The lockdown didn’t stop learning. My thoughts on KeepONLearning

It was 18 March when KeepONLearning made its debut on the website of MIP Politecnico di Milano. A project that, as you can surmise from the name, set out to reaffirm the importance of continuous and lifelong learning. Now, after four months, this experience is coming to an end. Ahead of the September reopening of the MIP campus, it’s time to take stock of this adventure, which saw the involvement of a vast community of students, companies, professors, partners and gave life to a series of events and appointments.

Everything began in February, when Covid-19 forced us to close the campus doors: in that moment, we had no doubt about what to do. MIP couldn’t stop. Just the opposite.

Precisely in such a complex moment it was fundamental to continue to offer contents and analyses to remain in touch with our stakeholders and allow them to continue learning. A first step involved the transfer of the entire educational offering online, in order to not interrupt courses: a challenge that wasn’t simple, even though we have always believed in the educational potential of digital learning, which for years has been one of the pillars of our offering.  

After this beginning, two weeks later in mid March, we officially launched KeepONLearning. The initiative filled the MIP site with numerous contents made available by our stakeholders: articles, webinars, online courses, talks with professors and managers, operational tools, in-depth analyses. A real bouquet of knowledge that addressed important topics like smart working, the impact of Covid-19 on companies and the supply chain, the help that can come from artificial intelligence, the management of digital innovation during the emergency, even in a crucial sector like healthcare, and much more, with the participation of multinationals like Microsoft, Lamborghini, Pirelli, and internationally renowned personalities like Carlo Cottarelli.

There were numerous participants for over 90 live webinars, over 20,000. And, thanks to KeepONLearning, the MIP site saw its visits increase by over 60% compared to the same period of the year earlier. Numbers that on one hand underscore MIP’s commitment to its mission of spreading knowledge in its community, on the other the great need we all have of up-to-date skills in a global context characterized by rapid-fire change.

So, we can’t do anything else but thank the people who trusted in us and believed (and believe) in the importance of education even in these difficult moments. A thought also goes to the staff of MIP: without the commitment, the participation, and the enthusiasm of these people, KeepONLearning wouldn’t have been possible.

KeepONLearning is closing (not surprisingly) just when the doors of MIP are reopening. Indeed, in September we’ll resume hosting people from around the world who are ready to exchange innovative ideas and points of view in our classrooms and other spaces, in complete security. The password, this time, will be “Nice to MIP You”. We’ll reopen with the wealth of knowledge and discoveries gained in these last months. As we presented KeepONLearning we had expressed the hope of meeting up soon, more united and prepared; now we can say that moment has come.

And, while we’ve never stopped, we can’t wait to start again. All together.