The University of Trieste and the University of Udine signed a new Framework Agreement together with AUSIR – the Authority for Water and Waste Services in Friuli Venezia Giulia and the region’s leading water and environmental service providers. In addition to AUSIR, the agreement includes the following partners: AcegasApsAmga, Acquedotto del Carso – Kraški vodovod, CAFC, HydroGEA, Irisacqua, Livenza Tagliamento Acque, A&T 2000, Ambiente Servizi, GEA – Gestioni Ecologiche e Ambientali, Isontina Ambiente, MTF, and NET.

The agreement, signed today by all partners in the Predonzani Room of the Regional Government Building in the presence of the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, renews and expands the earlier protocol signed in 2019. It reaffirms the shared commitment to collaborate on sustainability and innovation in the management of the integrated water and waste cycle.

The new framework promotes applied research projects, joint advanced training initiatives, participation in competitive funding calls, and the valorisation of shared data, experience, and technical infrastructure.

The University of Trieste brings a strong interdisciplinary approach to the partnership, represented by Professor Paolo Bevilacqua (Department of Engineering and Architecture) and Professor Fabio Barbone (Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences), who serve as the University’s scientific coordinators. The agreement also supports inter-university masters already launched in collaboration with public service providers, including those in ‘Technology and Management of the Integrated Water Cycle’ and ‘Circular Economy and the Integrated Waste Cycle.’

‘This agreement,’ said Roberto Di Lenarda, Rector of the University of Trieste, ‘offers a concrete opportunity to launch new multidisciplinary research capable of addressing the challenges of sustainable resource management in innovative ways. Collaboration will range from the study of aquifer systems and infrastructure networks to wastewater and sludge treatment, from the economic and regulatory analysis of public services to the reuse of waste within a circular economy framework. Just as crucial is our commitment to communication and training, which are strategic levers for raising awareness and driving change at both the technical and societal level.’

For the first time in its history, the University of Trieste will be led by a female rector: upon the closing of applications, the candidacies of Ilaria Garofolo and Donata Vianelli have been officially submitted. One of these two professors will assume the highest academic position for the next six years.​

The elections will be held—for the first time electronically—with a first round scheduled for Tuesday, May 6. If neither candidate achieves an absolute majority of eligible votes, a runoff will take place on Tuesday, May 13.​

Approximately 1,500 members of the academic community, representing all its components, are entitled to vote. This electorate includes tenured professors and researchers; technical-administrative staff (both permanent and temporary) with weighted voting (20% of the eligible votes of tenured professors and researchers); student representatives elected to the Academic Senate, Board of Directors, University Sports Committee, ARDIS Student Committee, and the ten Department Councils; and research fellows elected to the Academic Senate and the ten Department Councils.​

The new rector will take office on August 1, 2025, and will serve until July 31, 2031.​

The Candidates

Ilaria Garofolo is a Full Professor of Architectural Technology in the Department of Engineering and Architecture, which she directed from 2017 to 2019. Previously, she led the Department of Architectural and Urban Design (2002-2005), served as the Rector's Delegate for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (2015-2017), and was the Rector's Advisor for Building and Energy from 2019 through 2024.​

Donata Vianelli is a Full Professor of Business Economics and Management and, since 2021, Director of the Department of Economic, Business, Mathematical, and Statistical Sciences, as well as a member of the Academic Senate. She was the Rector's Delegate for Orientation and Job Placement from 2013 to 2019.

Making green hydrogen a more efficient, safe and accessible energy source is the goal of the E4H2 – Efficiency for Hydrogen project, launched by the University of Trieste in collaboration with the University of Udine. The initiative is one of several funded by the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia through its regional call for proposals to support the creation and modernisation of research infrastructure in the field of renewable hydrogen.

Thanks to funding of €2 million from the regional government, the UniTS project will establish a network of four laboratories distributed across the region. Each lab will focus on a strategic stage in the hydrogen value chain, from production and storage to end use.

Researchers will work to improve the efficiency and durability of electrolysers, devices that produce ‘green’ hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity from renewable sources. The project will test innovative storage systems, including cryogenic tanks – specialised containers capable of storing hydrogen in liquid form at extremely low temperatures (down to -252°C) – and high-pressure solutions designed to reduce energy loss during storage and transport.

Significant efforts will also be devoted to the development of more efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells, which convert hydrogen into electricity without releasing pollutants, as well as to the definition of operating protocols aimed at improving the overall efficiency of the process. Another key objective will be safety, with the new network enabling researchers to identify critical issues and propose solutions to ensure increasingly reliable hydrogen use.

‘The infrastructure,’ explains Rodolfo Taccani, Professor of Machinery at the University of Trieste and scientific lead of the project, ‘will allow for the testing of devices at various levels, from individual components to pilot-scale systems. It will combine experimental research with advanced simulation models, including those based on artificial intelligence. The data collected will support better maintenance, lower costs and greater sustainability across the system.’

E4H2 represents a major step in building a regional green hydrogen supply chain, fully integrated into the broader cross-border framework of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley. It will foster connections between universities, research centres and businesses in support of the energy transition and decarbonisation.

As part of the wider regional funding programme for renewable hydrogen research infrastructure, the University of Trieste is also participating as a partner in three additional projects. The research teams are led by Rodolfo Taccani (Department of Engineering and Architecture), Alessandro Baraldi (Department of Physics) and Lorenzo Bonini (Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences). The total funding awarded to these projects amounts to €3.5 million out of the 11 million allocated by the regional authority, making the University of Trieste the leading research institution in Friuli Venezia Giulia in this area of energy transition.

From 9th to 11th April, the future of European research on hydrogen will be discussed in Trieste as part of the 2025 edition of EPHyC (the European PhD Hydrogen Conference), which will be hosted at the Generali Convention Center and Warehouse 26 in the Old Port.

EPHyC will be organised by the University of Trieste in cooperation with Hydrogen Europe Research, Europe's leading hydrogen research organisation, which brings together over 150 international universities and research centres. The event will welcome PhD students from all over the European Union who are engaged in innovative projects related to clean fuel.

Over 150 young researchers from 85 academic institutions and research centres from 21 European countries will meet in Trieste for three days of scientific discussion. The initiative is part of the development of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV), a strategic project which aims to accelerate the energy transition and is promoted by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Slovenia and Croatia.

EPHyC 2025 stands out for its innovative format, in which PhD students themselves will organise and coordinate the scientific sessions, presenting their studies with the aim of receiving feedback, stimulating interdisciplinary collaborations and instigating new avenues of research.

The topics covered in the conference will discuss the main challenges in the field, from hydrogen production and storage to economic and regulatory aspects. Representatives of energy companies are also expected to attend, interested in both the conference content and the profiles of the participating young researchers.

The opening of EPHyC 2025 will be held on Wednesday, 9th April, at 9:00, in the Luttazzi Hall of Warehouse 26. Institutional greetings, the presentation of the partners involved and keynote lectures will be delivered by international experts such as Mirela Atanasiu, former Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the partnership involving the European Commission. At 10:30 in the sala dei Curatori curators' room of the Civic Maritime Museum there will be a presentation of the projects financed under the regional notice dedicated to the support, creation, and modernisation of research infrastructures in the renewable hydrogen sector, for which the Region will allocate EUR 11 million.

Within this framework, the University of Trieste is reaffirming its commitment to clean fuel research, an area in which it has been active with international working groups and European projects dedicated to the development of hydrogen technologies for over twenty years. Research activities, both theoretical and applied, take place in a multidisciplinary context, involving engineers, chemists, physicists, geologists and lawyers, in collaboration with public and private partners. With this in mind, UniTS was one of the first Italian universities to join the Hydrogen Europe Research network.

The commitment of the University of Trieste also extends to education in the field of energy transition. The Engineering for the Energy Transition master's degree course has been active since last year, is entirely in English, and aims at training professionals capable of managing the transition to clean and renewable energy in the civil and industrial sectors.

‘The organisation of EPHyC 2025,’ states Professor Rodolfo Taccani, the Deputy Rector for technology transfer and business relations, ’confirms the role of Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley as an international hub for research and innovation in the sustainable energy sector, thanks also to the contribution of the University of Trieste. The conference is not only an opportunity to learn more about research and technology, but also highly symbolic, as it brings together some of Europe's best young scientists engaged in research on energy transition and hydrogen. The University of Trieste, through EPHyC, contributes to outlining a common vision for the future of the European Union in the energy sector, in which theoretical and applied research play a fundamental role’.

‘EPHyC 2025 perfectly embodies the mission of Hydrogen Europe Research: to support and connect the European scientific community in order to accelerate innovation in the hydrogen sector. This event gives young researchers the opportunity to present their work, establish new collaborations and lay the foundations for the next generation of scientists and innovators. We are proud to support this initiative, which strengthens the link between academic research and industry, helping to build an increasingly strong and integrated European ecosystem,' states Luigi Crema, President of Hydrogen Europe Research.

The event is also being organised with the contribution of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and the patronage of the Italian Thermotechnical Association - Friuli Venezia Giulia Section, the Maritime Technology Cluster FVG and Confindustria Friuli Venezia Giulia.

For further information: www.ephycconference.com

Pietro Monti-Guarnieri, a PhD student in Physics at the University of Trieste and the Trieste Section of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), took third place in the local selection of FameLab, the international competition that sees young talents in popular science competing against each other.

His place on the podium, while rewarding his great passion and enthusiasm for his field of research, will not allow the UniTS PhD student to move forward in the competition. Instead, it will be the young scientists ranked in the top two places, Arshia Ruina and Meriem Behiri, who will advance to the national final.

Physicist Arshia Ruina, who came in first place, is a postdoctoral fellow at lNFN - section of Padua. Her clear presentation and fascinating subject matter focused on the particles that constantly ‘rain’ down on us, delivering endless information about the Universe and its history.

In second place was Meriem Behiri, a PhD student in Astrophysics and Cosmology at SISSA in Trieste, who showed enthusiasm, clarity and passion in her presentation on radio waves and their extraordinary capabilities.

The audience prize, for an audience composed of students from Galilei, Carducci-Dante and Deledda-Fabiani high schools of Trieste and the Buonarroti High School of Monfalcone, went to Denise Khouri Chalouhi from ICGeB, who fascinated all with tales of ‘good’ bacteria.

The contestants convinced a jury composed of Nicola Bressi (Trieste Natural History Museum), Giulia Casasole (SISSA), Emanuela Colombi (University of Udine) and Francesco Longo (University of Trieste) with their presentations, sticking meticulously to the three-minute time limit.

The event, presented by Daniele Tavagnacco, researcher OATs-INAF and University of Trieste, was also enlivened by a talk on artificial intelligence, by Francesco Giacomarra, University of Trieste, winner of FameLab Italia 2023, and an interlude by the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival – La Cappella Underground.

FameLab is an international competition held in Italy since 2012 thanks to Psiquadro, and in collaboration with Cheltenham Festivals and all local partners. For Trieste, these partners are Immaginario Scientifico Science Musuem, the University of Trieste, the University of Udine, SISSA and the Municipality of Trieste, as part of the Trieste City of Knowledge Protocol.

On Tuesday 1st April 2025, Adecco and the University of Trieste will present Work & Study, a project sponsored by FIPE (italian federation of public establishments), designed to offer UniTS students job opportunities that align with their study and class schedules, and exam preparation.

The initiative aims to connect local businesses with student job seekers by providing part-time contracts through the employment agency. These contracts will be limited to a maximum of 15 hours per week, primarily scheduled in the evenings or on weekends.

Students at the University of Trieste will have the opportunity to gain work experience that fits alongside their university studies, enabling them to earn financial support while developing valuable professional skills.

The project, set to run throughout 2025, aims to involve over 200 university students and more than 60 businesses in the municipality of Trieste.

The available positions will primarily include roles in the hospitality sector, such as bartenders and waitstaff, as well as receptionist, hostess, and event steward positions. However, the initiative is expected to expand into additional commercial sectors as it develops.

As part of the project, Adecco will organise a series of informational events to introduce job opportunities in the area and answer students’ questions. The first session will take place online on 2nd April at 17:00 via Microsoft Teams, with additional in-person events to follow.

Immediately after the presentation, an application form will be made available on Adecco’s website. Students will receive full support from Adecco throughout the selection process.

‘Supporting young people and helping them enter the job market has always been one of our key goals,’ explains Michele Kovacic, People Advisor at Adecco Italia. ‘With this project, we aim to build a bridge that allows students to gain work experience while developing skills that will benefit them in their future careers. The Work & Study initiative prioritises security and worker protections: all participants will be employed under fixed-term part-time contracts through our agency, and they will receive training on health and safety at work as well as HACCP certification for food safety protocols.’

‘Students at the University of Trieste take on occasional work at a higher rate than the national average,’ notes Professor Lucio Torelli, Deputy Rector for Educational and Career Counselling, and Job Placement at UniTS. ‘Through this project, the University’s Career Service aims to provide an opportunity for the many students seeking employment that fully accommodates their academic commitments. At the same time, local businesses will benefit from dynamic young professionals skilled in teamwork and languages. According to AlmaLaurea data, our graduates are highly valued in the job market, securing employment more quickly and with higher salaries than the national average. With this initiative, we aim to further enhance our students’ preparedness for the workforce.’

Job opportunities available in the Trieste area will be regularly shared with participants through the university’s official communication channels.

Students interested in joining the first online event and learning more about the project can register on the Career Service webpage under the events section: https://amm.units.it/placement

Generali and the University of Trieste presented an agreement to set up a chair dedicated to Responsible and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence starting from the academic year 2025/2026. 

The announcement was made during an event at the University of Trieste, in the presence of the Rector, Roberto Di Lenarda, the Chairman of Generali, Andrea Sironi, the CFO of the Generali Group and President of Mib, Cristiano Borean, and Professor Scantamburlo, winner of the competition, moderated by Professor Luca Bortolussi – Full Professor of Computer Science at UniTS. 

The agreement will entail Generali covering the expenses for a researcher and the subsequent full-time enrolment as a university professor in the scientific-disciplinary sector INFO-01 / A - IT for the next 15 years, which was recruited at the end of the selection procedure established by the University. 

After the establishment, along with other scientific entities located in Friuli Venezia Giulia region, of the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Institute with the aim of carrying out world-class research and promoting the transfer of knowledge in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence (an initiative that has instituted the figure of the Business Translator), Generali intends to contribute new research and training tools to understand and address the social and ethical implications related to the development and implementation of AI technologies. 

For this reason, in partnership with the University of Trieste and to mark the important anniversary, Generali will support the new chair that will enhance the university's training offer, as well as developing skills in responsible, reliable and sustainable artificial intelligence in conjunction with the Group's Academy, thus contributing to the design and implementation of special courses designed to train graduates with skills in line with occupational requirements and equipped for the new technological and ethical challenges ahead. 

The Chairman of Generali, Andrea Sironi, stated: “The scientific ecosystem of Trieste has a wealth of talent and knowledge that Generali supports and which, on this special occasion marking the 100th anniversary of the University of Trieste, is boosted by a multi-year collaboration that will set up a new chair. The goal is to invest in young people and in innovation, addressing one of the most stimulating and transformative issues of the contemporary age, Artificial Intelligence, creating an increasingly close dialogue between the academic world and the business environment.” 

The Rector of the University of Trieste, Roberto Di Lenarda, commented: “The University's mission is to preserve and allow human intelligence flourish; AI will have the task of amplifying it. For these reasons, the University of Trieste has prioritised investing in these issues in recent years. Thanks to the further, fundamental investment that Generali has decided to make in favour of the new generations, our educational offer will be enriched by a new teaching in a delicate and strategic field, in line with the emerging needs of a sector that is undergoing great and rapid evolution.” 

Teresa Scantamburlo has worked at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the University of Bristol (UK), and the European Centre for Living Technology. Her research focuses on the ethical and social impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technologies. She has contributed to the piloting of the European ethical guidelines for trustworthy AI and is currently a member of the working group for drafting the code of conduct for general-purpose AI at the AI Office of the European Community. In February 2025, she was awarded the new Generali Chair on Responsible AI at the University of Trieste

The GO!2025 Urban Center exhibition has been officially presented at Gorizia Town Hall, bringing together the outcomes of studies, research, and projects developed over the past two academic years within RRR Lab (Integrated Architectural and Built Environment Design Laboratory at UniTS). The focus of this work has been the European Capitals of Culture, with a particular case study on Gorizia – Nova Gorica 2025.

The exhibition will be open to visitors from 31st March to 9 May 2025 in the Atrium Hall of the Conference Centre, at the University Hub in Gorizia, Via Alviano 18. The official inauguration will take place on 8th April at 17:00, followed by the presentation of the book Il corpo della città. Telo Mesta during a roundtable discussion. The event will feature representatives of various local institutions, faculty members from the University of Trieste, and other invited discussants, focusing on themes of architectural and urban regeneration.

The initiative has involved around fifty students and ten faculty members and researchers from UniTS.

The exhibition traces two years of design activities covering a range of themes, locations, scales, and disciplinary fields. These have been explored through seminars, workshops, study days, and architectural, urban, and landscape projects for the two cities, which together form a unique cross-border urban system. As Gorizia and Nova Gorica have prepared for the milestone event of becoming the European Capital of Culture 2025, the focus now shifts to what comes next. The exhibition reflects on the before and after of this transformation, highlighting the role of time in urban and architectural design.

Time, processuality, phased reasoning, and dynamics of transformation—understood as evolutionary biodynamics—have been central themes in the projects showcased. The exhibition presents the ephemeral as a driver of present-day transformation and the trace as a framework for future reflection. These ideas shaped both the 2023–24 laboratory, ‘Gorizia / Nova-Gorica Felix’, and the 2024–25 laboratory, ‘L’éphémère est éternel’.

GO!2025 Urban Center Exhibition

Curated by: Thomas Bisiani, Michela Lupieri, Adriano Venudo 
Scientific Committee: Thomas Bisiani, Alessio Bortot, Luigi Di Dato, Michela Lupieri, Giulia Piccinin, Sonia Prestamburgo, Adriano Venudo 
Studies and projects by: Collettivo Colgo and Collettivo VAGO

To book an appointment and for information, contact tbisiani@units.it or avenudo@units.it 

On 27th March, the world celebrates the 63rd edition of World Theatre Day, an initiative established in 1961 at the proposal of Finnish playwright Arvi Kivimaa during the 9th Congress of the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

The first World Theatre Day took place on 27th March 1962 in Paris, marking the opening of the Theatre of Nations season. Since then, it has been celebrated in over a hundred countries through ITI’s National Centres.

Each year, the occasion is highlighted by a message on theatre and peace delivered to the international community by a prominent figure from the performing arts.

Notable past contributors include Italian artists Luchino Visconti (1973) and Dario Fo (2013), as well as, more recently, Egyptian actress Samiha Ayoub (2023) and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse (2024), whose message, Art is Peace, reflected on the deep connection between theatre, artistic expression, and the universal value of peace.

This year, the message has been entrusted to Greek actor, playwright, director, and pedagogue Theodoros Terzopoulos, who explores theatre’s ability to ‘hear the cry for help that our times are sending out in a world of impoverished citizens, locked in cells of virtual reality, entrenched in their suffocating privacy.’

On this occasion, rather than asking whether theatre, a form of art that has accompanied humanity for over three millennia, can resolve major global issues, we reflect on whether the stage and storytelling can still inspire society to critically engage with its weaknesses and mistakes.

‘Theatre’s ability to impact communities has been repeatedly proven throughout history, as evidenced by the suspicion with which those in power have often regarded it,’ says Paolo Quazzolo, Associate Professor of Theatre History at the University of Trieste.

‘Its ‘live’ nature, the magnetism of actors performing directly before an audience, the profound emotions evoked by the stage – these have often led to censorship attempts, though always in vain.
Theatre’s power has never waned, even in a society that, after centuries of gradual transformation, has undergone a rapid technological revolution. Cinema, television, digital media, and now the internet have all been strong competitors, yet theatre has survived, retaining its unique persuasive force.

In 2020, during the pandemic, theatres were among the first institutions to close. Organisers sought alternative solutions, often moving performances online, leading to fears that audiences might not return to physical theatres once the emergency ended. However, this was not the case—spectators eagerly returned, reaffirming the cultural, social, and political strength of theatre, which it will always continue to hold.’

Once again, the Aula Magna of the University of Trieste hosted the selections for the 18th edition of the Coppa Aurea, a team math competition that pits high school students from across Italy against each other.

Over 200 participants, representing 24 schools from Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, from the provinces of Trieste, Gorizia, Udine, Pordenone, Treviso, Venice, and Padua, competed in the event organized by the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Geosciences at UniTS.

The Leonardo da Vinci high school from Treviso raised the cup in Piazzale Europa with the team "I 7 del Leone"; the second place was claimed by the Galilei high school, which, after seven years, brought a school from Friuli Venezia Giulia back onto the podium with the team "I Piani Complessi."

The third place went to the Ippolito Nievo high school from Padua with the team "Gente poco seria," while just outside the podium, the fourth place was sweet for the ISIS Malignani of Udine, which secured the last qualifying spot for the national finals scheduled for May in Cesenatico.

The preliminaries were held simultaneously at 37 locations across Italy, with a total of 4788 students tackling 21 questions.

The "Coppa Aurea" is an initiative aimed at engaging students with mathematics in a fun and playful way. The required team-based approach encourages participants to organize tasks rationally and, most importantly, fosters collaboration and respect for others.

The Trieste trophy will be up for grabs again in the next edition and will be awarded definitively to the institution that wins three times. Currently, the Ippolito Nievo high school from Padua leads with two victories, followed by the da Vinci high school from Treviso and the Levi high school from Montebelluna, each with one win.