Trieste will once again host the regional selection for the Neuroscience Olympics, scheduled for tomorrow, Friday 13 March at 9.30 in the Luttazzi Room (Warehouse 26). The initiative has been organised by the University of Trieste since 2010 thanks to an agreement with Immaginario Scientifico Science Centre and with the support of the Municipality of Trieste. The project is coordinated by professor Paola Lorenzon of UniTS Department of Life Sciences.

Students from 13 secondary schools will participate in the competition: IIS Linussio in Codroipo, ISIS Magrini-Marchetti in Gemona del Friuli, ISIS D'Annunzio-Fabiani in Gorizia, Liceo Buonarroti in Monfalcone, Liceo Leopardi-Majorana in Pordenone, ISIS Manzini in San Daniele del Friuli, ISIS Paschini-Linussio in Tolmezzo, ITS Deledda-Fabiani and Liceo Galilei in Trieste, and ISIS Malignani, Liceo Copernico, Liceo Marinelli and Liceo Stellini in Udine.

The participants in the competition, some of the best students in the region with a passion for neuroscience, will compete on topics such as intelligence, memory, emotions, stress, ageing, neural plasticity, sleep and diseases of the nervous system. It will be an opportunity to explore topics that are often overlooked in school programmes but are arousing increasing curiosity among young people and can open up new perspectives for study and research.

In the morning Enrico Tongiorgi, full professor of Comparative Cellular and Developmental Biology at UniTS Department of Life Sciences will talk about the brain during adolescence. The day will end with a special visit to the Immaginario Scientifico.

The winner of the competition will go on to the national final of the Neuroscience Olympiad, scheduled for 22-23 May in Camerino (Italy). Here, the Italian representative who will participate in the international competition will be selected.

The Neuroscience Olympiad is the Italian selection for the International Brain Bee (IBB). The initiative, which began in the United States in 1998, now involves over 50 countries around the world. In Italy, it is promoted by the Italian Society for Neuroscience (SINS), the leading national scientific society dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the nervous system and its diseases.

The Transform4Europe Alliance (T4EU) has taken a decisive step in its institutional consolidation process: it has been officially registered in Saarland, Germany, as a legally recognized entity under German law (eingetragener Verein – e.V.) with the name “Transform4Europe: The European University for Knowledge Entrepreneurs e.V.”

This change marks the transition from a purely project-based collaboration among the eleven partner universities to the establishment of a permanent and integrated structure.

The new configuration allows the Alliance to participate in funding calls independently, ensuring the continuity of its activities beyond the current funding period of the European Commission.

For students, doctoral candidates, academic staff, and technical-administrative personnel, this means being able to rely on a more stable framework for international mobility, the development of joint programs, collaborative research initiatives, and the sharing of educational resources among partner universities.

Moreover, the new legal status expands the possibility of accessing large-scale and complex international projects.

For the University of Trieste, a founding member of the Alliance, the registration represents a strategic step in the creation of an integrated interuniversity European campus. Being part of a European legal entity strengthens the University’s ability to attract competitive funding, increases its appeal to international researchers and students, and creates the conditions for a gradual simplification of administrative processes in managing joint activities.

The establishment of T4EU as a legal entity is the result of intensive joint work by a multilingual team of legal experts led by the University of Silesia in Katowice, which analyzed different national and European legal options and identified German law as an effective transitional solution.

The Rector of the University of Trieste, Donata Vianelli, emphasizes:

“The establishment of the Transform4Europe legal entity represents a natural and necessary evolution of the path we have undertaken together with the other partner universities. It means consolidating a cooperation that goes beyond funded projects and is based on a shared vision of a European university capable of educating citizens and knowledge entrepreneurs within an increasingly integrated academic space.”

The University Delegate for the T4EU Alliance, Alberto Pallavicini, adds:

“This step strengthens the sustainability of the Alliance and concretely expands the opportunities for our academic community. Legal stability allows us to design mobility schemes, joint educational pathways, and research initiatives with a structural perspective, reinforcing the role of the University of Trieste within the European Higher Education and Research Area.”

The new Structural Map of Seas Surrounding Italy aims to provide an organic representation of the main tectonic units and geological structures present in the seas surrounding Italy, from the abyssal depths to the submerged ridges, offering an updated and integrated picture of the geological setting of the submerged areas; This is the objective of the new Structural Map of Seas Surrounding Italy, now available online, a fundamental tool for understanding the geological structures that characterise the seabed around Italy. 

The University of Trieste contributed to the creation of the map by collecting and systematising the data available in the scientific literature on the Sardinian-Provençal Basin and integrating them with geophysical information. It also contributed to the study of the southern Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea.

Created by the Department for the Geological Survey of Italy of the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Italian National Research Council (CNR-ISMAR), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) and the Universities of Genoa, Palermo, Roma Tre and Trieste, the map is the result of years of joint research between public research bodies and Italian universities. 

The Italian peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by sea basins of different ages, depths and geological characteristics. Beneath the surface of the Mediterranean Sea lies a complex system of mountains and submerged volcanoes, escarpments and faults which, over millions of years, have shaped the seabed, generating a wide variety of environments, fundamental for the development of biodiversity, as well as major eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. In this context, mapping submerged areas represents a crucial step to increase knowledge of the geological evolution of the Mediterranean and of the processes that govern its dynamics.

To produce the map, data available in the literature was integrated in order to provide an overall description of the submerged areas and to improve understanding of the geological relationships between the different areas into which the earth's crust is divided in relation to the types of plates that compose it and their mutual contacts. The map identifies foreland areas, subduction zones, volcanic systems, back-arc basins and Mesozoic ocean basins. The harmonisation and systematisation of the information currently available makes it possible to rely on a scientific reference tool, useful not only for research, but also for planning and managing the marine environment.

The data collected are of strategic value for environmental protection, for the planning and sustainability of offshore infrastructure – such as cables, pipelines and energy installations – and for safety in relation to the risks associated with volcanic and seismic activity, including earthquakes, tsunamis and submarine landslides. The map may also contribute to the exploration of the geo-resources present in the basins surrounding the Italian peninsula, closely linked to the geological history of each basin and to contributions from adjacent land areas and deeper regions of the Earth’s crust.

The new Structural Map of Seas Surrounding Italy stands as a reference document for the scientific community and as a solid basis for the development of further studies and future research. The project is part of the European Marine Strategy, promoting the sharing of open and interoperable data to support scientific research and the ‘blue economy’, including the search for alternative energy sources, for example in identifying sites for wind farms and geothermal plants, as well as for the search for drinking water and other applications. 

The project was developed within the EMODnet Geology programme, part of the European Marine Observation and Data Network, which collects and makes accessible, through a web portal, a large amount of marine geological data acquired over decades in European seas.

https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/projects/soil-and-territory/emodnet-geology?set_language=en

https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/use-case/emodnet-geology-helps-characterise-structural-settings-seas-surrounding-italy

The 19th edition of the 2026 Golden Cup, the team mathematics competition for secondary schools organised by MIGe, the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences of UniTS, has come to an end in the University's Aula Magna.

Organised in collaboration with the head of the Mathematics Olympiad for the Province of Trieste (Prof. Amalia Abbate) and the organisers of the competition in Genoa, the competition is an opportunity to introduce students to this subject in a fun and entertaining way. 

In 2026, after twenty years, the Coppa Aurea returns to Trieste: the G. Galilei secondary school has won the competition. Apart from the very first editions, in 2005 and 2006, won by the G. Oberdan High School in Trieste, in subsequent years the cup was almost always won by teams from Veneto (in particular from the provinces of Treviso and Padua), with the sole exception of Gorizia in 2008.  After coming second in 2025, the Trieste high school, with its 1266 points, managed to take home the cup in the 19th edition this year.

The ‘I 7 del Leone’ team from the L. da Vinci high school in Treviso came second with 1127 points, while ‘Gente poco seria’ from the I. Nievo high school in Padua won the bronze medal with 911 points. The ‘Goats of Levi’ team from the IIS P. Levi high school in Montebelluna also qualified for the national final in Cesenatico, thanks to their fourth place finish with 902 points.

Twenty-six secondary schools from the four provinces of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Venice took part in the 2026 edition. After a ten-year absence, an Italian-language Croatian school from Pula also returned to participate. Each school was represented by a team of seven students, who competed against each other in mathematical problems and questions.

From Trieste, the G. Oberdan high school, the ISIS Carducci-Dante, the ISIS J. Stefan, the ITS A. Volta and, for the first time, the E. and U. Nordio art school, the ISIS Da Vinci-Carli-Sandrinelli and the International School of Trieste also took part.

At the same time, in 38 Italian cities, 713 teams comprising a total of 4,991 secondary school students tackled the same problems to earn a place in the national final in Cesenatico, which will take place in May. There was a significant female presence, demonstrating that STEM subjects are becoming increasingly attractive. 

The Coppa Aurea will be up for grabs again in the next edition and will become the permanent property of the school that wins it three times. Currently, the I. Nievo secondary school in Padua has already won two editions. One victory each went to Da Vinci in Treviso, Levi in Montebelluna and Galilei in Trieste.

Sending a strong message, accompanied by concrete actions, and using one of the most iconic and lively places in everyday Trieste life as a stage. The 80th year of activity for CUS Trieste began on Sunday 8 March with its third remote participation in the 5th edition of Just The Woman I Am. 

Once again this year, CUS Trieste proposed a non-competitive walk/run, connecting virtually to the major event organised and promoted by CUS Torino, FederCUSI, the Polytechnic and the University of Turin, which since 2014 has been an unmissable event under the Mole with over 30,000 participants annually. JTWIA promotes fundraising for health and cancer research, while also cultivating concepts such as prevention, the application of healthy lifestyles, inclusion and gender equality. For five editions, CUS Trieste has supported the participation of Trieste residents by purchasing race bibs in support of the event and donating them to its members, students and employees of the University of Trieste.

A large group of participants gathered at the Barcola Fountain to walk or run a 5 km route along the Barcola coastline at their own pace, without worrying about the clock, but trying to fully enjoy a highly symbolic moment of socialising: ‘The participation of the University of Trieste in Just The Woman I Am, through the commitment of CUS Trieste, is a concrete sign of how our community knows how to combine sport, solidarity and social responsibility,’ said UniTS Rector Donata Vianelli. "The promotion of health, prevention and healthy lifestyles is an integral part of our educational mission. Supporting fundraising for cancer research and promoting inclusion and gender equality at the same time means translating the University's values into tangible actions and strengthening the sense of community."

‘Once again this year,’ added CUS Trieste president Michele Pipan, "we have continued our commitment to organising remote team participation in the event organised by CUS Torino in collaboration with the University and Polytechnic of Turin, strongly believing in the ability of sport to serve society by promoting good practices, which are essential for a certain level of social well-being. I would like to point out that today (Sunday 8 March) both genders, female and male, played a leading role, demonstrating how these awareness-raising actions must involve an increasingly large section of the community in order to increase their effectiveness."

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the University of Trieste renews its commitment to promoting equal opportunities, supporting women’s careers, including in STEM fields, and continuously monitoring gender dynamics as a key tool for shaping inclusive and informed university policies.

Further insight is provided by the data presented in the AlmaLaurea Gender Report 2026. The survey confirms the high participation and strong academic performance of UniTS female students, while also highlighting structural differences in the transition to the labour market, particularly in terms of pay.

More women among 2024 graduates

In 2024, the University awarded degrees to 3,226 students (1,842 bachelor’s degrees, 979 master’s degrees and 405 single-cycle master’s degrees). Women account for 58.7% of the total, with a particularly strong presence in single-cycle master’s programmes (65.7%).

Women graduates show strong academic performance overall: 62.1% complete their studies on time (compared with 56.2% of men), and 69% have undertaken a curricular internship — nearly 15 percentage points higher than their male peers.

The report also shows that choosing the same field of study as a parent is less common among women, suggesting greater independence in the choice of field. 

Employment Five Years After Graduation: High Rates, Pay Gap Remains

The survey of master’s graduates from 2019, interviewed five years after graduation, shows high employment rates: 92.5% for women and 93.6% for men.

However, differences remain in job characteristics and earnings. Women report an average net monthly salary of €1,904, compared with €2,097 for men. Women are also more likely to work in the public sector (44.7% compared with 38.1%), while men are more likely to hold permanent contracts or be self-employed.

STEM Fields: Female Participation Growing, Disparities Persist 

In STEM programmes, traditionally characterised by lower female participation, women account for 38.7% of 2024 graduates.

Five years after graduation, the employment rate stands at 90.8% for women and 93% for men. A pay gap is also observed in this area: women report an average net monthly salary of €2,118 compared with €2,207 for men. Permanent contracts are more common among men, while women are more likely to hold fixed-term contracts.

Stefano Parolai, Director of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences at University of Trieste, has been appointed by the Seismological Society of America (SSA) as the new Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA), one of the most authoritative international journals in seismology.

Parolai will begin his term in summer 2026, succeeding geophysicist P. Martin Mai. Founded in 1911, BSSA publishes approximately 175 scientific articles each year on earthquakes, seismic risk, and Earth sciences.

“BSSA is perhaps the most historically significant journal in the field of seismology,” Parolai commented. “I am honored to take on this role and to help ensure that it remains a reference point for the international scientific community.”

Parolai’s research focuses on seismic hazard and risk, the development of methodologies for assessing site effects, and seismic signal analysis, with particular attention to early warning systems.

Among the goals of his new mandate are strengthening the quality of the peer-review process, expanding the journal’s author base, and engaging the next generation of researchers within the international seismology community.

As part of DEH ALMA (Advanced Learning Multimedia Alliance for Inclusive Academic Innovation), funded under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) through the Digital Education Hubs initiative, the University of Trieste has launched a new video production laboratory dedicated to digital teaching and developed its first four MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), which will become part of the national ALMA catalogue. 

MOOCs are free and flexible online courses designed to broaden access to higher education and complement traditional teaching through innovative digital tools. They fit within the framework of micro-credentials, short academic certifications that recognise specific skills gained through targeted courses.

UniTS MOOCs are available on the Federica Web Learning platform of the University of Naples Federico II, which is responsible for the operational management and coordination of the ALMA network. The catalogue can be accessed via the project website .

“With the launch of the new Laboratory and the first four MOOCs, our university strengthens its commitment to high-quality digital teaching capable of integrating technological innovation, inclusion and international outlook, contributing to the transformation of the Italian higher education system within the framework of the PNRR’s strategic investments,” emphasises Rector Donata Vianelli.

The University of Trieste’s first four MOOCs

The courses developed by the University cover different disciplinary areas, adopting an interdisciplinary approach and addressing a non-specialist audience.

Data Science and Statistics
Led by Luca Bortolussi, Adriano Peron, Alejandro Rodriguez Garcia, Alessandro Fabris and Teresa Scantamburlo, the course provides an introductory interdisciplinary overview of digital data. It addresses key issues related to the nature, collection, organisation, analysis and visualisation of data, with particular attention to ethics, personal data protection and current regulations (GDPR). The aim is to provide conceptual and practical tools to understand and use data correctly, consciously and responsibly.

Philosophy
The course delivered by Professor Giovanni Grandi introduces different interpretations of “doing justice”, examining commutative justice, distributive justice, retributive justice and the paradigm of restorative justice. Conflict resolution practices related to restorative justice are explored, with particular reference to the criminal justice context.

Physics
Created by Professor Pierre Thibault, the course provides a comprehensive overview of X-ray computed tomography (CT). It covers the historical development of the technique and its main applications in medicine, research and industry, introducing the fundamental principles governing X-ray interaction with matter, including attenuation and beam hardening. The course describes different CT system configurations (medical CT, micro-CT and synchrotron-based systems) and presents the mathematical foundations of image formation through the Radon transform. The course explains both analytical reconstruction methods, such as filtered back projection, and iterative approaches. It concludes by presenting techniques for interpreting and visualising volumetric data.

Health and Medicine, Anthropology, Translation
The course delivered by Federico Berton, Roberta Altin, Giuseppe Grimaldi and Caterina Falbo addresses contemporary migration, with particular attention to healthcare management in contexts characterised by linguistic, cultural and religious diversity. The programme highlights the importance of adequate training for healthcare professionals, enabling them to interact appropriately with interpreters and patients while promoting effective and culturally aware communication.

The DEH ALMA lab: Technology and Broadcast-Level Quality

The new studio is a multifunctional space designed to be rapidly reconfigured according to production needs: a MOOC recording set, video-podcast studio, photo studio setup and platform for live webinars.

The facility is equipped with 4K PTZ cameras, multicamera control systems, professional lighting and broadcast-level audio systems. Thanks to a dedicated 10 Gbps network and an advanced storage system, the laboratory streamlines the workflow from recording to post-production.

Preparations are already underway for Trieste Next – the Festival of Scientific Research, whose 15th edition is set to take place from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th September 2026.

The 2026 edition of the Festival – promoted again this year by the Municipality of Trieste, the University of Trieste, Gruppo NEM Nord Est Multimedia, ilNordest, Il Piccolo, co-promoted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia with Area Science Park, OGS-National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, SISSA-International School for Advanced Studies, will be entitled “The shape of thought. Interactions between brains and intelligences”.

“Since its first edition, Trieste Next has addressed some of the most pressing themes in scientific and cultural debate”, the organisers state. “The 15th edition, titled ‘The Shape of Thought’, invites reflection on what it means to think in today’s world, where brains, intelligences and systems interact in increasingly complex ways. The festival explores intelligence in its many forms – natural, artificial, emotional, social and collective – and examines how digital technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming cognitive processes and learning environments. The programme explores systems of thought as interconnected networks of bodies, machines, languages, cultures and institutions, as well as the responsibilities that arise when designing the future of intelligence, with contributions from guests working across STEM, the humanities and the social sciences.”

Following the success of the 2025 edition, the organisers reaffirm their aim to continue fostering dialogue on science and innovation in Trieste, further expanding the programme through meetings, talks and debates that will bring the city to life over the three-day festival and will, as always, also be available via live streaming. As in the past two editions, Trieste Next will retain its international outlook, complementing the extensive Italian-language programme with events held in English and collaborations with leading international scientific partners. “Once again this year, we look forward to welcoming researchers from across Europe, who will join the hundreds of PhD and undergraduate students travelling from all over Italy to Trieste each year to take part in the Festival,” the organisers add.

The “Trieste Next Award – Science Book of the Year”, dedicated to leading figures in science communication, will also be presented for the fourth consecutive year. Last year’s prize was awarded to Martina Ardizzi for "L’algoritmo bipede. L’avvincente storia di come mente, corpo e tecnologia evolvono insieme" (Egea).

From 25th to 27th September, the programme will feature three days of conferences, seminars and workshops, with more than 100 events and 300 speakers, as well as exhibition spaces in Piazza Unità d’Italia and activities for schools. 

TRIESTE NEXT

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Transform4Europe alliance, of which UniTS is a member, has issued the following statement:

Four years ago, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, gravely and deliberately violating international law. Among the countless acts of aggression and suffering caused, one case that stands out is the forced displacement of Mariupol State University (MSU), one of the main partners of the Transform4Europe alliance. Our friends and colleagues at MSU continue to demonstrate, at great personal sacrifice and under constant threat, remarkable resilience, strength and courage in upholding European values and our shared vision for Europe's transformation.

“Standing with MSU means standing with the principles that define Europe itself,” stresses Dominik Brodowski, Acting Secretary General of the Transform4Europe alliance and Ambassador of Mariupol State University. “Transform4Europe remains firmly committed to supporting our partners at Mariupol State University.”