire aims to identify possible solutions. More precisely, through the study I have tried to emphasize what suggestions expatriate Italians have to solve the problems they have identified. With this project, I have attempted to provide a homogeneous perspective about the future of our beautiful country, by those who have left it.
THE METHOD
In trying to identify a homogeneous vision about the future of our beautiful country, "ITALIA VIEWED FROM OUTSIDE" does not seek to speculate about the future, and does not make any political forecasts.
In 2013, I became a real expatriate by moving to the Chinese region of Jiangsu, joining the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) - the Business School of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJLTU). In my time at XJTLU I have directed the IMBA program and co-directed the International Technology Transfer Centre. I am currently the Director of the Masters of Science in Management, and have been Associate Dean for Corporate Affairs at IBSS since November 2018.
WHO AM I?
I started my academic career in 1990, when I became a lecturer in the School of Management (SDA- School of Management) at Bocconi University in Milan. In the Bocconian environment I grew professionally for over twenty years, managing the programs of the Executive MBA, Global Executive MBA and the double degree in International Management (in cooperation between Bocconi University and Fudan University in Shanghai). In addition to China, I have worked at the Stern School of Business in New York, USA. My international career has also taken me to Argentina, Russia and countless other nations.
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La quarantena è diventata parte della nuova normalità da mettere in conto per viaggiare nel mondo post-pandemico. Ma questo °new normal" porta con sé un carico di ottimismo per chi può tornare a trascorrere le festività in famiglia. Una visione di speranza che guardando all'Italia si accompagna alla conferma di una leadership che va nella direzione che noi Italiani all'estero avevamo auspicato da tempo.