PICOSATS - Space Technologies Solutions, the startup created as a spin-off from the University of Trieste and specialised in the design and production of small, state-of-the-art satellite telecommunications systems, has won the first edition of the Innovative SME Award.

The prize is awarded by InnovUp – the association that has represented and united the Italian innovation sector since 2012 – in collaboration with InValue, with the aim of valorising small and medium-sized Italian companies that stand out for their capacity for innovation, technological impact and contribution to the country's economic and social progress.

Selected by Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico ‘Andrea Galvani’ as the winner of the regional level for Friuli Venezia Giulia, PICOSATS went on to win the title of Innovative SME of the Year in the national competition.

The company, based at the Area Science Park in Padriciano, develops proprietary transponders and antennas - RADIOSAT and BEAMSAT - providing services for space applications dedicated to small satellites. The business is based on strategic partnerships with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

In November 2023, PICOSATS' technology was integrated on board D-Orbit's ION satellite carrier in SpaceX's Transponder-9 mission, with a very successful in-orbit validation.

PICOSATS outperformed the competition of four other SME finalists, selected by several Italian technology parks. Aortic Lab, a candidate from Piedmont and supported by the Bioindustry Park with Environment Park, Sigma Ingegneria, representing Tuscany and selected by the Polo Tecnologico di Navacchio, Optoelettronica Italia, a company from the province of Trento recommended by Trentino Sviluppo, and Faba, a company from Veneto.

‘The InnovUp award is a great honour for us, especially because of the stature of the other finalists, innovative SMEs that do exceptional work,’ commented Anna Gregorio, professor of Astrophysics at the University of Trieste, founder and president of PICOSATS.

‘The most important aspect of PICOSATS,’ continued the lecturer from the Physics Department at UniTS, ‘is the team! Working with very young boys and girls is each day more enjoyable and stimulating. Added to this, of course, is the technology, which to be at the cutting edge in the space sector is extremely expensive.’

During the award ceremony, Anna Gregorio also mentioned the role of the investment funds - Liftt, Progress Tech Transfer and Galaxia - and all the partners. She concluded by thanking the University of Trieste - where the PICOSATS story began ten years ago - Area Science Park and Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico, emphasising the importance of science and technology parks as places of innovation.
 

Friuli Venezia Giulia maintains the positive trend of post-pandemic recovery as regards the flow of foreign researchers and lecturers from institutions and incoming ones: this is what emerges from the annual survey ‘Mobility of Knowledge’ carried out by Area Science Park, which has been collecting the main data on students, researchers and lecturers of SiS FVG partner research institutions since 2005.

The survey reveals that there were a total of 36,925 students enrolled in the academic year 2022/2023, 7% of whom were foreign nationals (in the academic year 2021/2022, there were 36,459 students enrolled, of whom 6% were foreigners). Female students account for 56% of those enrolled (a 1% increase over the last survey) and mainly attend degree courses in the Humanities or Social Sciences.

The number of incoming students, 707 in total, is finally approaching pre-pandemic figures. Of this target group, 75% have European citizenship, 53% are women and 47% belong to the areas of Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, Earth and Universe Sciences. On the other hand, there are 1,104 students enrolled in outgoing mobility: EU countries are the destination of 93% of this target group, 53% of whom are students enrolled on courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

As far as researchers and lecturers working in scientific institutions that are part of the Scientific and Innovation System - SiS FVG are concerned, in 2023 their presence reached 3,641. Although up by about 280 compared to 2022, the overall number nevertheless remains far from the numbers recorded before the pandemic (they were 6,960 in 2019). As for the foreign component in force at SiS FVG institutions, 2023 saw the largest increase in the last four years, rising from 636 to 804, although the numbers still remain far from pre-pandemic levels.

In contrast, incoming mobility of researchers and lecturers increased by almost 4,000 to 7,854. Outgoing mobility also saw an increase in 2023, with 75 trips abroad, mainly to EU European countries (43%) but also to Asian countries (20%, excluding India and China).

Adding up all the foreigners present in the institutions of the FVG Science and Innovation System, there is a further strong increase compared to the previous year, from 7,597 to 11,934 presences, a figure that is close to that recorded before the pandemic (about 14,000).

See the complete survey, available in Italian and English. https://www.areasciencepark.it/pubblicato-il-report-mobilita-della-conoscenza-2024/

As of January, the University of Trieste's Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety has officially joined the European network CONRIS (Cooperation Network for Risk, Safety and Security Studies).

This marks the first time an Italian institution has achieved full membership in the international network.

After two years in the role of provisional partner, this membership recognises the degree programme’s quality. The programme is oriented towards health protection, environmental and food safety and public health.

CONRIS brings together university courses that focus on risk management and assessment. Through collaborations between European universities, it promotes scientific research and the exchange of expertise in the field of health and safety. Enrolling in the Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety offers UniTS students new opportunities for academic and professional growth, including participation in Erasmus programmes and events of international relevance.

‘Joining the CONRIS network and participating in Erasmus programmes,’ comments Prof. Francesca Larese Filon, coordinator of the degree course, ‘will guarantee our students the opportunity to enrich their education with high-level international experiences. By attending international schools, students will be able to confront different approaches and methodologies in the management of occupational safety and prevention, thus broadening their skills and professional perspectives.'

CONRIS promotes scientific events such as the European Students Research Conference for Risk Safety Security (ESRC), an international conference where young researchers from all over Europe can present their studies on topics related to risk, safety and security.

In 2024, the ESRC recognised the excellence of the research conducted by Ambra Lorenzini and Elia Buttolo, two students from the degree course who focused on risk assessment related to exposure to nanomaterials in laboratories.

The Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety, offered by the Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences (DSM), has been taught for three years at the UniTS Gorizia Campus, where lectures and workshops are held to prepare professionals in the fields of prevention and risk assessment.

This degree course, divided into theoretical and practical lessons, laboratories and internships, ensures the development of cross-disciplinary and specific skills. These skills are essential for conducting prevention, verification and monitoring activities in the field of hygiene and environmental safety in residential and workplace environments, food and beverage hygiene, public and veterinary hygiene and health, in the various public and private, health and biomedical roles and professional fields.

A study carried out by the University of Trieste in collaboration with Yale University, published by Nature Npj Digital Medicine, has entered the top ten of the most cited articles in 2024 in the prestigious scientific journal, coming eighth in the ranking drawn up by the publisher.

The article entitled ‘Optimization of hepatological clinical guidelines interpretation by large language models: a retrieval augmented generation-based framework’ saw the contribution of an interdisciplinary UniTS research team, consisting of Simone Kresevic, PhD student in Biomedical and Clinical Engineering, Miloš Ajčević and Agostino Accardo from the Department of Engineering and Architecture, and Lory Saveria Crocè, gastroenterologist from the Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences.

The study benefited from the collaboration between the group of researchers from the University of Trieste and the Yale School of Medicine, in particular the Human+Artificial Intelligence in Medicine centre in New Heaven (Connecticut, USA), with contributions from Dennis L. Shung, director of the research laboratory, and Mauro Giuffrè, co-authors of the paper.

The researchers explored the use of generative AI systems capable of understanding and generating human language by processing large amounts of data, Large Language Models (LLM), to optimise clinical decision support in the field of medicine.

In this study, a digital infrastructure (framework) based on LLM was therefore developed which, through the correct formatting of clinical guidelines, could improve their consultation and application in clinical practice.

The research focuses, in particular, on the integration of these Artificial Intelligence models to improve the interpretation of medical guidelines relating to the management of chronic infections caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

This system, using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques, a method of extracting relevant information from clinical guidelines, reprocessing it using LLM and, through the generative process, providing answers to guideline-related questions in a clear and accurately structured manner.

The research activity now continues to expand the functioning of the framework on different liver diseases. This strand of research could offer a system capable of supporting physicians with decisions based on the best available scientific evidence.

‘With this approach,’ explains Dr Simone Kresevic, first author of the article together with Mauro Giuffrè, ‘we are laying the foundation for using artificial intelligence in everyday clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine, a fundamental pillar of modern medicine, aims to integrate the best available scientific evidence with clinical experience and patients' needs. However, the complexity and volume of clinical guidelines often represent a significant barrier in their application.'

'Through this framework,' Kresevic concludes, ‘we can offer a tool to support the clinician and thus support evidence-based and personalised medicine, bridging the gap between high-quality research and practical healthcare, especially in complex areas such as hepatology.’

On the night of 27th January, UniTS will light up its façade in red as a poignant reminder that International Holocaust Remembrance Day, dedicated to honouring the victims of the Holocaust, is commemorated worldwide.

The date was established by the United Nations General Assembly because on 27th January 1945 Soviet Red Army troops, engaged in Operation Vistula-Oder towards Germany, liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp, revealing the horrors of the Nazi regime to the international community.

In order to deepen the knowledge of the Shoah and deportations, on Monday 27th January 2025, starting at 16:00, at the Miela Theatre, there will be the 11th edition of the multidisciplinary conference ‘Living with Auschwitz. The atrocity’. 

PROGRAMME: https://portale.units.it/en/events/multidisciplinary-conference-living-auschwitz-atrocity

The initiative, born from the collaboration between the University of Trieste and the cultural association Stazione Ernesto Nathan Rogers, is part of the Rogers' Forum event, financed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.

The complete calendar of commemorations in Trieste can be consulted here: https://www.comune.trieste.it/it/novita-227102/comunicati-227104/27-gennaio-2025-giorno-della-memoria-cerimonia-commemorativa-alla-risiera-di-san-sabba-e-programma-attvita-culturali-291581

Moreover, from 26th February to 3rd March 2025, about forty students will take part in a trip to the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, part of the project ‘Promemoria_Auschwitz’ promoted by the association Deina APS. Information can be found here: https://www.deina.it/promemoria-auschwitz

A hall crowded with UniTS students ready to leave for the Erasmus+ Study Programme, dedicated to bachelor's, master's and PhD students.

The UniTS International Day has proved to be a not-to-be-missed event for students who want to experience training abroad: the stories of those who have already lived this kind of experience and the information provided by the university staff demonstrated all the advantages of the Programme.

As special guest, there was the science journalist and biologist Cristina Serra.

The numbers of UniTS Erasmus+ Study are excellent: the funding obtained is about € 1,600,000 while the evaluation received by the National Agency of the Programme for the management of activities is the highest in the last seven years (a score of 90/100).

The numbers of outgoing students are on the rise with 522 assignments for 2024/25 (+9.4 %), while those expected to arrive (incoming) are slightly up with 206, a number that is destined to rise.

Also noteworthy is the growth in the Short-Term Mission reserved for doctoral students with 32 assignments in 2023/24 (compared to 15 in the previous round), the participation of lecturers (+ 90%) and university staff (+ 74%).

The Urology Department of the Cattinara Hospital, a university facility that is the seat of the UniTS Specialisation School in Urology, demonstrates national excellence in the treatment of prostate cancer.

The Prostate Cancer Unit of Trieste, in fact, has obtained for the second consecutive time the Bollino Azzurro (blue stamp) awarded by Fondazione Onda ETS, the national observatory on women's and gender health. The award is intended to identify virtuous centres offering prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services in the uro-andrological field from a multidisciplinary perspective, with a focus on prostate cancer and functional post-surgical complications.

Prof. Giovanni Liguori, Head of the Urology Department of ASUGI (local health services) and Professor of Urology and Andrology at the University of Trieste, says: ‘The awarding of the Bollino Azzurro recognises our commitment to making available to patients, suffering from both cancer and benign pathologies, not only innovative therapies, but a global approach that considers the multiple aspects of uro-andrological health, integrating prevention and treatment and paying great attention to preserving the quality of life.’

‘An approach,’ continues Prof. Liguori, ‘that both Prof. Paolo Umari and I aim to transfer to the new generations of urologists that we train in the UniTS specialisation school.’

The Prostate Cancer Unit in Trieste, coordinated by Dr. Gianluca D'Aloia, is made up of specialists from different branches, including urologists, oncologists, radiologists, radiotherapists, anatomic pathologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and nurses, who guarantee comprehensive care and customised therapeutic solutions.

‘In parallel with Bollino Rosa (pink stamp),’ explains Dr. Luisa Dudine, Fondazione Onda's territorial representative, ‘which is dedicated to the commitment to care and assistance for the health problems that most affect women and require specific approaches and skills, Bollino Azzurro focuses on the diseases that most affect men. Cancer units must be able to address not only the health problems of patients, but also the effects on those close to them.’

The University of Trieste has been fitted out with a new ‘Simulated Pharmacy’ laboratory, which will be available to students from the integrated master’s degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology.

This type of laboratory, which can be found in only three other universities in Italy, will enable students to carry out exercises extremely useful for their entry into the world of work. This is in line with growth in the pharmacist profession in recent years and new healthcare services provided by local pharmacies. The aim is to supplement the theoretical courses in the 4th and 5th years of Pharmacy and PCT programmes with practical experience in the field.

The Laboratory is a physical space, equipped like a real pharmacy open to the public, where learning focuses on experiencing the ‘pharmacy’ environment, aspects of pharmaceutical technology, socio-economics, pharmaceutical legislation and self-medication management. 

In the ‘Prescription Area’ there is a counter with two workstations equipped with management software. In the ‘Health and Wellbeing Area’ there is another counter and displays of health products. In the ‘Service Booth’, students will instead find equipment for ECG analysis, spirometers, pulse oximeters, sphygmomanometers, a vaccine injection simulator and much more. The area is also equipped with a refrigerator and a section for preparing medicines. There is also a classroom area equipped with a projection system.

The creation of the Simulated Pharmacy was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Telaro, Aboca and the Consorzio Farmacisti Riuniti.

The objective of KNIGHT (Knowledge base for Nile Geo-Hazards Tackling) is to strengthen resilience to geo-hazards and climate challenges along the Nile corridor, increasing the capacity to manage emergencies. It is a project promoted by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) that sees participation from the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA) at the University of Trieste.

The project, co-financed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, was officially launched on 20th January. It will last two years and counts among its partners the Municipality of Lignano Sabbiadoro, Cooperative Shoreline, the Faculty of Science at the Damietta University (Egypt) and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG, Egypt).

KNIGHT is aimed at natural disaster mitigation and emergency management. More specifically, it aims to strengthen the resilience of the natural, economic and cultural heritage along the Nile River and its delta. It does so by supporting the review of the national plan for natural hazard mitigation with data, models and innovative technologies.

Within this highly multi-disciplinary project, a research team from the University of Trieste composed of Chiara Bedon (DIA), Marco Fasan (DIA) and Fabio Romanelli (MIGe) will focus on advanced structural and seismological analysis, also using innovative methods and technologies. Their goal is to characterise and assess the seismic risk and vulnerability of some case-study buildings that will be identified along the course of the Nile. All this will contribute to drawing up natural risk exposure maps, the identification of optimal strategies for the prevention of natural disasters, and the establishment of emergency management procedures.

The collaboration between the partners will allow for the sharing of data that will be analysed, standardised and integrated into a database using a GIS platform, making it possible to identify the areas most subject to anthropic and/or natural stress (and therefore most vulnerable), and to assess natural hazards and possible cascading risks in order to mitigate them.

‘There are three main activities that will be carried out. First of all, work will be done to develop a data and knowledge base for the integrated assessment of geological and environmental risks at selected sites along the Nile, the delta and the surrounding coastal areas. At the same time, new methodologies for integrating multi-hazard scenarios and environmental monitoring will be tested at key sites along the course of the Nile, ranging from the Aswan Dam to the coastal areas of the delta, with a special focus on the area of Damietta, a city of significant economic and social interest. Finally, specialised training, technology transfer, citizen-science and awareness-raising activities will also be carried out,' says Antonella Peresan, seismologist at OGS and coordinator of the project.

‘These activities,’ concludes Peresan, ’will over the 24 months of the project lead to concrete and useful products for the future: the creation of an archive of data and knowledge and the development of shared guidelines to improve the resilience of the natural and environmental heritage in the area of intervention, an area where natural events and climate change can significantly affect socio-economic growth.’

The activities of the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) of the University of Trieste have officially begun, with the first joint meeting of the Governing Board and the Scientific Committee, which took place in the presence of the Rector Roberto Di Lenarda and the Director General Luciana Rozzini.

The Centre was established under the leadership of Matteo Cornacchia, Professor of General and Social Pedagogy, to promote the continuous training of university lecturers with a view to innovation and improvement in teaching, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of teaching in relation to the changing student population and the digital tools available.

The TLC will be a useful tool to strengthen the idea of the ‘university teacher’ that UniTS intends to promote.

‘The launch of the Teaching and Learning Centre,’ explains Matteo Cornacchia, ‘is one of the actions envisaged in the University's Strategic Plan 2023-2026. TLCs have long been present in foreign universities and, for some years now, they have also been becoming more widespread in Italy with the aim of accompanying and supporting the improvement of university teaching and the professional development of lecturers and researchers.’

Among the first initiatives is the introduction of a compulsory course for newly recruited lecturers to facilitate their induction and foster their professional growth. It will also provide support for the design and delivery of innovative training courses.

‘Their task,’ says Cornacchia, ’is to foster Faculty Development, i.e. the set of activities needed by university lecturers to improve their knowledge, teaching and assessment methodologies, relationships with students, and to be more effective overall in their work.'

The TLC Governing Board comprises all the components of the academic community: in its first formation, it includes lecturers Silvia Palmisano (DSM), Pierre Thibault (DF), Dolores Ferrara (IUSLIT), Stefano Fornasaro (DSCF) and Giovanni Grandi (DISPES), the administrative manager (identified by the Director General) Enrico Sartor, Samantha Tedesco representing the technical and administrative staff and Enrico Candotti as the student representative.

The Scientific Committee, on the other hand, is composed of Sara Cervai (DISPES), Gianfranco Sanson (DSM), Francesco Venier (DEAMS), Danilo Lewanski (MIGE), Valentina Beorchia (MIGE - as Interdepartmental Centre for Research on Educational - CIRD), Emanuele Carosati (DSCF), Maria Chiara Passolunghi (DSV), Giovanni Bacaro (DSV), Paolo Labinaz (DISU), Eric Medvet (DIA), Lorenzo Di Pietro (DF) and Stefano Ondelli (IUSLIT), ensuring the representation of all the University's departments.

During the inaugural meeting, the members of the Centre's two bodies engaged in an initial discussion of the tasks of the TLC, also in relation to similar bodies in Italy and abroad, and began planning future activities.