VSU Executive 2016/17
In a strong display of partecipation and democracy, 94 members of Collegio A Volta have elected the new VSU Executive Committee for 2016/17.
The students elected include 4 undergraduates: Delaram Farzin (Farmacia, yr 4), Paola Pugliese (Medicina Golgi, yr 3), Antonino Incardona (Medicina Golgi, yr 3) and Magnus von Wangenheim (Medicina Harvey, yr 3) and 4 postgraduates: Giuseppe Dipinto (MSc in Scienze Motorie, yr 1), Matteo Turchetti (Biotecnologie Avanzate, yr 1), Silvia Tinelli (PhD student in Ingegneria Civile e Ambentale, yr 3) and Andrea Barone (MSc in Scienze Fisiche, yr 1). In semester 2 Andrea Barone will be replaced by Milena Perrone (prospective trainee in Biochmica e Patologia Clinica). D Farzin will act as President of the Executive. Primary areas of interest of Committee members are: social events (D Farzin), house (P Pugliese), sports (A Incardona) and library/computer/information technology (M von Wangenheim).
The College wishes the new VSU executive a productive and successful year and wishes to thank undergraduate students Giovanna Quadrone and Alessandra Ria and postgrudate members of the College Elmira Khatabakhsh and Carmelo Sgarlata for having stood election and for their readiness to serve in the Committee. Finally, the College wishes to thank all students who actively participated in the debate with candidates and in the election itself.
Medicine
The fifth and final event in the series of meetings between College undergraduate and Course coordinators will take place on Monday the 17th of October and concerns the medical Courses taught at Pavia.
The event will encompass a meeting at 5.30 pm with M Galliano, coordinator of the Medical Course taught in Engish (so-called Harvey Course) followed by a meeting at 6.30 pm with M Valli, coordinator of the Medical Course taught in Italian (so-called Golgi Course). Due to the large number of College undergraduates reading Medicine (both Golgi and Harvey) these two meerings will take place in the College lecture theatre and not in the College board room.
Attendance of these meetings, as for the other meetings of this series, is compulsory for year 1 students and highly recommended for higher year students (year 2 to 6) as the meetings will offer the opportunity to address all issues concerning lectures, practicals and tutorials directly with the Course coordinators.
The poster of the meeting can be downloaded here.
Elections 2016/17
Wednesday 12 October 2016
Another election day has arrived at Volta. The candidates have spoken, The ballot boxes are open, the College would like to thank the staff in the College Office for their support in organising the elections and looks forward to welcoming the new VSU Executive at the end of the day.
Saturday 8th October 2016
General elections for the new VSU Executive Committee will take place on Wednesday the 12th of October from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm. The ballot boxes will be found at the porter's desk and the porter on duty will provide ballot paper and pen.
On Tuesday the 11th of October at 6.00 pm the candidates will meet College students in the lecture theatre.in order to introduce themselves and their ideas for the College. Four undergraduate students and four postgraduate ones twill be elected to the Committee. Each student can vote for one member of the appropriate list: undegrduates elect undergrduate members to the Committee, postgraduates elect postrgraduate ones. The two groups candidates are listed below. The poster of the elections can be downloaded here.
Undergraduates (listed alphabetically)
Delaram Farzin, Farmacia, yr 4
Antonino Incardona, Medicina Golgi, yr 3
Paola Pugliese, Medicina Golgi, yr 3
Giovanna Quadrone, Ingegneria Informatica e Industriale, yr 3
Alessandra Ria, Biologia yr 1
Magnus von Wangenheim, Medicina Harvey, yr 3
Postgraduates (listed alphabetically)
Andrea Barone, Scienze Fisiche, yr 1
Giuseppe Dipinto, Scienze Motorie, yr 1
Elmira Khatabakhsh, Electronic Engineering, yr 1
Milena Perrone, Specializzanda in Biochmica e Patologia Clinica (in attesa di concorso)
Carmelo Sgarlata, Specializzando in Geriatria, yr 4
Silvia Tinelli, Dottorato di Ricerca in Ingegneria Civile e Ambentale, yr 3
Matteo Turchetti, Biotecnologie Avanzate, yr 1
Library Support
The College has received applications from 15 students (12 undergraduates and 3 graduates) willing to contribute to the library service and has considered applications from candidates who have lived and worked in College for at least one year. New members of College who have expressed an interest in contributing to the library service are kindly invited to reapply next year.
The four students appointed to provide library support throughout the academic year 2016/17 (3 undergraduates and 1 graduate) are M Perrone, V Rinaldi, H Alhellani and S Pietrobon.
M Perrone and V Rinaldi will provide service from 10 October 2016 until 24 February 2017. H Alhellani and S Pietrobon will provide service from 27 February 2017 until 27 July 2017.
Service is from Monday to Friday every week except official holidays and is from 6.00 to 7.00 pm in the small office next to the College board room located on ground floor close to the entrance hall. New students who need help, can ask the porter on duty for directions. Suggestions or complaints concerning the library service should be addressed directly to the College Director.
Computers, Printers and Network
28 November 2016
This is the second and last part of the update about the College computers, printers and general IT support at Volta. The College would like to thank the staff in the College Office - Chiara Monlarini and Stefania Longo and contract engineers Luca Ruzza and Davide Busnelli for their work toward this project and convey the following additional informationn to students:
Computers. Responsibility for College computers has now been transferred to an external computer engineering company that has responsiblity for maintaning both hardware and software. The six College PCs are loaded with the following software packages:. The four College iMacs are loaded with the following software: Open Office, Acrobat Reader, Safari and Chrome. Students have responsibility for transferring/removing their data at the end of each session. Personal files left on communal College computers will be removed regularly as these computers are not deemed to act as storage devices. Request for new software and problems with computer access or performance should be submitted to the College Office or the College Director.
Printers. The two Nashuatec printers now available have been tested extensively and perform well. Both printers can also be uses as scanners and instructions on how to do so are posted in each of the computer rooms. Requests for replacement cartridges - when ink levels become low - and any other problem should be submitted to the College Office.
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8 October 2016
This is the first part of a post in order to update all College members about computers, printers and IT support at Volta.
Computer Rooms. The two main computer rooms (S72 in the South wing and G207 in the North wing are equipped with several PCs, details of which will be given tn the second part of the post and 4 iMacs: 2 in G207 collegiovolta_1 and collegiovolta_2, iMac1 and iMac2 for short) and 2 in S72 (collegiovolta_3 and collegiovolta_4, iMac3 and iMac4 for short). Both iMac1 and iMac2 have been misused and are being reconfigured although iMac1 remains usable. iMac3 and iMac4 only require minor reconfiguration.
Mice and Keyboards. The mice and keyboards of iMac1 and iMac2 require batteries and, when flat, students are required to take the hardware to the porter’s desk where they can be fitted with new batteries. The mice and keyboards of iMac3 and iMac4 are rechargeable and, when flat, students are required to collect the connecting cable from the porter’s desk, recharge and return the cable to the porter on duty. Such connecting cables are no longer left in room S72 because several have been stolen.
Data Storage. The College computers, whether iMacs or PCs are not for data external. External drives are extremely cheap and students are expected to keep/transfer their data on their own external drives or on web but not on the College computers. There are a few folders floating on the desktops of iMac1, iMac3 anD iMac4 These will be discarded on Monday the 17th of October. The data owners, therefore, should transfer the data to their own external device before the 17th of October.
Printers. The College has replaced old(er) printers with two high-performance Nashuatec MP400 and MP500 printers (one in room S72 and one in room G207). The printer in S72 is operational. The printer in G207 will be operational on 17 October 2016 as the installation of a new wifi switch is required. These printers connect wirelessly to the iMacs and PCs from which students can print. The printers operate via a card system; cards are available from the College office. Students load their own paper onto the printer in order to avoid (past) abuse of communal paper.
Troubleshooting. The College computers, printers and the wifi network are maintained by external contractors who also ensure upgrades of the system and educational software present on the computers. Problems of any kind should be reported to the College office. Damage to College computers, printers and wife switches will be recovered from the students financial depostis.
Pharmaceutical Sciences
The fourth event in the series of meetings between College undergraduate and Course coordinators will take place on Thursday the 6th of October at 6.30 pm. B Conti and M Torre coordinators of the undegraduate Courses in Chemisrty and Pharmaceutical Technology and Pharmaceutica Sciences - respectively - will attend and will introduce briefly both Courses.
Attendance of the meeting is compulsory for year 1 students and is highly recommended for higher year students (year 2 to 5) as the meeting will offer the opportunity to address all issues concerning lectures, practicals and tutorials directly with the Course coordinators.
The poster of the meeting can be downloaded here.
Biology & Biotechnology
The third event in the series of meetings between College undergraduate and Course coordinators will take place on Thursday the 6th of October at 5.30 pm. E De Rossii, coordinator of the undegraduate Course in Biology will attend and will introduce briefly both the Biology and Biotechnology BA Courses offered by the Department of Biology and Biotechnology.
Attendance of the meeting is compulsory for year 1 students and is highly recommended to year 2 and 3 undegraduates as the meeting will offer the opportunity to address any issue concerning lectures, practicals and tutorials directly with the Course coordinator.
The poster of the meeting can be downloaded here.
Graduate Union
Collegio A Volta wishes to promote a broad Graduate Union at the University of Pavia.
Universities across the world have built over the years Graduate Unions/Councils that endeavour to offer young members of the University the opportunitis to meet, exchange research ideas and proposals, organise social events and network with equivalente bodies at other Institututions The proposal of Collegio Volta is for creating a Graduate Union at the University of Pavia along the above lines and for enabling the PhD students, research-minded medical trainees and post-doctoral fellows at Pavia to take centre stage in the life and work of the University.
The meeting will be attended, among others, by Prof R Bottinelli, Deputy Chancellor for Research at the University of Pavia and will take place on Friday the 7th of October at 6.00 pm in the main lecture theatre of Collegio A Volta (17, via Ferrata, Pavia). The poster of the event can be downloaded here. All interested participants are welcome.
Construction Engineering
The second event in the series of meetings between College undergraduate and Course coordinators will take place on Tuesday the 4th of October at 6.30 pm. C Berizzi, coordinator of the undegraduate Course in Ingegneria Edile e Architettura (Construction Engineering and Architecture) will attend and will introduce briefly both the Course the Course above and Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, the second undergraduate Course offereef by the Department of Construction and Environmental Engineering.
Attendance of the meeting is compulsory for year 1 students and is highly recommended to year 2 and 3 undegraduates as the Bioengineering has proved to be challenging for several College members and the meeting offers the opportunity to address any issue concerning lectures, practicals and tutorials directly with the Course coordinator,
The poster of the meeting can be downloaded here.
Bioengineering
The first of a series of meetings between College undergraduate and Course coordinators will take place on Tuesday the 4th of October at 5.45 pm. P Magni, coordinator of the undegraduate BA Course in Bioengineering will attend and will introduce briefly the Course followed by questions and answers from students.
Attendance of the meeting is compulsory for year 1 students and is highly recommended to year 2 and 3 undegraduates as the Bioengineering has proved to be challenging for several College members and the meeting offers the opportunity to address any issue concerning lectures, practicals and tutorials directly with the Course coordinator,
The poster of the meeting can be downloaded here.
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Hidden Lives
Hidden is a film trilogy scheduled in the evening during Freshers's week 2016/17. The trilogy, introduced on October 3rd at 9.00 pm by film critic R Lasagna addresses the the hidden world underneath everyday’s life and uses two recent Italian films and a German one in order to address the issues
In the first of the three films scheduled (G Piccioni's Giulia non esce la sera (2009); starring: V Golino and V Mastrandrea, on Monday, October 3rd at 9.30 pm) a successful writer meets a women who has an untold story beyond her apparent reluctance to date the main character of the film.
In D Gansel. Die welle (The Wave, 2008), starring: J Vogel, M Riemelt, J Ulrich and F Lau, Wednesday 5 October. 9.00 pm), D Gansel challenges the notion of the irreversibility of the pursue of individual freedom and democracy and analyses how a classroom can gradually be moved to a very different and unforeseen group beahviours.
In B Bertolucci. Io e te (2012), starring: T Falco and J Olmo, Friday 7 October. 9.00 pm, B Bertolucci portrays a teenager who searches for loneliness but is reached by a drug-addicted stepsister to whom he gradually unfolds his inner world in the search for a more mature and open personality.
The main characters of the three movies are all young and live - or search for a life - distinct from the 'visible' one. G Piccioni, D Gansel and B Bertolucci show what may lie below the surface of daily life and offer a powerful account of the vast, hidden world of adolescents and young adults.
The poster of the film trilogy can be downloaded here.
English Courses 2016/17
In a meeting at EDiSU yesterday (October 28th), the starting dates and schedule of the Volta English Courses have been finalised. The Courses at Volta will involve three classes (B1, B2 and C1) twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday, the first of which will take off at 5.30 pm, and starting on Tuesday the 15th of November.
Further details will be sent to the students involved by email.
Studying English has become a regular feature of the life and work of many students of Volta. The College firmly believes that it is essential for any of its students to acquire a full mastership of the English language in order to enhance academic results during the degree Course and be better placed for the job market after the degree.
The declared ambition of the College is to take every student whose level of English is below a C1 to achieve this level at the end of the degree, a result that may take up to three years for students who enter College with A1/A2 English. Students are initially tested for their English through a rigorous online examination and placed in an appropriate class depending upon the results of their entrance test. English teaching at Volta takes place late in the afternoon or in the evening with the first classes starting at 5.30 pm.
The College has been fairly successfull in negotiating reasonable Course fees with local private Language Schools that have provided the teachers for the College classes and, starting from from 2015/16, EDiSU has contributed to the cost of the English Courss partial funding the Courses. The cost for the Courses in 2015/16 has been € 200 per year and teh College hopes that the figure may be even lower in 2016/17. The poster of the English Courses can be downloaded here.
How to Succeed at University
The students of Collegio A Volta are expected to reach and surpass the general requirements set by EDiSU, the general body that manages University Colleges at Pavia and that aims to widen and promote access to Higher Education. The goals of Volta and the other Colleges active at Pavia are set against a background in which a high proportion of freshers abandon their Courses after the 1st year at University and a further and significant proportion of students only complete their degree with a significant delay.
Collegio Volta is actively involved in searching for and addressing the causes for the high drop out reate and the delay in completing the degree Courses that students at Pavia experience. Further the College wishes to encourage its students to make a successful transition from their pre-University school to University life and has requested BG Smale and J Fowlie (both at Brighton University) to lecture in College. BG Smale and J Fowlie are the authors of: How to succeed at University, a highly successful book that contains a wealth of information on how students should organise their life and study and how they should present their academic work.
The BG Smale and J Fowlie lecture will take place on October 5th in the main College lecture theatre at 5.00 pm. The poster of the lecture can be downloaded here. A synopsis of the talk can be downloaded here.
Freshers' week 2016/17
The first week of October is a very busy week at Collegio A Volta. So-called Freshers' week starts with the Annual College Assembly in which College discusses the work achieved during the previous academic year and outlines plans for the forthcoming one both in terms of academic work, sport activity, extra-curricular development, house and community developments, rules and regulations, etc.
Key components of Freshers's week are a series of meerings between College students and the University lecturers in charge of selected undergraduate Courses. In 2016/17 5 the programme includes six meetings scheduled over three different days and focusing on the following Courses: Bioengineering (1 Course), Construction Engineering (2 Courses), Biology and Biotechnology (2 Course), Pharmaceutical Sciences (2 Courses) and Medicine (2 Courses).
A highlight of the 2016/17 Freshers' week is a lecture over the web given by BG Smale and J Fowlie of Brighton University, the authors of a very successful book (How to succeed at University) that offers notable advice to freshers the world over. Their Volta lecture will focus special on Personal Development Plans, a major tool that Volta will introduce starting from 2016/17.
Additional components of Votla Freshers' week are a the foundation meeting for a University-wide Graduate Union, Health & safety induction and several social activities.
The General Assembly will take place on Monday October 3rd in the manin College lecture theatre at 6.00 pm. The poster of the full programme of Freshers' week can be downloaded here. College students are reminded that attendance of the General Assembly, the Health & Safety indiction and the meeting with Course coordinators are compulsory.
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