The Horizons of Intelligence. Knowledge between Human Beings and Technologies

Trieste Next 2024 is a high-quality edition, characterized by significant numbers. It is a special year, particularly for the University of Trieste, which has participated with notable events to celebrate its centenary. This is evidenced by the presence of a Nobel Prize winner like Andre Geim, an Oscar-winning composer like Nicola Piovani, Michael Irwin Jordan, winner of the World Laureates Association prize for computer science and mathematics, Senator Elena Cattaneo, the director of the Digital Ethics Lab at the Catholic University of Portugal, William Hasselberger, Elsa Fornero, honorary professor of Economics at the University of Turin and former Minister of Labour and Social Policies, as well as physicist and writer Paolo Giordano, among many other notable figures.

Numerous topics were addressed under the title "The Horizons of Intelligence. Knowledge between Human Beings and Technologies." This theme was explored through various questions and the answers that today come from the scientific and cultural world, as well as from the most modern technologies underlying Artificial Intelligence. The festival's program effectively explored new frontiers and current debates surrounding one of the next revolutions of the millennium, featuring 100 events in Italian and English and the participation of 300 speakers. The University of Trieste curated a program involving dozens of professors, researchers, and scholars from the university, who in turn engaged national and international guests. In total, 11 conferences were organized in Italian, 3 in English, 3 performances, and various interactive activities across 10 exhibition spaces.

In the Knowledge Village in Piazza Unità d’Italia, the exhibition space organized by Units was highly appreciated, where, for three days, useful tests could be conducted: from assessments to verify the health status of the musculoskeletal system or gastric mucosa, to tests examining how our brain reacts when stimulated by improper smartphone use. Hundreds of results were collected and distributed to the public participating in the assessments. There were also interesting and entertaining experiences, including the possibility of conversing with great historical figures through Artificial Intelligence or translating with AI into various languages. The University of Trieste also participated with its own program in the European Researchers' Night, held on Friday, September 27, simultaneously in numerous European cities. The final outcome reported tens of thousands of visitors. The participation of 250 volunteers was also essential, with over 150 coming from the Units project. The live streams on the festival's social media channels were also highly followed.

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A new world. Science, culture, innovation for a sustainable future

The 12th edition of Trieste Next, entitled A New World.Science, culture, innovation for a sustainable future, looks at the future of the planet starting from what needs to be built to tackle the current climate crisis. Themes include climate change and the water emergency, the energy transition and the costs of sustainability, the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence, new materials and new drugs, space and what we still need to understand about the universe.

The Festival was attended by over 300 guests including scientists and female scientists, humanists and great personalities from all over the world, 100 female and male researchers and university students from all over Europe thanks to the Academy Italia project, 200 male and female researchers and students for the International Academy and 200 volunteers. The event proposed a hundred events, a third of them in English, 45 interactive workshops, organised 65 activities for schools and inaugurated a new literary prize, the Science Book of the Year.

The Boundaries of Science: Innovation and Research - Ethical Limits and New Frontiers

The eleventh edition of the Trieste Next Festival, titled The Boundaries of Science: Innovation and Research - Ethical Limits and New Frontiers, took place from September 22nd to 24th, 2022, in various locations in the city center. The event addressed the theme of the centrality of science in everyday life, seeking answers to increasingly urgent and current issues, particularly in the fields of energy, ethics, and healthcare. This edition was presented for the first time with an even more international perspective, featuring a program in English alongside the Italian program, attracting thousands of people from Italy and abroad. The festival involved over 300 speakers, journalists, 200 volunteers, and 400 students and researchers from across Europe. Among the keynote speakers were Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Aaron Ciechanover and journalist Beppe Severgnini.

TAKE CARE: Science for Sustainable Well-being

TAKE CARE: Science for Sustainable Well-being is a special edition for Trieste Next, celebrating ten years of activity in 2021. The event, scheduled from September 24th to 26th, returns after the Covid-19 experience with the aim of reflecting on how science can offer tools to take care of humanity and the planet, focusing on individual and global well-being, but above all, on sustainability.
Following the success of the 2020 edition - held simultaneously in-person and online - the organizers propose the same formula, offering the opportunity to be physically present or to follow the festival on digital channels with in-depth discussions, debates, and tailored formats.
Trieste Next 2021 presented an extremely rich and diverse program, with 5 events taking place simultaneously in each time slot for a total of over 100 appointments, including debates, talks, and conferences, and 200 different workshops in Piazza Unità d'Italia. The event involved 200 speakers, 300 researchers, and dozens of university students from all over Italy for the Academy project. Among the international guests were Ozgë Akbulut, professor at Sabanci University Istanbul, and Maria-Pau Ginebra, director of ICREA CMEM at the University of Barcelona, both winners of the EU Prize for Women Innovators.

Science for the planet: 100 ideas for the future life

The 2020 edition of Trieste Next, titled Science for the planet: 100 ideas for the future life, took place in the context of a global health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 epidemic. It was a bold edition, organized for the first time both in person and online. The novelty of this challenging year was indeed the "digital version" of the festival: a real parallel schedule that brought together, through journalistic hosting from the studio, events and speakers throughout each day. Health, environment, social relations, digital are just some of the themes on which scientific research and the business world focused, to build new paradigms and find solutions to the problems posed by the pandemic.
The event featured 50 events with the participation of 150 speakers, 150 volunteers, more than 200 young students and researchers from all over Italy. The University of Trieste organized 11 conferences, set up 6 interactive spaces, and 2 exhibitions involving 28 professors and 27 speakers, moderators, and external moderators.

Big data, deep science: the future of science and humans in the era of augmented intelligence

The 8th edition of Trieste Next in 2019 focused on Big data, deep science: the future of science and humans in the era of augmented intelligence. It preceded the major event of Trieste ESOF 2020, European Capital of Science, with three days of debates, conferences, and seminars.
The event featured over 50 events, with a focus on the use of "big data," an invaluable mine of information still in search of appropriate tools, methods, and interpretative approaches. 150 speakers, 150 volunteers, more than 500 young students, researchers, and scientists gathered in Trieste to explore the relationships between scientific research, humanities, and social sciences, as well as the relationship between innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, from a perspective of scientific dissemination and inclusion.
Among the keynote speakers of the 2019 edition were Marc Mézard, director of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris; Peter Wadhams, professor of Ocean Physics at the University of Cambridge (featured in the HBO documentary "Ice on Fire," produced by Leonardo Di Caprio); Luca Attias, extraordinary commissioner for the implementation of the Digital Agenda; Federico Faggin, physicist, entrepreneur, and inventor of the world's first commercial microprocessor; Fabrizio Renzi, director of research at IBM Italy; and Marco Landi, former president of Apple.
The 11th edition of Trieste Next also saw the exclusive presentation of the icebreaker "Laura Bassi", the oceanographic research vessel of the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics - OGS of Trieste.