The Zaccagnini Institute: Schools of Optics and Optometry
Founded in Bologna in 1977 and expanded to Milan in 2018, with specialized Optometry Courses in Turin and Venice, the Zaccagnini Institute is the only versatile vision care educational network in Italy. It is the leading school for opticians and optometrists in Italy by number of enrollments – 600 – including both Italian and international students.
This primacy is not solely
based on the number of professionals who graduated but also on the Zaccagnini Institute's definition of a "Good School". This idea is based on t
he recognition of academic merit and the principle that every student who drops out or fails to reach their full learning potential is a failure for the school. Therefore, the Institute provides a broad range of teaching support and instructional assistance,
resulting in a graduation rate of 96.3%, significantly higher than the national average of 88.5%.
Opticians graduated annually in Italy and the National Educational System
On the subject of graduated opticians, in the last academic year 2023/2024, 166 students obtained the Optician Qualification (as per Article 140 of the Consolidated Text, Royal Decree No. 1265 of 1934), and 100 qualified opticians completed the Optometry Specialization Courses.
To sum up,
the optical industry gained 266 new professionals from the Zaccagnini Institute, including 166 opticians and 100 optometrists (Law 4/2013). The significance of this number is further emphasized when compared to the output of the entire national educational system, both public and private, including universities.
The exact number of Italian opticians who qualify annually is not publicly disclosed by the Ministry of Health, but it is estimated that this number struggles to cover the vacancies left by opticians exiting the workforce due to age or other reasons. Based on these premises, the annual number of opticians qualified by the educational system is estimated to range between 650 and 700 (including private candidates and graduates in optics and optometry), which is decidedly inadequate to support the growth of the entire sector. Additionally, the number of students enrolling in optician courses has been consistently declining for years, not because students are choosing seemingly alternative paths.
Graduates in Optics and Optometry from 2018 to 2022
The number of graduates from the seven universities offering the Optics and Optometry degree course is low and declining. The Alma Laurea Interuniversity Consortium has validated this data, which shows a 46.7% decrease in graduates between 2018 and 2022.
In 2018, the seven universities awarded 250 degrees in Optics and Optometry. In 2022, these same universities awarded 128 degrees. Essentially, even if the initial figure in 2018 was already low,
the number of graduates with a bachelor's degree in optometry and optics has halved in the last four years.
The following table summarizes the data and results from the seven universities, calculated using the available data on the website www.almalaurea.it. It shows that the decline was not uniform and, in some cases, significantly exceeded the average.
2018-2022: The Dynamics of Graduates in Optics and Optometry
from the Seven Universities Offering the Course |
| |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Var % 2022/2018 |
| Bicocca, MI |
60 |
59 |
34 |
44 |
17 |
-71,70 |
| Firenze |
20 |
16 |
17 |
23 |
15 |
-25,00 |
| Roma Tre |
31 |
15 |
18 |
27 |
26 |
-16,10 |
| Federico II, NA |
33 |
22 |
17 |
11 |
30 |
-9,10 |
| Padova |
35 |
24 |
30 |
23 |
12 |
-65,70 |
| Salento, LE |
37 |
27 |
27 |
20 |
15 |
-59,50 |
| Torino |
24 |
19 |
32 |
21 |
13 |
-45,80 |
| Totale |
240 |
182 |
175 |
169 |
128 |
-46,70 |
The central role of the Educational System in the continuity of optics
The data unequivocally demonstrate that it is the public and private educational system that graduates the qualified opticians necessary to ensure the continuity of the optical sector.
The Zaccagnini Institute, which trains and licenses more than 25% of optics and optometrists, is the primary reference
for those seeking to enter the profession of optician and optometrist and the key source for employers hiring these specialists. The Institute
serves an irreplaceable role in the field of optical school and optometric training, which should be supported and defended by the sector.
Furthermore, in recent years, many new schools of optics and optometry have emerged, taking inspiration from, and in some cases faithfully copying, the Zaccagnini Institute’s website and media. Some have replicated our weekly timetable as well as our chosen names for the subjects, which, in ministerial decrees, have a different representation.
The Zaccagnini Institute is delighted to serve as an inspiration for those who do not know or understand how to design and implement optician courses. This attests to IBZ primacy.
Fortunately, those who replicate without comprehending the rationale behind every decision and how to concretize a statement or principle will always remain a counterfeit, often not even a copyright fake.
Those who do not live by their own values and abilities do not achieve results but rather impoverish the world to which they appeal.
