From 25th to 30th November Vitiligo Week, an initiative promoted by SIDeMaST to raise awareness and support people affected by this disease, will be held throughout Italy. During the week more than a thousand free consultations will be available in 40 dermatological centres in Italy, including the Dermatology Clinic and STD Centres of the University of Trieste and local healthcare provider ASUGI. 

In Trieste the consultations will be held on 26th and 28th November from 9:00 to 11:00 in the outpatient clinics of the Dermatology Clinic and STD Centres of the Ospedale Maggiore, Palazzina Infettivi, 4th floor. 

To book a free visit during Vitiligo Week, please contact the freephone number 800226466, open Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.

Professor Iris Zalaudek, Professor of Cutaneous and Venereal Diseases at UniTS and Director of the Dermatological Clinic and STD Centres, emphasises the importance of the initiative: ‘Vitiligo is a chronic, non-infectious skin disease characterised by white patches often located on visible areas such as the face or hands. The very visibility of the disease often causes feelings of stigmatisation, shame, depression, anxiety or social withdrawal in sufferers. As a university centre, we are very pleased to join this initiative, promoted by SIDeMaST and APIAFCO, to ensure that people affected by vitiligo in our region have access to a free, simple and quick dermatological consultation with the aim of informing them about the various consolidated treatment options and the new treatments recently approved in Italy’. 

The initiative, sponsored by the Patients’ Association APIAFCO (Italian Psoriatic Patients Association Friends of the Corazza Foundation) and supported by Sintesi Education with the contribution of Incyte, was created with the aim of offering concrete support to patients and combating misinformation on vitiligo. ‘Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease, often associated with other disorders such as thyroid dysfunction, diabetes mellitus and alopecia areata. It is essential that patients meet with a dermatologist to understand their condition and discuss how best to manage it, especially now that research has opened up new therapeutic possibilities,' says Giuseppe Argenziano, President of SIDeMaST. 

About 330,000 people in Italy live with vitiligo. 

APIAFCO has long been committed to the fight against stigma and misinformation: 'Vitiligo forces sufferers to constantly challenge their ability to accept themselves. It often induces insecurity, closure, anxiety and depression. Talking to a specialist is essential to support patients in a conscious management of their condition and, above all, to fight misinformation,' explains Valeria Corazza, President of APIAFCO. 

The Department of Humanities (DiSU) of UniTS has been invited by Princeton University to participate in a prestigious international research project aimed at creating repositories of all numismatic databases. The project, called NOMISMA, involves the collaboration of top-level institutions, including Dumbarton Oaks in Washington and the University of Oxford. The UniTS Nomismata platform has been recognised as being of exemplary value, able to contribute to the development of an innovative tool for the definition and analysis of Byzantine monetary typology.

The ultimate goal is therefore the creation of a digital, accessible and interactive platform that will enable scholars and enthusiasts to obtain up-to-date and detailed information at a glance, especially regarding the places of discovery and circulation of the centuries-old Byzantine issues. These sources will promote the understanding of economic history, relations between territories even outside the borders of the empire, the study of the functioning of the mints and above all the statistical calculation of the volume of the monetary stock coined in a well-defined historical period. The involvement of UniTS highlights the scientific value and importance of the work carried out by our university in the field of numismatic research, which is internationally recognised.

In particular, the contribution of UniTS / DiSU will be fundamental in updating and defining the dataset on the typology of Byzantine coins for the period from Anastasius I to the Byzantine emperor Phocas. The data will be digitised and integrated according to the standards defined by the UniTS Nomismata platform, dedicated to the chronological and geo-referencing of coin finds from the Byzantine era, developed by DiSU also as part of a PRIN grant that has Prof. Bruno Callegher, a former professor of Numismatics, as its leader, and Prof. Andrea Gariboldi as its reference person, Giorgio Donato and Jordan Piščanc as computer designers and developers, with the collaboration of researchers Kateryna Sorochan, Giulio Carraro and Cristiano Rossetti for research and data implementation.

Once again this year, the University of Trieste will participate in World Diabetes Day, which is celebrated on 14th November, by lighting its façade blue. The theme chosen for 2024 is ‘Diabetes and Wellbeing’, which emphasises the importance of a holistic approach to health that is not limited to glycaemic control, but also includes improving patients' physical and mental wellbeing. 

World Diabetes Day was established in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in response to the rising number of diabetes cases worldwide. The choice of 14th November is not random: it is the anniversary of the birth of Fredrick Grant Banting, the Canadian physiologist who, together with his colleague Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1921, revolutionising the treatment of the disease. 

Diabetes is one of the major health emergencies of the 21st century. According to IDF estimates, in 2021, more than 530 million people between the ages of 20 and 79 years were living with diabetes globally, a figure that could rise to 783 million by 2045 if preventative action and awareness are not taken. In Europe, the number of people with diabetes exceeds 62 million, and is also growing among children and adolescents due to poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity. 

In Italy, according to ISTAT data, more than 4 million people are affected by diabetes, equal to about 6% of the population. Type 2 diabetes, often associated with risk factors such as obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, accounts for 90 per cent of cases, while type 1 diabetes, of autoimmune origin, is less frequent but constantly increasing among young people. 

By lighting up its historic main building in blue, UniTS wants to remind people of the importance of collective action in the fight against diabetes and reaffirm its commitment to scientific research and public awareness.

The study, published in the prestigious journal Science Advances, presents a simple and innovative method for making new materials that combine the extraordinary properties displayed by single metal atoms with the strength, flexibility and versatility of graphene.

Graphene is a material consisting of a two-dimensional network of carbon discovered in 2004 that has had a huge impact on the scientific community, leading to its discoverers being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.

The proposed method consists of depositing metal atoms, such as cobalt, in a controlled manner during the formation of the graphene layer on a nickel surface. Some of these atoms are incorporated into the carbon network of graphene, creating a material with exceptional properties of strength, reactivity and stability even under critical conditions.

The new material can be detached from the substrate while retaining its original structure and is therefore potentially usable in applications in catalysis, spintronics and electronic devices.

The work presented is the result of an international collaboration between researchers from CNR-IOM (Materials Foundry), the University of Trieste, the University of Milan Bicocca and the University of Vienna.

Giovanni Comelli, UniTS: ‘The contribution of different and complementary skills was decisive in demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach, which is both simple and powerful at the same time.’

Cristina Africh (CNR-IOM): ‘It is still a preliminary result, but already very promising, the result of an original idea born in our laboratory that initially seemed unfeasible.’

Cristiana Di Valentin (University of Milan Bicocca): ‘We have applied this method to trap nickel and cobalt atoms, but our calculations say that the use could be extended to other metals for different applications.’

Jani Kotakoski (University of Vienna): ‘We have shown that this material survives even critical conditions, including the electrochemical environments used for fuel cell and battery applications.’

Published article

V. Chesnyak, D. Perilli, M. Panighel, A. Namar, A. Markevich, T. An Bui, A. Ugolotti, A. Farooq, M. Stredansky, C. Kofler, C. Cepek, G. Comelli, J. Kotakoski, C. Di Valentin, C. Africh. Scalable bottom-up synthesis of Co-Ni-doped graphene. Science Advances vol, issue (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado8956

Prof. Stefano Borgani, Professor of Cosmology at UniTS, received the prestigious ‘Prof. Luigi Tartufari’ International Prize from the Lincean Academy (Accademia dei Lincei).

The prize is awarded to scholars in the physics, mathematics, and natural sciences who have distinguished themselves through innovative research and relevant activities.

This is the motivation: ‘His research in the field of cosmology ranges from the study of the large-scale structure of the Universe to bind models of dark matter and dark energy, to the description of the formation and evolution of cosmic structures through the use of numerical simulations based on high performance computing methodologies. His studies on the cosmological application of galaxy clusters were among the first ever to highlight the role of such objects for precision cosmology and, at the same time, highlighted for the first time the need to fully understand the physical properties of galaxy clusters in order to fully exploit their potential for cosmological applications.’

‘We are living in the golden age of cosmology. The amount and quality of data we are getting, primarily from ESA's Euclid Space Telescope, promises to revolutionise our understanding of the Universe. Questions about the nature of energy and dark matter, and the physical laws that describe the birth and evolution of the Universe, may finally be answered. The Italian community, thanks to the participation of INAF and various Institutes and Universities, is playing a leading role in the Euclid Consortium. In Trieste in particular, a close collaboration has been established between researchers from our University, INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Trieste and SISSA, precisely on the analysis of Euclid data and their interpretation through simulations based on high-performance computing,’ said Borgani. ‘I am very honoured to receive this award from such a prestigious institution as the Lincean Academy. I like to think that this is a recognition not only for myself, but also for my close collaborators, with whom I have shared so many research adventures, as well as for the young researchers I have followed over the years and who have enriched my scientific life.’

UniTS has never registered such a high number of students for its bachelor's degrees: 3,920 students have started the 2024-2025 academic year.

Numbers that testify to a growth of 15% compared to last year and 40% compared to pre-pandemic (2019-2020).

And it is still possible to enrol in History and Philosophy, Humanities and Foreign Languages, and Literature by 11th November, in Political and Administrative Sciences by 30th November.

The University confirms its ‘pink’ status with 60% of women among those enrolled in the bachelor's degree programmes. In detail, the courses with the largest increase in the female proportion are the degrees in Physics, Chemistry, Statistics and Computer Science for Business, Finance and Insurance, Political and Administrative Sciences, Humanities and Education.

Female students are in the majority in all degree courses in the departments of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Life Sciences; Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation studies; Political and Social Sciences; Humanities (with the exception of the course in History and Philosophy) and the Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences (with the exception of the course in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety).

The attractiveness of the university has also been confirmed. Since 2019-2020 there has been a steady and significant upward trend, confirmed by the 700 enrolled students from abroad this year.

Taking a look at the numbers of Italian enrolled students, students from Friuli Venezia Giulia constitute a fundamental part of the university community with Trieste the province naturally most represented, with 25% of enrolled students, followed by Udine, Gorizia and Pordenone. Arrivals from other regions (40% of the total) confirm that the most numerous representations come from Veneto, Lombardy, Sicily, Puglia and Emilia Romagna.

These are the degree courses with the most significant increase in enrolments compared to last year: in first place is the Speech Therapy course (+87%), followed by Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (+49%), International Economics and Financial Markets (+40%) and Business Administration and Management (+35%). The latter two courses grow by 80% and 154% respectively compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Also significant is the growth for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (+28%), Humanities (+23%), Civil and Environmental Engineering (+26%), Psychology (+22%) and Physics (+21%).

The courses consolidating a big leap in enrolments compared to academic year 2019-2020 are Chemistry (+104%), History and Philosophy (+59%), Nursing (+57%), Psychology (+44%) and Science and Technology for the Environment and Nature (+43%).

The integrated master’s degree courses, all of which have a competitive admission, saw all available places filled.

For master's degree courses, there is still time: enrolments will close with various deadlines between December 2024 and March 2025.

UniTS students Francesco Benda, Claudia Depalma and Soraya Temporini are the winners of the 2024 edition of X - Culture. An exceptional result also made possible by the financial support that the Pietro Pittini Foundation has guaranteed since 2018.

X-Culture is an international competition, coordinated for UniTS by Prof. Donata Vianelli, in which the students' business-plan development skills are put to the test, as well as their commitment to consistently carrying out the steps of the competition.

After passing an initial test, the students are placed in virtual teams of 6-8 students from universities in different countries.

In 2024, a total of 5,377 students from 131 universities in 70 countries on six continents participated in the project. They worked in 1,289 global virtual teams. The best 50 students from the teams ranked in the top 10% in the initial phase of the project were admitted to the international finals. The latter were again divided into multicultural teams to prepare for the international finals held at the University of St. Louis (USA).

This year, two teams were equal winners, with three UniTS students from the Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (2 in one team and 1 in the other): Claudia Depalma and Francesco Benda, attending the Master's Degree in Marketing and Management, and Soraya Temporini, a third-year student in the Bachelor's Degree in Business & Management (taught in English).

Here is a description of the two winning Business Plans:

International team of Francesco Benda

The project focused on the impact of the World Congress of Dermatology 2031 in Cape Town, offering an innovative solution to transform the city into a dermatology hub for advanced research. Its excellence lies in its integrated approach between economic growth, sustainable innovation, promotion of technological advances in the field of dermatology and community involvement. It aims to enhance local resources, promote medical tourism and improve international collaborations, ensuring long-term economic and scientific benefits for Cape Town.

International team of Claudia Depalma and Soraya Temporini

The project aims to make Dublin a global dermatology hub, with a real social impact for the city. They came up with specific activities for the hypothetical client's event and permanent initiatives, such as skin scanners in the most frequented spots. The #LoveYourSkinDublin campaign promotes inclusion and normalisation of skin diseases. Thanks to a cost-cutting strategy, services will be free of charge, making dermatological examinations more accessible and incentivising innovation.

At X - Culture, the evaluation of the best business plans is based not only on the quality of the content (market analysis, marketing and communication, operational processes, logistics, human resources) but also on the innovativeness of the ideas and solutions proposed and on clarity of presentation.

Trieste, November 6, 2024 – A new generation of plastic microsatellites, modular like interlocking structures, integrating electrical connections between the various operational boards inside, thus making them lighter, more spacious, and more efficient: this is the goal of the RISE (Resilient Integrated Structural Elements) project from the University of Trieste and the company PICOSATS.

Since (NET) 6th of November, the International Space Station has hosted a very special prototype designed by UniTS researchers and the university's spin-off company, PICOSATS.

It is a cube made of plastic material with conductive tracks (circuits) running through it, which connect the operational boards mounted on the sides of the object. The electrical component, essential for the satellite’s operation, is thus integrated into the structure, making it much more robust, cheaper, and easier to produce compared to the older generation.

The microsatellite structure, made of 3D-printed plastic and hollow inside, finally allows for the modular management of its geometry, as if assembling modular building blocks... but extremely high-tech!

‘During the four months in which we will test our idea, we will find out if the device can function in microgravity and withstand the stresses from the launch of SpaceX's CRS-31 mission aboard the Falcon 9 rocket,’ explains Stefano Seriani, professor of Robotics at UniTS and scientific coordinator of RISE. ‘If so, we will have laid the groundwork for a real revolution in the microsatellite market.’

These space objects lend themselves to extremely versatile applications, ranging from Earth observation to telecommunications, to astrophysics and planetary exploration.

The RISE project took its first steps in 2018 when the founding team won the challenge sponsored by ICE Cubes within the ‘Space Exploration Masters’ competition organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), placing second in the ESA & Commercial Partners challenge.

The project thus secured a ‘ticket’ to the International Space Station provided by Space Applications Services, a Belgian aerospace company..

Now, in the year of the University of Trieste’s 100th anniversary, it has become a reality, thanks also to the contribution of ASI, the Italian Space Agency, which financed its development.

‘We wanted to bring this important anniversary into space,’ concludes Seriani. ‘Inside the cube, we included the UniTS 100th anniversary logo which, together with the PICOSATS logo, will float in microgravity, sending very special greetings to our ground command centre.’

The University of Trieste joins the project Promemoria_Auschwitz for 2025, promoted by the association Deina APS.

The project offers 48 university students enrolled at the University a training course and a coach trip to the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, with the aim of stimulating reflection on the construction of memories and the history of the 20th century from a European perspective. Students from the Universities of Bergamo, Milan Statale, Milan Bicocca, Turin, the Milan Polytechnic, and the Normale University of Pisa are also taking part in the project and the trip.

The project is divided into two distinct phases: the first part is historical training, curated in collaboration with the University of Trieste, which involves attending a series of seminars entitled Building Memory (17th December 2024, 9th and 20th January, 3rd and 17th February 2025); the second part consists of the trip, curated by the Deina association, which will take place from 26th February to 3rd March 2025.

Interested students will be selected based on a letter of motivation (max 2000 characters) that will be assessed by a committee composed of members of Deina APS and UniTS.

To apply, you must fill in the APPLICATION FORM (which includes the letter) by 1st December 2024.

The participation fee is 175 euros to be paid according to the terms that will be communicated at the time of registration. The fee is non-refundable.

Information: https://www.deina.it/promemoria-auschwitz

Contact: info@deina.it

A new start-up from the University of Trieste was presented on 25th October at the University of Verona on the first Demo Day of the iNEST Consortium (Ecosystem of Innovation of the Interconnected Northeast), together with other recently established entrepreneurial projects: namely Nemo.AI. ‘Nemo.AI uses artificial intelligence to make fishing practices more efficient and sustainable’ says Silvio Baratto, Master's graduate in Data Science & Scientific Computing and co-founder of the start-up.

Developed thanks to an iNEST initiative for the generation and development of start-ups and spin-offs from research centres, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for EUR 4 million, Nemo.AI has had the opportunity to meet with an audience of investors and industry experts in order to receive support in view of its market launch.

Nemo.AI in depth: AI for fishing

To contribute to innovation in the fishing industry, Nemo.AI aims to develop software based on artificial intelligence through predictive analysis and intelligent sensing. ‘The software will predict the abundance, location and market value of fish species,’ Baratto explains. In this way, the start-up will help improve operational efficiency, regulatory adherence and the health of marine ecosystems.

Collaboration with local fishermen is crucial to the project, as the cofounder says: ‘The integration of broad and varied data - biological, climatic, economic - from local fishermen, combined with the use of state-of-the-art AI techniques, will help reduce overfishing and unwanted catches, promoting a balance between human activities and marine health.’

iNEST's Acceleration Programme promotes new start-ups 

Nemo.AI was selected from over 100 ideas collected from leading universities and research institutes in the Triveneto area. The projects have been developed since last April thanks to the iNEST Acceleration Programme, a structured path aimed at transforming entrepreneurial ideas into sustainable business realities. Having completed this programme, the start-up now enters the fundraising phase, with the aim of launching its innovative service on the market.