SHARED FEARS AND SHARED SOLUTIONS: THE ROLE OF TUTORING IN FACING FUTURE UNCERTAINTY TOGETHER. THE UNIVERSITY OF MILANO-BICOCCA TUTORING PROGRAM ADDRESSING TUTORS’ AND STUDENTS’ FUTURE CONCERNS

In contemporary societies, characterized by globalization, profound social transformations, rapid technological development, and the effects of global economic and financial crises, the ways in which individuals plan and shape their life and career trajectories are undergoing significant changes. These dynamics have made decision-making processes related to educational and career choices increasingly complex, highlighting the crucial role of guidance services in helping students develop greater awareness of their choices and in designing realistic, sustainable pathways aligned with their interests, motivations, and aspirations. From this perspective, career services play a key role in fostering recognition and development of both individual and social resources needed to navigate increasingly complex, rapidly changing educational and professional contexts. Within this framework, the University of Milano-Bicocca has implemented the Peer-to-Peer Tutoring Project, which currently involves approximately 150 senior tutors. The tutors are senior students enrolled in Master’s programs who receive specific training and ongoing supervision to effectively support their peers. The project aims to facilitate students’ integration into the university environment, reduce feelings of isolation, and promote the development of autonomy and future-oriented planning. Tutoring activities are delivered through online consultations (via e-mail or e-learning platforms), individual meetings, and group sessions, with the goal of supporting the development of strategies and resources to cope with the complexity and uncertainties of the present. Particular attention within the tutor training program is devoted to exploring and reflecting on fears and concerns about the future. The training primarily focuses on the tutors themselves, encouraging reflection on their own representations of the future, their fears, and their personal resources. This process aims to enhance tutors’ awareness and competencies so that they can, in turn, better support students in addressing their own concerns and in developing future-oriented life projects. In this sense, the training is conceived as a “thinking gym”, aimed at helping tutors imagine and make sense of possible futures, while promoting a renewed culture of guidance and career. The training interventions included practical activities focused on future planning, combined with moments of reflection, interaction, and exchange among participants. The presentation will illustrate the methodologies adopted and the results of qualitative analyses of the training activities, with particular attention to changes in participants’ levels of fear and concern about the future, as well as to the levels of hope fostered through the tutoring project.