Graduation Day for 917 students. Guest of honour: Alex Zanardi

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Graduate caps will fly high in St. Mark’s Square on July Friday 21st for the 917 graduates of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Summer Session). Alex Zanardi will be the special guest of the ceremony.

Programme:

Friday 21st of July 2017
St. Mark’s Square

18.30     Welcome address by the Rector, greetings from authorities, Opening speech by Alex Zanardi
19.10     Bruna Grandese Carlotti awards
19.15     Greetings from the highest ranking Italian and foreign student of the degree session
19.25     Proclamation and Degree presentation
20.15     End of ceremony

More information on www.unive.it/giornodellalaurea

 

Biographical sketch of the guest of honour, Alex Zanardi

Alex Zanardi was born in Bologna on the 23rd of October, 1966. He has dedicated most of his life to sports, beginning his career in automobile racing. He started as a kart driver at 13 years old, succeeding in all minor classes and entering Formula 1 in 1991 behind the wheel of a Jordan. After a race with Minardi and two seasons with Lotus, he transferred to the Indycar series. Driving a Reynard-Honda supported by the Ganassi team, he won everything there was to win: victories, pole, two consecutive titles (1997 and 1998) and great popular appeal. Following a disappointing season with Williams in 1999 in Formula 1, he returned to Indycar with the Nunn team in 2001.  On the Lausitzring circuit in Germany that year, however, he lost both of his legs in an accident, regaining consciousness four days later. Not one to be intimidated, he continued his racing career with BMW in the Turismo category in 2003, racing against non-disabled pilots and winning four titles between 2003 and 2009. He discovered hand biking by chance two years earlier at the New York Marathon and that was the beginning of his second career as a paralympic cyclist. He continued his career as a race-car pilot alongside his new path that brought him to win two gold medals and a silver at the Olympic games in London 2012 and two gold medals and a silver at the Rio Olympics, alongside 8 titles as World champion and the extraordinary participation in the finals of Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. In 2010, he made his debut as a television host on the scientific education programme “E se domani.” He currently hosts Sfide, a programme on sports histories that has a rich history with Rai3, a position he has held since 2012. He lives in the Padova area with his wife Daniela and their eighteen-year-old son Niccolò.