College Life
The one of a kind experience of college life
Living in College has little to do with living in an apartment.
In college, students often have meals and study together, and create such solid bonds to last a lifetime. There are many activities students can take part of: tutoring activities held by older students, the College Choir, sports tournaments, conferences and courses, excursions. Last but not least, Goliardy brings on the College’s traditions, offering a series of group activities for the first few months that allow first year students to know each other and develop a sense of belonging.
During the 2024/2025 academic year, the students of the College organized several series of conferences, hosted in the College's Aula Magna and open to the entire student community of the university, with the help of ACERSAT funds made available by the University of Pavia.
For many years, the Student Association has promoted various types of conferences, from the Marco Fraccaro Lecture to important seminars on student health and well-being.
In addition, the Colleges regularly offer free or discounted courses and tutorials, which constitute a tangible added value to the college community.
Every year, summer in Pavia is animated by the vivacity of college parties and balls. Cairoli College’s party is one of the most popular and it stands out for its elegance. The event takes place in the College garden: it involves a buffet, refined cocktails, live music by a blues band and, finally, a DJ set.
Students can decide to join the College’s teams for the following sports: football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, tennis, beach volley, cross country and dragon boat (rowing). Each of these teams is partner of the CUS and regularly takes part in tournaments with all the other colleges.
Sport at Cairoli is a great chance to get involved with and meet people from other colleges and faculties.
The students at Cairoli also organise Wave Runs, which are runs around the historical centre of Pavia, open to all University students that want to get moving together. A list of the events organised by the alumni can be found at Facebook page run by the alumni.
The Intercollegiate Treasure Hunt is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited of all the student activities: teams from all 17 colleges in Pavia, made up of first-year students, compete in the streets of the historic center, trying to win by solving riddles and completing physical challenges.
In 2018, the Cairoli College achieved a historic milestone, winning the competition for the first time. After coming third in 2019, the College confirmed its status as champion with victories in 2022 and 2025, the latter achieved by the narrowest of margins: a single point ahead.
Among the initiatives proposed by the students, guided tours have been very popular (Turin Book Fair in May 2016 – “Real Bodies” exhibition in Milan in November 2016 – Vittoriale degli Italiani and Museum of Salò in May 2017 – Munich in the 2017/2018 academic year).
During the 2018/2019 academic year, thanks to the Association's funds and the organizational skills of the students, a trip to CERN in Geneva was made possible, including a visit to the now famous LHC particle accelerator.
In subsequent years, thanks to the valuable support of the Association and the Bursar's Office, further cultural trips to various Italian destinations were organized. These include Padua in the academic year 2024/2025 and Naples in 2023/2024, as well as destinations such as Bologna (2022/2023) and Florence (2021/2022).