(ANS – Mestre) – The Salesian University Institute of Venice (IUSVE), part of the Salesian Don Bosco complex in Mestre, celebrated its Dies Academicus on the afternoon of Thursday, February 19, 2026, in the university’s Aula Magna. The event served as a time of encounter, reflection, and sharing in academic life, as well as the formal opening of the new academic year.

Two new elements characterized the 2026 edition: the involvement of students and faculty in organizing the entire event, and the presentation of criteria for the use of artificial intelligence. In the coming months, these criteria will lead to the development of official guidelines drafted by a commission with the active participation of students, as a concrete expression of educational co-responsibility.

“The co-construction of the Dies Academicus and the shared launch of a process aimed at generating ethical, scientific, and institutional guidance for the use of Artificial Intelligence in the university environment,” said the Director of IUSVE, Fr. Nicola Giacopini, “express our way of being an academic community: a place where students and professors think together about the present and take responsibility for the future together.”

The afternoon wove together reflections, experiences, and perspectives, all oriented toward looking to the future with responsibility and hope. The opening address, entitled “Drawing New Maps of Hope: Living in the Present, Inhabited by the Future,” was accompanied by remarks from the Director of IUSVE, Prof. Giacopini; Prof. Domenico Simeone of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan; and Prof. Flavio Ceravolo of the University of Pavia.

During the inauguration of the academic year, the annual report on university activities was presented, along with testimonies from members of the IUSVE community. Merit awards, scholarships, and the Lions Club Mestre Host Thesis Awards were also presented. The day concluded with the Solemn Academic Ceremony formally proclaiming the opening of the new academic year, followed by a reception that renewed the bonds of fraternity among all those present.