The personal history of the Righetti family is intertwined in many ways with the history of vocational education in Italy and, more recently, with that of this vocationally oriented school and training institute, which celebrates its 44 year of activity this year.
1977 - The Istituto Benigno Zaccagnini was founded in Bologna by the mother of Giorgio Righetti, the current director, to provide school tuition, mainly in the health sector, and vocationally-oriented training courses operating in an educational scene which was in great turmoil and confusion in those years and that was the context the school had to operate in.
1991 - Young Giorgio Righetti took over the Institute and decided to reorganize it to concentrate on the teaching of optics and optometry.
One of the first decisions he made as Head of the Institute, taking full responsibility for the school, was to extend the curriculum to include optometry, as he understood that this subject, which was not yet compulsory, was the natural evolution of optics. At that time, the direction that the Institute's activities would take over time became clear, with a constant commitment to innovation and the pursuit of quality.
1992 - The Institute was named after Benigno Zaccagnini, a prominent politician who was instrumental in the reconstruction of the country after World War II.
1996 - The first edition of the Congress was launched. It became the meeting point for optics, optometry, ophthalmology and the new disciplines that, in different ways, address eye health and vision quality, acquiring the right to call itself Interdisciplinary and contributing to enriching the School's cultural and professional panorama and expanding its reach.
1999 - In those years of great change brought about by the pressure of innovation resulting from the rise of large-scale retail distribution, there was a lot of tension in the optics distribution system - still traditional in nature - due to potential competition from retail chains and possible repercussions on relations with the industry and the structure of the profession. The Institute took note of the industry's attention to the issue and promoted and organised a conference in Bologna: "The New Rules for Success in the Optics Market", attended by well-known retail experts who opened a wide-ranging debate on the subject.
2000 - In the wake of the success of that initiative, Giorgio Righetti decided to launch a new division: the ZBS Business School - Master Area, that he inaugurated with a conference in Bologna: "Focus on the Optician's Point of Sale", which presented a detailed analysis of the sales mechanisms of optical retail and the size and type of players involved. In the meantime, the experience acquired with the ZBS Business School was fundamental during the 2000/2010 CME season during which the division took up a leading role.
2004 - On the basis of a census of optical retail business carried out by various research agencies and an analysis of the collected data, the Institute carried out a comprehensive study and acquired the knowledge necessary to provide services and assistance to schools and businesses in keeping with the times and expectations. This process led to the publication of a book containing the results of the survey and to the creation of a specific course in retail marketing and organization, which supplemented the curriculum of the two-year optics course.
2012 - In anticipation of the announced changes in the discipline of orders and professions, and with the help of a group of international experts, the Institute recognized what the most advanced countries in Europe were doing and began a profound reflection on the tasks and challenges facing schools as they confronted globalisation and the information revolution, resulting in the development of its own vision. This led to a rethinking and rescheduling of courses and curricula, an increase in the range and quality of educational equipment and a new approach to relations with students and business partners.
2013 - The Interdisciplinary Congress on the topic: "The age of seeing" was attended by a large number of speakers from the Schools of Optometry of British Universities, resulting in closer relations with the Anglo-Saxon academic world and leading to the creation of the Aston project.
With a large number of students from the two-year optometry course checking the eyesight of visitors, the Institute participated for the first time in JOB&Orienta, the most important Italian trade fair for school and career guidance.
The classrooms of the school in Via Ghirardini were cabled, provided with Wi-Fi facilities and equipped for the use of Virtual Learning systems. A new IBZaccagnini Vision Sciences Department was created to monitor research and teaching activities in the field of optometry.
2014 - From the close relationship with the British optometry community and in particular with the Aston University in Birmingham, the only English degree course in Healthcare "BSc in Optometry and Clinical Practice" in Italy came to life, with students being able to stay in Birmingham for clinical practice.
2016 - The digitalisation of all the educational processes and, above all, of the relationships between the school and the students began during the year and was brought to completion in the first few months of 2017, thus laying the technological and conceptual foundations for implementing courses based on Blended Learning Methodology.
Everything, from access badges to the school and to library services, laboratories and secretarial services, to the logbook, etc., will be governed by the IT system based on one of the most advanced and efficient platforms in use in the schooling and academic system.
The first students of the BSc in Optometry and Clinical Practice, the degree course in Optometry, graduated in July 2016 in Birmingham in a festive proclamation ceremony.
Over the years, the Interdisciplinary Congress has become the meeting point between the Anglo-Saxon university-based optometry and optometry education and profession in Italy through international bodies such as the IACLE and BCLA that contributed to this partnership.
2017 - The cycle of certifications for Quality Policy is successfully completed with UNI EN ISO 9001:2015, sector EA 37 applied to education and more specifically in the field of "Design and delivery of qualifying training activities, professional specialisation, continuing and permanent education in the technical-scientific field of the health professions and related sectors" (29 May 2017).
2018 - The Institute achieved a prestigious goal with the opening of the school campus in Milan, Via Daniele Crespi 9, located in a multipurpose cultural centre in the centre of Milan - Corso Genova, where new educational and training activities will be added. Milan - the metropolitan city and the region of Lombardy - besides being the largest optics market in Italy is also the hub of the ophthalmic industry and optical retail employers, with new developments to come.
2019 - The Institute completed the regional accreditation process for the school in Milan and obtained the regional and national authorisation for the two-year post-secondary school course qualifying as a professional optician.
