„It is not only the amount of knowledge that is transmitted that is important but the way to share it. Sharing knowledge must be a tool to increase it.”

EduEvo: At the very beginning, can you please introduce yourself and tell us more about you as a person.

Prof. Paola Paoloni: My name is Paola Paoloni and I am professor of Business administration at Sapienza, University of Rome, in Italy.
La Sapienza is one of the oldest Italian universities, founded in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII. In the seven centuries since its foundation, it has been at the center of the history of Rome and of the country, first as a university linked to the Vatican, then as an autonomous Studium Urbis, gradually extending its academic prestige to new scientific and humanistic disciplines. Today La Sapienza is the largest university in Europe and is characterized as a research university where you can do research and study in all disciplinary sectors. In international rankings, La Sapienza is recognized among the top Italian universities. For me it is a real honor to teach at this prestigious university which is also the same university where I graduated. Teaching in the same classrooms where you were a student when you were young is very rewarding and engaging.

EduEvo: How did you start your career?

Prof. Paola Paoloni:  I have always cultivated the passion of sharing everything I learned with others. Unshared knowledge is a wasted and useless resource for me. I graduated in economics from La Sapienza University in Rome (where I now teach) with a thesis in business administration, which is the subject that I studied through a PhD at the University of Urbino, one of the oldest universities in Europe. Since 2003 I have taught in various universities in Italy and Europe, always sharing my passion for economics. The sharing of knowledge through personal and professional relationships that implements the enthusiasm for learning and teaching … which often coincide when you do this job with love. I learned a lot from the many guys I met on my path, and I owe them the desire to keep doing it.

EduEvo: How can the present educational system be improved?

Prof. Paola Paoloni: In this difficult moment for the whole world characterized by a strong pandemic crisis we are actually presented with a great opportunity, just as behind every crisis there is a strong possibility of development, growth and improvement I believe that this is the right time to implement the educational and training system through the intelligent use of new tools such as new technologies and knowledge of new languages.
These tools can support a flow of information and knowledge distributed in a homogeneous way to all social and generational categories to improve mutual understanding and sharing. New issues such as circular economy and climatic aspects, the consideration of differences and the protection of minorities should be more widespread. Facilitating exchange programs between nations and between continents to know and love new cultures should be made mandatory.

EduEvo: What does education mean to you?

Prof. Paola Paoloni: Teaching for me consists in providing the necessary tools to stimulate curiosity for knowledge. Stimulating curiosity makes young people free and strong. It is not just a matter of notions to increase culture but tools to interpret such notions in a critical way and develop new ones.
Web-based technologies and digital culture have become an essential part of our teaching activities as well as being a main topic for many scholars and policy makers. Social media offer a series of tools, conveyed through the PC, that allow people or companies to create, share or exchange information, career interests, ideas and images/videos within communities and virtual networks. Virtual technologies can open up new opportunities for all female entrepreneurs and encourage the creation of new businesses thanks to their flexibility and easy transmission of information. This “new possibility” that is added to the traditional ones used to create networks and increase the company’s competitive advantage, in particular moments (such as the spread of the coronavirus) can become the “only possibility” of survival for these companies.
What before the coronavirus was considered only a mean to take care of personal relationships, can turn into the only possibility to create relationships and stay connected with the world while taking care of one’s psychological and social balance.

EduEvo: What kind of advice would you give the youngsters being at the very beginning of their educational career?

Prof. Paola Paoloni: To always be curious and experiment with new methods to attract the attention of those ahead. It is not only the amount of knowledge that is transmitted that is important but the way to share it. Sharing knowledge must be a tool to increase it. You have to work hard and always aim to improve … never get bored but smile and have fun because in this way even those who are with us will have fun learning.