Countering the motor and cognitive decline associated with ageing is one of the major healthcare challenges of the coming decades. A research project conducted by the University of Trieste shows how innovative rehabilitation protocols that integrate physical exercise, cognitive stimulation and virtual reality can produce significant benefits for active and independent ageing.

The study, developed in collaboration between the public social care provider ITIS and the UniTS Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy, compared the effectiveness of two physiotherapy approaches in a cohort of older adults living in the care facility: a dual-task exercise protocol, combining motor activity with simultaneous cognitive tasks, and a treatment based on the use of virtual and augmented reality to perform targeted physical exercises.

A research project supported by local philanthropic foundations

The research was co-funded by the Morpurgo and Casali ETS Foundations via a one-year research grant awarded to physiotherapist Marta Ceschin, who conducted the study from February 2024 to February 2025. The project was supervised by Luigi Murena, Head of the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, and by Manuela Deodato, head of clinical and professional training for the Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy.

Methodology and tools

Approved by the University Ethics Committee, the study involved 45 participants aged over 65 and without medical conditions that could affect participation. They were randomly assigned to one of two dual-task treatment groups: one combined physical activity with cognitive tasks, the other paired physical exercise with virtual and augmented reality.

Both groups carried out 24 individual sessions of 60 minutes each, twice a week for 12 weeks, in the UniTS physiotherapy teaching gym, equipped with advanced virtual and augmented reality devices.

Treatment effectiveness was assessed through standardised cognitive tests (Trail Making Test, Frontal Assessment Battery), motor function (10-Metre Walk Test, Timed Up and Go, Chair Stand Test, handgrip strength) and dual motor-cognitive performance.

Results: dual-task training proves particularly effective

Results show that both approaches significantly improve motor function, particularly in walking and mobility tests. However, the dual-task protocol showed greater benefits when physical activity was paired with a cognitive task, in line with recent studies linking good physical performance with good cognitive performance.

Dual-task training thus emerges as a promising active ageing strategy, capable of acting simultaneously on body and mind and helping older adults remain independent in their everyday activities.

The project ‘Dutch as a key to collaboration between businesses and universities’, funded by the Dutch Language Union (Nederlandse Taalunie) and launched in 2024 within the Dutch section of SSLMIT (departmental division of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators) has come to an end.

The project was created with the aim of enhancing the strategic role of the Dutch language as a bridge between academic education and the world of work, strengthening dialogue between universities and the productive system from an international perspective.

In a European context characterised by growing economic, logistical and cultural interconnections, particularly with the Netherlands and Flanders, specialist language skills remain an important factor in employability and professional development.

The project culminated in January 2026 in an event that brought together representatives from the business world, institutions and students for a day of conferences, round tables and job fairs. The meeting provided a concrete space for dialogue between skills supply and deman, demonstrating how even a less widely spoken language can play a strategic role in building qualified career paths and promoting lasting collaborations between universities and businesses.

Representatives from the academic, institutional and business worlds were present, including Vice-Rector Mauro Tretiach, Vice-Rector for Industrial and Community Relations Guido Bortoluzzi, Taalunie, Flanders Investment and Trade, the Port Authority of Trieste, Alpe Adria S.p.A., together with companies from the region and abroad.

Also present were Cristina Sbaizero, CEO of the World Trade Centre Trieste, and Stefano Musilli, representing the Consulate of the Netherlands.

Finally, Caffè Eppinger hosted a job fair where Dutch language students met directly with companies interested in hiring people with this type of language skill, both for internships and future employment.

On 26th January 2026, Paolo Cendon, former full professor of Foundations of Private Law and long-time Head of the Institute of Law of the Faculty of Economics, passed away.

The ‘Bruno de Finetti’ Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS) and the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies (IUSLIT) remember his academic work, carried out with great passion and dedication.

He joined the University of Trieste in 1971, after graduating in Law at the University of Pavia with a thesis supervised by Rodolfo Sacco. His research results – consisting of monographs, essays, commentaries, editorial series and online journals, including Persona & Danno – enjoyed wide international renown. He had a profound and lasting impact on fundamental aspects of civil law, opening up new and highly significant interpretative perspectives, not only for the Italian legal system. His reflections spanned various crucial areas: from civil liability to the protection of mental illness, from the elaboration of existential damage to the search for less authoritarian and more respectful forms of protection of vulnerable people. A prime example of this is the creation of the measure of supportive administration, whose legislative framework owes much to his thinking and his scientific and cultural commitment.

His lectures and lessons remain unforgettable for their intensity, clarity and originality: the rigour of law was accompanied by examples taken from everyday life, made particularly effective by his sparkling narrative skills, which he also expressed in highly acclaimed works of fiction.

Dialogue, listening and intellectual curiosity characterised his method of teaching and scientific debate, making him an essential point of reference for colleagues and students.

Finally, we cannot forget the happy intuition that, in the 1980s, led him to involve friends and like-minded scholars in the meetings of the Circolo di Venezia (Venice circle), thus planting the seed from which numerous projects and initiatives have sprouted.

Paolo Cendon leaves a legacy that goes beyond books and articles: a way of understanding law as a space for attention to others and as an ethical practice, even before a technical one. His lesson will continue to guide the work of those who believe in a deeply human way of studying law.

Teaching has begun for UniTS’s first‑level master degree courses in paediatric nursing for the 2025/2026 academic year. These two vocational masters are now widely recognised across Italy: Neonatal and Paediatric Nursing (now in its 11th edition) and Emergency Neonatal and Paediatric Nursing (now in its 6th edition).

Teaching combines lectures, practical workshops and advanced simulations, delivered by a high‑level faculty comprising UniTS academics, experts from the Burlo Garofolo paediatric research hospital and professionals from national and international healthcare institutions. Clinical placements, an integral part of the curriculum, take place in top-tier facilities.

Attending the inauguration were Regional Councillor for Health Riccardo Riccardi, the Rector of the University of Trieste Donata Vianelli, UniTS Director General Marco Porzionato, Burlo Garofolo Director General Francesca Tosolini, heads of programme professors Egidio Barbi and Andrea Taddio, President of the Trieste Nursing Association Michael Valentini, and President of the Italian Society of Neonatal Nursing (SIN-INF) Barbara Bernabei.

‘The University of Trieste’s medical programmes respond to the regional healthcare system’s need for highly trained personnel, in this case in nursing,’ stressed Rector Vianelli. ‘These two vocational masters confirm our commitment to offering courses aligned with the needs of the region and of our students. I would also underline the excellent collaboration in research and teaching with the Burlo Garofolo paediatric research hospital, a leading specialist centre operating at the highest level.’

‘These vocational masters’, stated the executive management of Burlo, ‘represent an opportunity for the Institute, long distinguished for its excellence in clinical care and advanced training. Being a scientific institute for clinical research means not only ensuring the highest quality of care, but also investing in the professional development of healthcare workers, training competent and highly-skilled professionals able to meet complex challenges, always prioritising the human side of care. This commitment is further strengthened thanks to the fruitful collaboration with the University of Trieste.’

During his talk, Councillor Riccardi highlighted the importance of integrating high‑level expertise within a complex and articulated healthcare system that must evolve radically to meet current health needs. ‘Those who choose to dedicate their time and energy to caring for people’s health should find environments that offer opportunities for professional growth,’ he concluded. ‘These vocational masters play a strategic role in this respect. They demonstrate that attracting qualified professionals to the region is possible when investment focuses not merely on financial measures, but on healthcare service models suited to our time.’

25 January 2026 marks ten years since the disappearance in Egypt of Giulio Regeni, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge who was kidnapped and tortured in Cairo while conducting research on independent trade unions. The UniTS community wishes to remember him as a symbol of freedom of research, continuing to demand truth and justice for his death. 

Over the years, Regeni's tragic story has triggered a virtuous process that has led the University of Trieste to equip itself with tools to improve the safety of those travelling abroad to areas at risk, a crucial issue not only for the University but also for other institutions and research bodies. This has contributed to the drafting of the “Guidelines for the safety of university staff in areas at geopolitical and socio-health risk”, adopted at national level by all public universities.

Matteo Parenzan, Paralympic table tennis champion and a student at the University of Trieste, will be among the torchbearers crossing the city today with the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame, running one of the final legs leading to the arrival in Piazza Unità d’Italia.

On the Trieste stretch of the relay—bringing together communities and the values of sport—Parenzan will be joined by other outstanding athletes from Trieste, including basketball player Alberto Tonut, fencer Margherita Granbassi, judoka Veronica Toniolo and sailor Giovanna Micol, in a symbolic handover that brings different stories and disciplines together under the five rings.

For the UniTS community, this is a source of pride: Parenzan embodies, with determination and success, the dual career of university student—he is pursuing his degree in Political Science and Public Administration with excellent results—and elite athlete. He has made us, in turn, part of an extraordinary sporting journey that has seen him become World Champion 2022, European Champion 2023, and above all win Paralympic gold in Paris 2024 in table tennis Class 6, while continuing his studies with great commitment and strong academic performance.

The University of Trieste expresses its deep sympathy and support for the Iranian community of students, research assistants and post-docs who live and study at UniTS at this critical time.

As a sign of solidarity and to reiterate the University's strong condemnation of all forms of violence, contempt for human life and violation of fundamental human rights, the University façade will go dark during the commemoration organised by Iranian students at UniTS, to be held in Piazzale Europa at 17:30.

An agreement has been signed between UniTS, ISPRA (Italian Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region for the creation of the ‘Cividale’ CARG sheet, as part of the national programme for creating a Geological Map of Italy. 

A CARG sheet refers to a portion of the national territory, corresponding to a defined cartographic area, for which an official geological map of Italy is produced at a 1:50,000 scale, accompanied by a database and an explanatory report.

The CARG Project is a national programme coordinated by ISPRA aimed at creating and updating the official Geological Map of Italy. Activities include detailed geological surveys, stratigraphic and structural analyses, and the organisation of data in a national geological database.

The products of the CARG Project constitute a fundamental knowledge for spatial planning, for supporting sustainable development policies and for preventing and mitigating natural risks, especially hydrogeological and seismic risks. The maps are used by public bodies, local administrations and professionals as a technical reference for land management, infrastructure design and environmental protection.

The agreement is part of a broader framework of activities carried out by UniTS over the last four years as part of the CARG Project. During this period, two other CARG sheets have been completed or are currently in progress: ‘Trieste–Caresana’ and ‘Gorizia’. The total funding for the three sheets coordinated by the University is around €1,700,000, coming largely from ISPRA and partly from the FVG Region.

The scientific director of the projects coordinated by the University of Trieste is Lorenzo Bonini, associate professor of Geology at the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences (MIGe).

The University of Trieste welcomed the visit of the Rector of Alpen-Adria Universität in Klagenfurt, prof. Ada Pellert, to consolidate the close relationship between the two universities in education and research and to open up new opportunities for cooperation on sustainability and public engagement issues. Particular attention was paid to relations with the economic and productive world.

During the meeting, Rector Vianelli recalled the key points of the collaboration with the Austrian university: the exchange agreements in various academic disciplines and departments within the Erasmus+ mobility programme, the joint commitment to the Summer School in Bovec and the joint participation in the activities of the Alps-Adriatic Rectors’ Conference.

There was great mutual interest in working on the future opening of joint courses in entrepreneurship training and in the area of Artificial Intelligence, as well as on the development of greater connections between research and local industries. The commitment to strengthen existing collaborations in the areas of Political Science and International Science, Engineering and Humanities was also confirmed.

What lies behind the enigmatic gaze of the Mona Lisa? What if those eyes, that face, that posture concealed clinical clues that have escaped art historians for centuries? Those slightly averted eyes, the peculiar neck, that unusual posture that have always been interpreted as aesthetic choices, today find a possible explanation thanks to genomic technologies. ‘Art and genetics: diversity as individuality’, a UniTS project funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, presents a free exhibition challenging traditional categories of research dissemination from 3rd to 10th February in six cities in the FVG region.

Icono-diagnostics is at the heart of this project; a discipline that applies medical knowledge to the study of works of art to recognise clinical signs and symptoms in the subjects depicted. It is an approach that affords the opportunity to see masterpieces with fresh eyes. Details that were once considered oddities or aesthetic peculiarities now find possible scientific explanation at the molecular level.

Trieste’s Politeama Rossetti is to become the beating heart of the event, which boasts a rich programme over two days. On Wednesday 4th February, visitors to the Sala Bartoli will mix science and theatre. The programme starts at 16:30 with ‘Interpreting art through genetics: from paintings to the blueprint for life’, a scientific laboratory curated by prof. Giorgia Girotto, lecturer at UniTS Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, during which geneticists, researchers and a special invited guest create an interactive experience for the public. Quizzes, team challenges and observation games make visitors the real researchers as they are asked to identify clues that tell stories of rare diseases and genetic diversity in works of art. At 19:00, participants can watch ‘Imperfect Icons’, a theatrical production written and performed by Diana Höbel that explores a fascinating parallelism between the professions of acting and genetics. Just as the actor observes others to capture their essence, so the geneticist knows how to ‘look’ at the patient to identify anomalies and arrive at a diagnosis. With irony and lightness, Höbel gives a voice to the painted subjects and has them reflect on their own image, revealing how even the most famous subjects hide a deep and surprising humanity.

On Friday 6th February at 16:30, Room 1954 will host ’The perfect imperfection: when illness becomes art’, an artistic laboratory with Giacomo Andrea Faroldi and Francesca Boldrin, written and directed by Paolo Quazzolo with historical and artistic consultation from Massimo Degrassi. Using narrative theatre, two actors will give accounts of famous paintings with the help of images, revealing the relationships between the subjects depicted and hypothesised pathologies, moving outside traditional framings of the paintings to consider the artworks through both art history and medicine. The laboratory’s interactive elements encourage participation and offer the public the opportunity to rediscover well-known artworks from an unprecedented perspective.

The exhibition will travel across the entire region, offering either or both the artistic laboratory and scientific laboratory in different locations: on 3rd February at 16:30 at the Ugo Carà Museum in Muggia (artistic laboratory); on 7th February at 16:30 at the Hall of Hotel Ai Dogi in Palmanova (artistic laboratory); on 8th February at the Teatro San Giorgio in Udine both the scientific laboratory at 16:30 and the theatrical performance ‘Icone imperfette’ at 19:00; on 9th February at Palazzo Coronini Cronberg in Gorizia both the artistic laboratory at 15:00 and scientific laboratory at 17:00; on 10th February at 16:30 at the San Francesco Convent in Pordenone (artistic laboratory).

The project was conceived by UniTS Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences under the scientific lead of Giorgia Girotto, who is also Head of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory at the Trieste’s Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital. The laboratories all stem from the belief that art and genetics share the same core concept: the study of variation and how unique forms are born from it. Special attention is paid to rare genetic diseases, which through theatre and art emerge from abstraction to become recognisable and deeply human stories. Empathy is the beating heart of the project, instructing participants to go beyond diagnosis to meet the person in their entirety.

The initiative is carried out in partnership with Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital, Stazione Rogers, Immaginario Scientifico Science Museum and Il Rossetti – Friuli Venezia Giulia’s Theatre in collaboration with the Municipalities of Muggia and Udine.

 Programme   

Free admission. Booking required for all events. To book, visit the Eventbrite platform.

You can also book using the QR codes printed in the programme. 

Information: arte.genetica@units.it