The University of Trieste is strengthening its participation in Transform4Europe (T4EU), the European University Alliance that promotes shared pathways in research, education and innovation among partner institutions. In the second seed funding call run by T4EU, UniTS has had two UniTS-led proposals selected among the winning projects: both come from the Department of Humanities (DISU) and are led by Professors Federico Baricci and Paolo Sorzio.

Seed funding provides agile, targeted support designed to grow new international collaborations: it finances start-up activities—such as joint design work, content development, working meetings and first outputs—that help teams turn an idea into a structured initiative. One of the programme’s main aims is to foster projects that lead to joint educational pathways and micro-credentials. As for duration, each project can run from twelve to fourteen months. Within T4EU, grants go up to 22,000 euros and cover a maximum of 80 per cent of total eligible costs, with co-funding provided by partners. More information

A joint Master’s programme in Romance languages: PLURIEL

The project coordinated by Prof. Federico Baricci, together with Prof. Sergia Adamo, aims to create a joint Master’s degree programme provisionally titled PLURIEL – Plurilingualism and Interculturality in Romance-Language Spaces, developed with three partner universities: Université Jean Monnet de Saint-Étienne (France), Universidad de Alicante (Spain) and Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal).

For UniTS, the most important expected output is the launch of an international educational pathway that integrates linguistic and cultural expertise across four Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese), with a strong emphasis on interculturality and multilingual teamwork. The programme also includes compulsory mobility in the third semester at one of the partner institutions and an international internship in the fourth semester, enhancing the programme’s attractiveness and supporting professional profiles oriented towards intercultural communication, cultural project design and cooperation.

Critical Pedagogy: micro-credentials and guidelines for a democratic school

The project coordinated by Prof. Paolo Sorzio, together with Professors Caterina Bembich and Barbara Bocchi, will run for 14 months and has a budget of 22,000 euros. The partners involved are the University of Primorska (Slovenia) and Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (Lithuania).

The initiative focuses on developing micro-credentials devoted to the principles and good practices of Critical Pedagogy, an approach that critically reflects on the assumptions underpinning teaching and aims to create learning environments that can support advanced competences: reasoning under uncertainty, framing complex problems, and recognising and addressing key issues related to active citizenship.

“The project aims to provide a critical analysis of the implicit assumptions within school practice that may hinder the full participation of all students, and to develop guidelines for a democratic school,” explains Prof. Sorzio.

For UniTS, the expected output is twofold: on the one hand, the production of certifiable, modular and transferable training contents (micro-credentials); on the other, the definition of operational indications that can support more inclusive and mindful teaching—strengthening the University’s contribution to European educational initiatives and enabling replicable pathways also in collaboration with schools and the wider community.

A trajectory already underway: UniTS projects funded in 2024

This success in the second call builds on a trajectory UniTS has already developed within T4EU seed funding. In 2024, the University secured three further projects: two submitted by the Department of Economics, Management, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS) led by Prof. Rubina Romanello, and one by the Department of Life Sciences (DSV) led by Prof. Eleonora Malfatti.

Key outputs included: a faculty exchange initiative on corporate innovation and sustainability (with the University of Alicante and the University of Primorska); a project on the role of T4EU universities in supporting social innovations in the circular economy—concluded in December 2025—and the MINOX2ME initiative on microbial processes linked to greenhouse gases in Mediterranean wetlands, with a citizen science component connected to the natural and cultural heritage of salt marshes.

Taken together, these results show how Transform4Europe is becoming an increasingly strategic area for UniTS to develop joint initiatives, connect complementary expertise and help projects mature into tangible results—from new international educational pathways to innovative training tools, as well as research collaborations and knowledge transfer.

Upcoming opportunities: the third call is now open

The third call of the Seed Funding Programme is open until 15 March 2026; a fourth call will follow, with publication scheduled for early May 2026.

All details (eligibility, grant amounts and how to apply) are available on the official programme page: https://transform4europe.eu/seed-funding-programme/#grant-amounts