Advising and guidance

Advising and guidance refer to all activities aimed at enabling the prospective student to plan and manage their learning in a way that is consistent with their personal life goals and makes full use of their individual skills and interests to achieve personal fulfilment.

Depending on the stage of the university process at which these activities are carried out, a distinction is made between:

- Advising: carried out before the choice of course of study, it is aimed at prospective students and offers support in identifying the course to be undertaken on the basis of individual interests, expectations and aptitudes. In this phase, the various possible scenarios are presented to the prospective student and the alternatives of the university path are illustrated;
- Guidance: carried out during the university career, it is aimed at enrolled students and is designed to guide them through the courses of study already undertaken, allowing them to establish a better interaction with the structures and the university context;
- Career guidance (see also "Graduating/After graduation"): carried out close to or after graduation, is aimed at graduates or graduating students and is designed to facilitate their introduction into the working environment.

Advising

The first-cycle degre course in Physics organises various orientation and outreach activities aimed at high school students in a well-established tradition. For the academic year 2019-2020, meetings and seminars were held directly in schools, visits to the laboratories of the Physics Hub, internships, and consultancy for school teachers before the lockdown due to the COVID emergency. Due to limitations caused by the COVID emergency, these activities were replaced by meetings conducted on telematic platforms with school students, virtual workshops, seminars and web-based presentations, both live streaming and in the form of downloadable videos.

Career guidance delegate:

Prof. Danilo Bersani
E-mail: danilo.bersani@unipr.it

Prof. Francesco Cugini
E-mail: francesco.cugini@unipr.it

Prof.ssa Antonella Parisini
E-mail: antonella.parisini@unipr.it

For detailed information on all activities, see the Physics advising page.

VIDEO PRESENTATION OF THE DEGREE COURSE

The service is intended to support the appropriate integration and progression of students in the course of study through:
- specific tutoring activities for students enrolled in the first year of the course (e.g. advice on issues relating to preparatory courses, how to attend courses, tutorials and laboratory activities); - assistance in the compilation of individual programmes of study and in the students' choice of the most appropriate course of study; - remedial activities for students in difficulty; - cultural and professional guidance activities; - promotion of students' participation in national and international exchange or mobility programmes.

The availability of tutors (students and teachers) is guaranteed to guide and support students throughout their training, guiding and advising them in their choices and supporting them in the organisation of their studies, with the aim of building a coherent training pathway and preventing delays in the completion of their studies. In particular, they will be available to students:
- student-tutors for a support desk activity (see the relevant page)
- some teacher-tutors, who guarantee their availability to meet the most distressed students through personal interviews (see the relevant page).

See the page on Tutors.

In addition, students may contact the Coordinator of the Teaching Commission, who is always available for clarification and explanation of study plans, and the Course Quality Assurance Officer.

Support is provided for various lectures by students mainly from the PhD in Physics and to a lesser extent from the Second-cycle degree course in Physics. The aim is to facilitate the student's understanding of the topics seen in lectures, to propose more exercises and to help with laboratory exercises.

Meetings will be organised to orientate on the educational pathway choices:
- a meeting for 2nd year students to present the 3rd year elective courses.
- a meeting aimed at third-year students to provide them with all the information regarding the final dissertation and final exam; - a meeting for a detailed presentation of the curricula of the second-cycle degree course, in the presence of a representative group of lecturers holding courses in the Second-cycle degree course in Physics.

Lastly, in conjunction with high schools, the University of Parma has also launched a specific project, the IDEA Project, which involves school teachers in coordination with university teaching staff with a view to supporting the preparation of students enrolled in the first or second year who need disciplinary reinforcement.

See the page with information about the IDEA Project.

However, it is important to emphasise that the favourable ratio between the number of lecturers and students allows for a direct and constant dialogue between students and lecturers for requests, suggestions or reporting problems.