On 10th October, the University of Trieste joins the World Mental Health Day, promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). The 2025 edition focuses on mental health in humanitarian emergencies and, in particular, on access to services for people affected by crises and disasters.

According to the latest WHO data, almost one in seven people worldwide (around 1.1 billion) live with a mental disorder. Anxiety and depression are among the most common diagnoses. Despite the existence of effective prevention and treatment interventions, many people still do not receive adequate support and face stigma and discrimination. In this context, the University of Trieste reaffirms its commitment to promoting awareness, equitable access and early prevention.

The University’s contribution
To mark the Day, on Thursday 10th October in Pordenone, the Regional Congress of the Italian Society of Psychiatry – Friuli Venezia Giulia Section (SIP) will take place, focusing on the relationship between mental illness and addiction. The University of Trieste will be represented by Umberto Albert, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Head of the Psychiatric Clinic of the local health authority ASUGI, and regional president of SIP.

‘The frequent comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and addiction is of growing importance, particularly among young people,’ explains Albert, who teaches in the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences. ‘The onset of psychiatric disorders, their clinical presentation and treatment outcomes can be profoundly influenced by substance use, including new psychoactive substances. For this reason, mental health and addiction professionals are called to adopt integrated and coordinated care models based on the concept of dual diagnosis, thereby overcoming the traditional separation between pathways and services.’

The Italian Chemical Society (SCI), specifically the executive board of the Interdivisional Group of Catalysis (GIC), has awarded the 2025 Adolfo Parmaliana Prize ex aequo to Miriam Marchi for the best doctoral thesis (36ᵗʰ and 37ᵗʰ cycles). Miriam obtained her PhD in Nanotechnology under the supervision of Paolo Fornasiero and Michele Melchionna from the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Trieste.

Her thesis, ‘Catalysis for Sustainable Development’, explored innovative photo- and electrocatalytic approaches for organic synthesis and the activation of small molecules such as CO₂, focusing particularly on carbon-based materials as versatile alternatives to traditional catalysts.

A day marked by togetherness and the inclusive power of sport, in a spectacular setting and with a spirit of competition that celebrates teamwork stroke after stroke. Following the great success of 2024, the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge returned this year as part of the 57ᵗʰ edition of the Barcolana, organised by CUS Trieste (UniTS sports centre) in collaboration with the University of Trieste, CUS Venezia, the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and with the support of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The event saw the dragon-headed and dragon-tailed boats race in the San Giusto Basin, crewed by students from the teams of CUS Trieste, CUS Bari, CUS Venezia and CUS Udine, with the latter joining the ranks of the two Venetian formations (CUS Venezia Ca’ Foscari and CUS Venezia Iuav). After the traditional Eye-Dotting Ceremony, a ritual of Chinese origin wishing good fortune to the boats, the four teams, each composed of 16 athletes, competed fiercely over the 150-metre course alongside Molo Audace.

CUS Trieste enjoyed the satisfaction of claiming victory at home, first completing the qualifying rounds unbeaten with three wins out of three, and then defeating CUS Bari once again in the much-anticipated final for first and second place. The third step of the podium went to CUS Venezia Ca’ Foscari, which won the Venetian derby against CUS Venezia Iuav in the race for third and fourth place.

The final ranking therefore saw the triumph of CUS Trieste (1ˢᵗ) ahead of CUS Bari (2ⁿᵈ), CUS Venezia Ca’ Foscari (3ʳᵈ) and CUS Venezia Iuav (4ᵗʰ).

The Rector of the University of Trieste, Donata Vianelli, underlined ‘This afternoon dedicated to fun and togetherness, once again demonstrates that our university environment is not only about research and study but also embraces sport and its values. The Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge, which brings together various institutions capable of joining forces and creating productive synergies, has proven once again to be a valuable opportunity to express the unifying power of sporting practice – a sport such as Dragon Boat is inclusive and offers participants a unique experience of mutual understanding and a culture of collective strength.’

‘The university is a fundamental pillar in the education of young people,’ commented Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, ‘not only on a cultural level but also in terms of personal and ethical growth. Today, the Italian Constitution recognises sport as an essential instrument of education, and I believe that universities, through the CUS network, can and must increasingly promote sport as an integral part of the academic journey. In this sense, the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge represents an extraordinary example: it connects the academic world with the spirit of the sea and teamwork, bringing to the Barcolana a discipline that perfectly embodies the values of cooperation, energy and inclusion.’

‘Building on the success of the 2024 edition,’ emphasised Michele Pipan, President of CUS Trieste, ‘Dragon Boat has returned on a broader scale, proving to be a valuable tool for promoting solidarity in sporting effort, teamwork and inclusion. The 2025 edition was held in this spirit, involving participants of all levels of ability, gender and nationality. The main goal — highlighting cooperation among athletes who, each in their own way, can contribute to achieving a common objective — was fully achieved. I would like to thank the teams from CUS Bari, CUS Venezia and CUS Udine, who were keen to take part in this event.’

The new research project Be-UP, funded with €8.5 million by the Horizon Europe Programme, has now been launched. The project aims to develop new renewable polymers for the production and use of biodegradable packaging across Europe.

Coordinated by ITENE (Spain), Be-UP brings together a consortium of 17 private and public organisations from nine countries, with the University of Trieste as the only Italian university involved. Participating companies include Novamont, Particula, Hybrid Catalysis, Isotech, Aptar Group, Imerys, Innotech (Grupo Lantero), and the laboratories Polinivo, Normec, Cebimat, FTPO and IDENER. European Bioplastics and the competitiveness cluster Polymeris will ensure the dissemination of Be-UP results, with the support of the Spanish Standardisation Association (UNE).

In detail, the Be-UP project aims to develop pioneering methods for the synthesis and industrial processing (extrusion, injection moulding and thermoforming) of polyesters derived from bio-based raw materials. Be-UP will employ biocatalysts and sustainable additives, while also integrating advanced multi-object digital modelling tools to achieve simultaneously high technical performance, sustainability and biodegradability of polymers.

The Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Trieste is involved in the project with a multidisciplinary team combining biocatalysis (Prof. Lucia Gardossi), computational chemistry (Prof. Emanuele Carosati) and spectroscopy (Prof. Fioretta Asaro). The research is supported by funding of approximately €330,000 over four years, enabling the activation of a research contract and a PhD scholarship. A further position will be opened in 2026.

In recent years, the UniTS team has designed and enzymatically synthesised new bio-based polyesters which, thanks to collaboration with the ecology group led by Prof. Monia Renzi in the Department of Life Sciences at UniTS, have also provided the basis for the development of rapid tests to assess the marine ecotoxicity and biodegradability of polyesters. These studies open new prospects for the rational design of environmentally sustainable polymers and demonstrate the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations in addressing the complex environmental challenges faced by science today. The results, which led to participation in the Be-UP project, were achieved thanks to two Marie Skłodowska-Curie grants (RenEcoPol and InterFACES) and to funding under the PNRR – NextGenerationEU (ICSC – National Centre for Research in High Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing, Spoke 7).

At the conclusion of Be-UP, packaging prototypes will be produced with a high level of technological maturity (TRL7) in order to validate the materials developed. Their biodegradability will be assessed in various end-of-life scenarios, including both open natural environments and controlled conditions. The UniTS team will develop computational models capable of correlating polymer structure with marine biodegradability.

This data-driven approach will help to improve the knowledge base underpinning European regulations, support industrial competitiveness and accelerate the transition towards a truly circular bioeconomy, making a direct contribution to several European action plans and strategies, including the plastics strategy, the Single-Use Plastics Directive, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the regulation on packaging and packaging waste.

The University of Trieste hosted the presentation of the results of 3FiRES – Research on BIPV Photovoltaic Façades for Fire Spread Mechanisms, Structural Failures and Resilience Improvement Methodologies, a project carried out by the University of Trieste in partnership with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

3FiRES is one of ten major projects selected under the Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Italy and China, a bilateral initiative co‑funded by MAECI and MOST.

The two‑year collaboration, with total funding of €500,000, was coordinated by Prof. Chiara Bedon (UniTS) and Prof. Yu Wang (USTC).

Within the thematic area “Green Energy and related research”, 3FiRES investigated—through analytical, numerical and experimental methods—the behaviour of Building‑Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) façades subjected to extreme and accidental actions, in particular fire. These innovative electricity‑generating systems make a significant contribution to the sustainability of green buildings while being required to guarantee appropriate structural and architectural performance even under limiting conditions.

At the University of Trieste, the study brought together a multidisciplinary team from the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA), combining civil, electrical and architectural engineering expertise, with the involvement of Alessandro Massi Pavan, Vanni Lughi, Luca Cozzarini, Marco Fasan, and Adriano Venudo, alongside several early‑career researchers.

The activities included extensive experimental campaigns conducted in the DIA laboratories in Trieste and—above all—at the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (USTC) in Hefei and the Fire Laboratory of the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) in Logatec. The datasets enabled the development and refinement of finite‑element modelling strategies.

The results have been disseminated through numerous publications in leading international journals and presentations at major conferences, as well as two volumes published by EUT – Trieste University Press. A key outcome is a patent filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and granted in April 2025.

The patent concerns the prototyping of a device and experimental method for the fire testing of integrated photovoltaic glass panels, allowing multiple test parameters to be varied. Intellectual property is held by the following researchers: Prof. Yu Wang, Dr Haonan Chen, Dr Dezhi Ran, Dr Wei Chu, and Prof. Chiara Bedon.

Initial applications and results underlying the patent have been published in the International Journal of Thermal Sciences.

Studying for a Master’s degree at the University of Trieste has a highly positive impact on employability and career prospects. Analyses by the Talents Venture Observatory based on AlmaLaurea 2024/2025 data, published by Il Sole 24 Ore, show that UniTS graduates achieve employment rates that place the Trieste university among the national leaders.

These results stem from a combination of a constantly updated second-level course catalogue (two-year master’s degrees and five/six-year integrated master’s degrees) designed to meet the needs and developments of the professional world, and a placement system that guides and prepares students and recent graduates for entering the job market.

What counts, therefore, is not only the field of study but also the university where the qualification is obtained: for the same course, employment rate differences between universities can exceed 50-60 percentage points.

Five podiums, four first places
In the rankings by disciplinary area, UniTS ranks first in the economics area (master’s) with a 96% employment rate, first in the medical-health and pharmaceutical group (integrated master’s) with 95.6%, and first in Architecture and Civil Engineering for both master’s degrees and integrated master’s degrees, in both cases reaching 100% (national ex aequo). Completing the picture is second place in Law (integrated master’s degree) with 78.8%, just behind the top position.

These results cover professional fields that are crucial for development and innovation, ranging from technical-engineering and medical-healthcare areas to economics and law.

A university oriented towards the job market
Over the years, the University has consolidated a structured placement system coordinated by the University Career Service, which organises job@UniTS, the annual Career Day that hosts over 50 companies and involves around 700 students and recent graduates, confirming itself as a key meeting point between labour supply and demand.

The range of student services also includes placement workshops dedicated to CV writing, job interview simulation and soft-skills development, as well as the promotion of curricular internships, the activation of post-graduate placements, recruiting days with leading international companies, targeted employability projects and an Alumni network linking graduates with businesses and institutions.

The goal is to reduce the time required to enter the job market and to consolidate stable relationships with the productive sector. AlmaLaurea data also confirm salaries above the national average, with positive progression after five years.

Entrepreneurship and an innovation culture
Alongside placement initiatives, UniTS has developed an entrepreneurship pathway through the Innovators Community Lab (ICLab), which combines role-modelling, mentoring, company visits and project work to link academic skills with business culture and provide students with further professional development opportunities.

A constantly updated course offering
In the 2025/2026 academic year, UniTS continues to update its second-level course catalogue with an international and professional focus. Enrolment is now open for three new master’s degrees – Applied Social and Cognitive Psychology (non-clinical profiles, qualifying degree), Rehabilitation Sciences of Healthcare Professions (tele-rehabilitation, AI, robotics, sustainability) and PoSIG – Joint Master’s Degree in Political Science – Integration & Governance (taught in English, based in Gorizia, joint degree) – along with the Bachelor’s Degree in Earth Sciences for Sustainable Development (taught in English, focusing on geo-resources and geological risk).

What are the opportunities and limits of applying Artificial Intelligence to cultural institutions – particularly museums, archives and libraries?

These questions will be explored on 6th and 7th October 2025 at the Conference Centre of the Gorizia Campus (Via D’Alviano 18), during the conference ‘Artificial Intelligence in Cultural Institutions’. The national-level event is organised by the University of Trieste, through its University Museum Services (smaTs), in collaboration with MAB – Museums, Archives and Libraries coordination of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It will bring together scholars and cultural professionals for an in-depth exchange, with the support of Generali Group, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, and the Municipality of Gorizia.

A rich programme of high-level guests and content

The conference will unfold over two days. On Monday 6th October, from 15:30 to 19:00, the opening session entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence: a dialogue between science and culture’ will begin with the institutional greetings of Professor Donata Vianelli, Rector of the University of Trieste, together with representatives of major national and regional cultural institutions.

Speakers on the first day will include representatives of the Trieste academic community, such as Paolo Gallina (Head of the Department of Engineering and Architecture), who will speak on ‘Art, Artificial Intelligence and their perception’; Maria Teresa Scantamburlo (holder of the Chair in Responsible and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence), who will present ‘Responsible Artificial Intelligence at the service of culture’; and Massimo De Grassi (Head of the Department of Humanities), who will explore the question ‘Artistic production and Artificial Intelligence: shared paths?’. The discussion will also feature cultural-sector professionals: Bruna La Sorda (Vice-President of the National Association of Archivists – ANAI) will discuss ‘Artificial Intelligence in archives: evolutionary trajectories’; Matilde Fontanin (AIB Information Literacy Observatory) will present the European project ‘Supercharged by AI’, focused on AI literacy in Italian libraries; and Anna Maria Marras (member of the ICOM Italia Board) will conclude with ‘Inclusive Intelligences: education, accessibility and sustainability of AI in cultural institutions’.

On Tuesday 7th October, from 9:30 to 12:15, the second session, ‘AI Applications in the Cultural Sector’, will take a practical perspective with real-world case studies. Speakers will include Marco Ranieri, entrepreneur and developer of AI apps for cultural institutions; Roberta Spada, Head of Historical Archive and Corporate Heritage at Generali; and Tilman Scheel, founder and CEO of AboutSomethinK, who will discuss chatbots designed for libraries, archives and museums. Also taking the floor will be Bruno Callegher (smaTs) and Giorgio Donato (IT Manager of Nomismata), with a talk entitled ‘Nomismata (Byzantine Coin Hoards): AI interprets for us’, and Luca Bortolussi (Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation at the University of Trieste), who will address the topical question ‘Does Artificial Intelligence copy or create?’

Focus on responsible Artificial Intelligence

The conference tackles one of today’s most pressing challenges: how to reconcile automation with human creativity and the diversity of cultural expression. As the organisers point out, ‘the automation of cultural data encompasses different types of Artificial Intelligence, from those involved in creating art and culture to those dedicated to cataloguing and processing their results.’ The event aims to explore the potential of a responsible Artificial Intelligence model – one that can guide institutions, professionals and cultural venues towards sustainable cooperation between automation and human creativity, without undermining the richness of Italy’s cultural heritage.

Opening of the exhibition La donna del mare by Annamaria Ducaton

To conclude the conference, on Tuesday 7th October at 12:15, again at the Conference Centre of the Gorizia Campus (Via D’Alviano 18), the University Museum Services will inaugurate the exhibition by Trieste artist Annamaria Ducaton, who has donated to the University of Trieste the 28 works in her series ‘La donna del mare’ (the sea woman), created to mark the University’s centenary. The exhibition will be introduced by Paolo Quazzolo from the Department of Humanities.

The University of Trieste wishes to align itself with the position of CoPER – the Council of Presidents of Public Research Bodies – which in a statement ‘shares the feelings of horror, pain, indignation and anguish at the dramatic humanitarian crisis that the Palestinian population is suffering as a result of the military actions undertaken by the Israeli Government in the Gaza Strip. The brutal terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on 7th October 2023 cannot in any way justify what is being inflicted on Palestinian civilians, victims of continuous attacks, bombings and famine.

It condemns the actions that have caused, and continue to cause, thousands of civilian casualties, including a very high number of children. It also condemns the obstacles to the delivery of aid, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure. A tragedy for which the International Court of Justice has declared the risk of violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – a position confirmed by a special United Nations commission which concluded that Israel’s war practices in Gaza ‘bear the characteristic elements of genocide’.

In these dramatic days, UniTS also recalls that its actions are inspired by respect for constitutional principles, with specific reference to Article 11 of the Italian Constitution, which states that ‘Italy repudiates war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes’; and Article 33, which affirms that ‘the arts and sciences are free, and free is their teaching’, thereby forcefully asserting the value of freedom of research; as well as to the values enshrined in its Statute and in its Code of Ethics.

The UniTS community shares and makes its own the concern and distress of the entire italian academic community regarding all the wars currently underway in the world, with particular reference to the crisis in Gaza, expressing its sorrow for the immense suffering inflicted on the civilian populations involved.

In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers from CNR – Istituto Officina dei Materiali (CNR-IOM), the University of Trieste, Italy, and Innsbruck, Austria, and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste have successfully synthesized a novel two-dimensional crystalline form of diboron trioxide. This new crystal, composed entirely of structural units previously seen only in its disordered, glassy state, marks a significant scientific milestone. Published in the prestigious journal Science, the study confirms the existence of a structure previously predicted only in theory, and opening exciting possibilities for future applications of this innovative material.

Boron oxide is a critical component in the production of ultra-durable glasses, such as Pyrex, and high-performance enamels. The addition of boron trioxide enhances glass’s resistance to thermal shock and chemical reactions, making it ideal for demanding industrial and scientific applications. However, the vitrification process of boron oxide remains poorly understood, exhibiting unique anomalies compared to other oxides, like silica, which can exist in both crystalline and amorphous forms.

“The key distinction between a crystal and a glass lies in the ordered arrangement of atoms in the former, which is absent in the latter,” explains Alessandro Sala, a CNR-IOM researcher and the project’s lead designer. “Both materials typically share a basic structural unit of a few atoms, repeated throughout. In crystals, this “building block” is arranged in a precise, repeating pattern, while in glass, it is disordered. Boron oxide is an exception: its glassy phase contains a structural unit called boroxine – a ring of three boron and three oxygen atoms – that have never been observed in a crystalline form until now. Our team has achieved a world-first by creating a two-dimensional crystalline phase made entirely of these boroxine units.”

The international research team not only devised a method to synthesize this material, using platinum as a substrate, but also conducted detailed analyses of its physical properties. Maria Peressi, a professor at the University of Trieste, elaborates: “Our numerical simulations reveal that this porous material, formed by a lattice of boroxine rings, is extraordinary flexible – ten times more elastic than graphene, making it the most elastic single-layer material ever reported. This remarkable flexibility arises because the rigid boroxine rings are connected by a single oxygen atom, acting as a hinge that allows them to rotate in the plane. Experimental and simulation results also show that the material interacts weakly with its platinum substrate, suggesting it could be easily separated using conventional techniques for using in cutting-edge devices.”

Laerte Patera, a professor of University of Innsbruck, adds: “using advanced scanning tunneling microscopy in Trieste and Innsbruck, we visualized the crystalline structure of this two-dimensional material down to its individual atoms. This unprecedented resolution enables us to pinpoint the position of each atom in the lattice, offering valuable insights into how atoms reorganize during the transition from crystalline to glassy states. This capability will be transformative for future studies of material transformations.”

Andrea Locatelli, head of the Nanospectroscopy beamline at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, emphasizes the mix of advanced technology: “Synchrotron light was instrumental in confirming the material’s elemental composition, purity and crystallinity. We can now produce homogeneous crystals spanning tens of square microns. The synergy between experimental techniques and numerical simulations was pivotal to this project’s success. With its unique properties – a wide-bandgap semiconductor that is both highly flexible and porous – this material holds immense potential for application in fields ranging from electronics and catalysis to quantum technologies.”

Adding to the significance of this achievement, the study’s first authors, Teresa Zio and Marco Dirindin, are PhD students from the University of Trieste, specializing in experimental and theoretical research, respectively. Their contribution highlights the University’s commitment to fostering excellence in advanced research training. 

Huge public participation and sold-out events: the 14th edition of Trieste Next, once again under the scientific direction of UniTS, has been a great success.

With its rich programme, the University managed to bring science into the square, engaging with children, welcoming Nobel laureates and internationally renowned scholars, and connecting with the citizens who crowd our stand every year.

Centre stage were today’s scientists and science communicators as well as those of tomorrow: this year, young people were truly among the leading voices animating the activities and shaping the narrative of the festival.

Thanks go to everyone who values and enjoys the festival, to those who discovered it for the first time and to those who have followed it from the beginning.

And a special thanks to our magnificent and tireless volunteers, our students, without whom Trieste Next would not be the same.