Does everything we learn help make us even a little happier?

UniTS thinks so! 20th March marks the first National Universities Day, which unsurprisingly coincides with the International Day of Happiness. The theme proposed by CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors) is 'Universities Unveiled' and we are excited to share our scientific and cultural heritage not only with students. 

The day also falls within Minerva Week, dedicated to the celebration of knowledge and education. The Minerva is the symbol of our university: the stylised statue of Mascherini in Piazzale Europa welcomes the UniTS community every day.

These are the events not to be missed:

- Lectio Magistralis by Daniel Kammen at ‘Powering the Just Transition’ 

On 20th March, National University Day, the ‘Giacomo Ciamician’ Interdepartmental Centre for Energy, Environment and Transport, in collaboration with the Luciano Fonda University College, is organising Powering the Just Transition.

Guest speaker Daniel Kammen, professor at the University of Berkeley and one of the world's leading experts on the subject of energy transition. During his keynote lecture, he will describe the steps towards decarbonised economies.

In his career, Kammen has published more than 450 scientific papers and has been a consultant to the State of California, the US federal government and led the World Bank's Technical Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Info at: https://portale.units.it/it/eventi/powering-just-transition

- MOVIEUNITS

Until 26th June 2024 ‘MOVIEUNITS’, the itinerant and free film festival that offers the possibility to see films in different locations in Trieste, with two special dates also in Gorizia and Portogruaro, will be open to all.

On 20th March, at 8.30 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Revoltella Museum, Spike Jonze's ‘Her’ is scheduled, in the original English language audio with Italian subtitles. https://100anni.units.it/index.php/evento/movieunits-lei/

Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is an employee of a company who, through the Internet, writes personal letters on behalf of others, an absurd job he performs with great skill and at times even passion. However, since his break-up with the girl he married, he is unable to rebuild his life, is always thinking about her and refuses to sign the divorce papers. When a new generation of operating systems, animated by a surprisingly 'human' artificial intelligence, arrives on the market, Theodore begins to develop a complex relationship beyond imagination with it - Samantha (played by Scarlett Johansson), the AI entity.

Full programme of the exhibition at https://100anni.units.it/index.php/home/movieunits/ 

- EXHIBITION ‘1924 - 2024. A century in the history of the University of Trieste. Images and Documents’.

Set up in the Pomis Bastion of the San Giusto Castle, the multi-documental exhibition evokes the salient moments and personalities of Trieste's university century. Open to the public until 1st September 2024, the exhibition offers a tale of history, architecture and art and is divided into four distinct sections: historical, architectural, audiovisual and artistic.

All information at https://portale.units.it/it/notizie/cento-anni-di-storia-mostra-luniversita-di-trieste-si-racconta-con-opere-darte-immagini 

- FAI Spring Days

On Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March the FAI (National Trust for Italy) Spring Days are back: the UniTS headquarters is on the programme in Trieste!

The visit, organised by the Trieste FAI Youth Group, does not require a reservation and will take in the exterior and interior spaces of the characteristic ‘H’-shaped building. The tour will call at the exhibition ‘I miei pùpoli (my sketches): Gaetano Kanizsa scientist and artist ‘, the Rector's Gallery and the works of #SBLAD - Shine Bright Like A Diamond, the project that photographs the current emerging art scene and expands the University's heritage of works.

OPENING HOURS: Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.). Groups admitted every 30 minutes. The total duration of the visit is approximately 1 hour.

All info on https://portale.units.it/it/eventi/giornate-fai-di-primavera-23-e-24-marzo-units 

The University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste are inaugurating a multi-documental exhibition today at the Bastione Fiorito of the San Giusto Castle, recalling the salient moments and personalities of Trieste’s university century. The exhibition will be open to the public from 15th March to 1st September 2024.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE 

To mark the University's Centenary celebrations, the University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste are to open the exhibition entitled ‘1924 - 2024. A century of history of the University of Trieste. Images and documents’. Proposed and coordinated by the University museum services (SMATS), the exhibition is brought into being with the contribution of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region of. 

‘With this exhibition,’ says municipal councillor Giorgio Rossi, ‘the new exhibition season at the Pomis Bastion continues, put together by the curator of the San Giusto Castle. An exhibition season that began last September and is aimed at exploring the history and excellence of Trieste in various ways. The exhibition that opens today, celebrating the Centenary of the University of Trieste, seals the fruitful collaboration between the University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste on the San Giusto hill.’

‘Visitors to the exhibition will have a clear perception of the historical, architectural and cultural heritage of which we are proud custodians,’ says Rector Roberto Di Lenarda. ‘Many will have the opportunity to recognise themselves and travel through glimpses of the past and discover anecdotes and aspects of our university that are perhaps still little known.’

‘With the exhibition, the University intends to place itself at the heart of the cultural and economic history of the city, to strengthen its ties to Trieste as a university city, thus opening up to the swirling change in communication, research, and the interconnections between education and the world of work in which we are all protagonists and participants’ - explains Tullia Catalan, curator of the exhibition and associate professor of contemporary history at the Department of Humanities at the University of Trieste.

The general coordination of the exhibition was supervised by Anna Krekic, the curator of San Giusto Castle, and Laura Sartori, the Centenary activities coordinator.

In a narrative between history, architecture and art, the exhibition itinerary - set up by Lorenzo Michelli – is made up of four distinct sections, balancing historical sources and aesthetic references.

The first historical section, curated by Tullia Catalan and Lorenzo Ielen, retraces the history of the 100th anniversary of the University of Trieste through a selection of images, documents and videos taken from the University's Historical Archive and from numerous public and private, local and regional archives.

Involved in an initial phase in the delicate vicissitudes arising from the conflicts over a disputed border and then affected by the cultural and sociological transformations of the 1960s and 1970s, the university has found its place in international openness, especially in the field of research and technical-scientific disciplines, which are amongst the most prized of the university’s current educational offerings.

The second architectural section, curated by Paolo Nicoloso and Marko Pogacnik, focuses on the 1938 designing of the university's central body, a building with marked symbolic overtones. Illustrated through the technical drawings of the time and some images, the section renders all the complexity and richness of the solutions devised by the designers. The initial iconographic programme, purged of references to the post-war fascist regime, now boasts the famous Minerva, which has become the university's most recognisable symbol over the years, built in 1956 by sculptor Marcello Mascherini, and two large reliefs on the façades of the left and right wings of the building.

The third section, curated by Massimiliano Spanu and Daniele Terzoli and dedicated to audiovisuals, further expands the contents through the screening of valuable documentaries and a film. Standing out for its importance and beauty is the film which has been unarchived - and thus restored to the history of Italian cinema - Pagine d'Università (University Pages), a 1956 Ferraniacolor (a colour film process developed in Italy by Ferrania.) It was made by Anna Gruber, an actress and director, screenwriter and writer from Trieste of international fame, commissioned by the University Film Centre. The film was found in the A. Hortis Civic Library’s Diplomatic Archive and Archival Funds.

The other films on show in the exhibition are taken from the Istituto Luce Historical Archive and from La Cineteca del Friuli - Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Archive. Archival research was carried out with the collaboration of the research centre La Cappella Underground.

The fourth and last section, curated by Massimo Degrassi and Lorenzo Michelli, is dedicated to art history and includes a selection of works - now preserved in the Rector's Gallery - presented in 1953 as part of the National Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Painting held at the University of Trieste. Finally, the final part of the exhibition offers a selection of the works donated to the University by thirty-five artists and collectors on this centenary, already partly illustrated in the event ‘A Trieste mi piaceva arrivare’ (I liked arriving in Trieste) on 20th December 2023.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 15th March to 1st September 2024. From the opening and until 31st March it will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1st April to 1st September daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A visit to the exhibition is included in the entrance ticket to the San Giusto Castle (full price 6 euros; reduced price 4 euros).

Info: San Giusto Castle 

The exhibition 'A Spanish-speaking writer from Trieste', has been recently opened, and is dedicated to the poet, narrator, essayist and translator Juan Octavio Prenz, who taught Spanish Literature at the University of Trieste for almost thirty years. The exhibition can be found in the ‘Stelio Crise’ State Library of Trieste (Biblioteca Statale).

An Argentian of Istrian origin, Prenz was an authentic protagonist of 20th-century culture, from his beginnings in Argentina as a writer, teacher and university professor, to his move to Europe following dictator Videla's rise to power, where he spent time teaching Spanish and Latin American Literature at the universities of Belgrade, Ljubljana, Venice and Trieste.

Among the many awards received during his extensive literary career, Prenz was awarded the prestigious Nonino International Prize in 2019.

The exhibition illustrates the path taken by Juan Octavio Prenz as a poet and storyteller, as well as a translator from Spanish into Slavic languages and from Slavic into Spanish. It was organised by the Association Archive and Documentation Centre of Regional Culture and the ‘Stelio Crise’ State Library of Trieste, under the patronage of the Department of Humanistic Studies in UniTS and PEN Trieste Aps.

Through his literary output, his relationships with some important writers are also considered, from Miguel Angel Asturias to Pablo Neruda, from Jorge Luis Borges to Günter Grass and Claudio Magris, who defined him as a ‘Latin American Central European’.

The exhibition, which will remain open until 26th April, presents personal handwritten notes, typescripts, letters, editions of various works, photographs, portraits and objects that belonged to the writer. It will be open from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with free admission. It is closed on Saturdays and public holidays. 

Line 17/ timetables become more ‘student-friendly’ as Tpl FVG enhance their night service.

These two important innovations have resulted from the collaboration of UniTS and Trieste Trasporti and have significantly improved the bus service for university users.

‘The change in the 17/ timetable was the subject of UniTS student Chiara Capraro's degree thesis,’ explains Giovanni Longo, the university's Mobility Manager. ‘Her proposal was included in the UniTS home-to-work travel plan and now, thanks to Trieste Trasporti, it has become a reality aiding all students.

Here are the new features in detail:

Connections to Piazzale Europa: the new timetable for line 17/

The timetable for line 17/ connecting Piazza della Libertà (Trieste Centrale train station) to Piazzale Europa has been changed. Students are advised to use lines 17 and 17/ as a priority to reach the university, leaving lines 51 and 51/ available for staff and researchers travelling to the two Area Science Park campuses of Basovizza and Padriciano.

The route of Tpl Fvg's night service expands

As requested by many students, the route of the night bus service promoted by Tpl Fvg and Trieste Trasporti with UniTS will be extended from 8th March. Another 28 stops have been added to those already active since last July: from Valmaura to via Baiamonti, from Viale Ippodromo to Piazza Perugino, from San Giacomo to Via Rossetti and Piazza dell'Ospitale. The service operates on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 22:00 to 4:00. To use the service, it is necessary to download the TSonDemand app (available for Android and iOS). The app allows you to book rides by indicating your departure stop, your destination stop and your desired time of departure. The ticket can also be purchased directly in the app at the time of booking, by credit card, Paypal or, as of a few days ago, prepaid travel card. The price of the journey is deducted when you board the bus and give your name to the driver. Each passenger can book for himself/herself and up to 19 other people. It is possible to book the service from 14 days before the ride, but the booking can also be made in real time: the earlier you book, the more likely the ride is to be available at the requested time.

International Women's Day celebrates the progress made by women in the economic, political and cultural spheres all over the world. To mark 8 March, UniTS sheds light on women in the world of mechanics, a traditionally ‘masculine’ sector.

 An in-depth analysis of the presence of women in the engineering sector in FVG was presented at the ‘Women Entrepreneurs and Managers in the World of Mechanics’ event (part of the ‘Women and Work’ series), organised by UniTS Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS) and Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers (AIDDA) in collaboration with MIB Trieste School of Management.

The data collected by Rubina Romanello, lecturer in Economics and Business Management at DEAMS, and Lucia Parussini, lecturer in Fluid Machines at the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA), showed that the number of women employed in the metal sector in the FVG region between 2020 and 2022 has increased by 70%. However, it emerged that the majority of these women (60%) held administrative or operational roles. Furthermore, only 10% of metalworking companies in FVG are women-owned. The predominance of all-male boards was also discussed at national level. Only 17.6% of companies have a board where 50% or more of its members are women.

In the field of education, it was noted that, despite a growth in the enrolment of women in bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering, the overall percentage still remains low – just over 20%. Consequently, there is also a significant under-representation of women among university teaching staff.

The iNE(S)T-working meeting has recently been held in Vicenza at the local campus of the university of Verona. The event was attended by 300 researchers involved in iNEST (Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem) and was funded 110 million euro by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)., 

iNEST promotes innovation in North-East Italy in multiple ways through research groups coordinated by the 9 universities of the three north-eastern regions. These groups relate to: mountain environments, health and lifestyle, sustainable manufacturing, architecture for sustainable cities, sustainable living and working environments, tourism, culture and the creative industries, agrifood, marine and river environments and digital models.

The University of Trieste is coordinating the innovation activities addressed to maritime, marine and inland water systems, which will eventually lead to the development of a digital twin for the sustainable management of the Northern Adriatic Sea, with contributions from various disciplines (biology, geology, physics, chemistry, ship design, spatial planning, IT, administration management) and great expertise from the Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, the technology park ‘Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico’ and the Universities of Padova, Trento, IUAV and Ca' Foscari of Venice. 

In 2023 iNEST strengthened its activities, recruiting more than 250 young researchers and creating a truly collaborative network among people, institutions and companies in this area. The quality of the research carried out, the high value of the teams and collaborations that have been set up, and the involvement of over 300 companies in the presentation of innovative projects for the region are all testimony to the strength of the North-East Innovation Ecosystem. 

According to Prof. Bonollo, Professor at the University of Padua and President of the iNEST Consortium, the meeting in Vicenza is a very important opportunity to take stock of iNEST's activities, through thematic comparisons and insights into the future scenarios that open up for the Consortium. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate that the universities in this region are able to form a close-knit, motivated and never-before-seen 'orchestra'.

M'illumino di Meno, the switch off campaign organised by Rai Radio2 through its popular show Caterpillar, has since last year become the Italian National Day of Saving Energy and Sustainable Lifestyles, celebrated every 16th February.

The name of the campaign, which literally means ‘I fill myself with less light’, evokes in the Italian reader a famous line from the poem Mattina (morning) by Giuseppe Ungaretti: M’illumino d’immenso (immensity fills me with light). In 2024, this campaign celebrates its 20th edition. This year’s theme is ‘No borders’, an invitation is to switch off borders by seeking international alliances!

UniTS joins in the campaign by involving the partner universities of Transform4Europe, the university alliance that brings together Saarland University (Germany), the University of Alicante (Spain), Estonian Academy of Arts, University of Silesia - Katowice (Poland), Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Catholic University of Portugal, University of Primorska (Slovenia) and Jean Monnet University (France).

To raise awareness of saving energy, the University main building will dim the lights illuminating its façade from the evening of 16th February and throughout the weekend.

FameLab, the science communication talent show, is returning to Trieste. The local selection for the international contest will take place next Friday 5th April from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Luttazzi Hall (Magazzino 26, Porto vecchio). As always, the challenge will be to describe a research topic in a clear and engaging way in just 3 minutes to an audience of non-experts, without the aid of projections, graphics or videos. Applications must be filled in online by Thursday 28th March 2024.

Contestants from both STEM or medical fields and the humanities (Anthropology, Archaeology, Economics, Philosophy, Geography, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, History and Art History) are eligible.

The local selection is organised by Science Centre Immaginario Scientifico, the University of Trieste, the University of Udine, the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) and the Municipality of Trieste, as part of the ‘Trieste City of Knowledge’ Memorandum of Understanding. 

The people ranked first and second in the local selection will receive a cash prize, take part in an international masterclass to be held in Perugia in June, and then in the national final scheduled for September and October. The winner of FameLab Italia 2024 will gain access to the FameLab International final, scheduled in November, where they will face other competitors from all over the world.

A free training session has been planned for all the Trieste competitors to better prepare for the challenge. The meeting, organised by FameLab Italia, will take place remotely on the Zoom platform on 21st March 2024, (4pm-8pm). All eligible researchers interested in joining FameLab can participate, even if they haven’t registered yet. For more info on registration, please write to info@immaginarioscientifico.it

The University main building will be illuminated in blue and orange on World Cancer Day, celebrated on 4th February.

The event aims to raise awareness of the disease and to educate people on its prevention. The theme chosen for the 2024 edition is 'Close the Care Gap - Everyone deserves access to cancer care'.

Half of the world's population lacks access to essential health services and, when it comes to cancer, many are denied basic treatment. Internationally, people seeking cancer care face several barriers: insufficient income or education, geographic location and discrimination based on ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and lifestyle. The most disadvantaged groups are also more likely to be exposed to a range of other risk factors, such as smoking, an unhealthy diet or environmental triggers.  

This is an equality gap, which costs lives.

2023 Italian data.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon and the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR) estimate that in 2023 there were 395,000 new diagnoses.: 208,000 in men and 187,000 in women. In the last 3 years, there has been a further increase of more than 18,400 cases. These figures illustrate a growing trend and raise questions for which there are presently no comprehensive answers. In 2023, the most frequent cancers were breast cancer (55,900), rectal cancer (50,500), lung cancer (44,000), prostate cancer (41,100) and bladder cancer (29,700). 

Healthy lifestyles are an important defence against the disease. 40% of cases could be avoided by eliminating or reducing risk factors such as smoking, obesity, alcohol and physical inactivity. A cross-sectional approach is therefore needed, by implementing prevention through healthy lifestyle, early diagnosis and participation in screening programmes.

The feasibility study for 5G-SITACOR - the CAM-based 5G corridor between Italy and Slovenia - has officially launched.

The project is part of the EU programme CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) and, more specifically, the CEF-DIG-2022-5GCORRIDORS programme, which funds growth, employment and competitiveness through investments in infrastructure located in key areas among EU countries. CEF is coordinated by HADEA, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency.

The study will last 6 months (until July 2024) and will include the analysis of existing arterial roads and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as assessments of the investments needed to achieve CAM 5G coverage in the corridor between Italy and Slovenia. 

The ultimate goal of the study is to define the parameters necessary for the subsequent implementation of an infrastructure dedicated to the development of smart digital services for territories and communities, to be applied to businesses, schools, hospitals, cities, and highways.

The border area between Italy and Slovenia is one of the 5G corridors identified - by the EU - for enhanced coverage and connectivity, being the crossroads of several routes (national, regional and local), serving both rail and port infrastructure and being, at the same time, an area with many obstacles such as mountains and road tunnels. 

The 5G-SITACOR project was entrusted by the EU to a pool of diverse and complementary entities: the Friuli Venezia-Giulia Region (project coordinator); the Port of Koper; ANAS and DARS (Italian and Slovenian highway operators); Retelit and Telekom Slovenia (telecommunications operators); the University of Trieste; and the University of Ljubljana.

The cost of the study is €600K, with the EU funding over €300K through grants.