Last night, a packed Piazza Verdi hosted the University of Trieste's Graduation Day, held in the heart of the city for the first time ever. The academic ceremony celebrating 170 new PhD graduates from UniTS turned into a public event open to the public, featuring science outreach, music and other university proceedings. 

Included in the official Triestestate calendar, the evening also marked the last public event for Rector Roberto Di Lenarda, who chose to end his term alongside young researchers and fellow members of the public. 

‘We wanted to bring Graduation Day to the city centre,’ said Di Lenarda, ‘to once again emphasise the strong bond between the University and Trieste, which we have consolidated thanks to the University’s 100th Anniversary celebrations. I am both delighted and honoured to conclude my services to the academic community alongside the young people who represent the excellence of our education system and our fellow citizens, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of our research. I end my rectorship with the message that knowledge must be implemented, shared, communicated and, above all, sustained, because only by investing in the education of young people and research will we ensure a prosperous future for our country.’

The keynote speaker was Rosario Rizzuto, former rector of the University of Padua and now president of the National Centre for Gene Therapy and Drugs based on RNA Technology, one of the strategic infrastructures of the NRRP promoted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. His speech, entitled ‘RNA and gene therapy: new technologies for personalised medicine’, offered a glimpse into the challenges and potential of the biotechnological revolution that is transforming contemporary medicine. At the heart of his reflection was the need to accelerate the transfer of scientific research results to clinical applications through the development of new platforms capable of generating innovative RNA-based drugs and gene therapy treatments. This perspective will require significant investment in research, interdisciplinary collaboration and industrial innovation to make personalised medicine increasingly advanced, sustainable and accessible.

The ceremony highlighted the international atmosphere and vitality of the University's doctoral programmes. The 170 new PhD graduates represent the highest number in the history of the University of Trieste, with an increase of 28% compared to the previous year. The students’ origins, spanning Europe, Asia, Africa and America, also include researchers from countries affected by serious international crises, testimony to the role of science as a resource for building spaces for dialogue and peace.

During Roberto Di Lenarda's term as rector, the University's PhD programmes have seen significant growth in scholarship numbers, total enrolments and the appeal of the programmes on offer. 'Between 2019 and 2024,' says Prof. Alessandro Baraldi, Deputy Rector for Scientific Research and Doctorates, 'the number of places available has increased from 138 to 185 (up by 34%), the total number of enrolments in doctoral programmes has grown from 348 to 549, an increase of 57.8%, while the number of candidates for admission tests has increased from 667 to 1,268, an increase of 90.5%.’

This growth has come alongside a strengthening of employment prospects. One year after graduation, 85% of UniTS PhD graduates are employed, with 26% in the private sector and 15% engaged in industrial innovation. And while 17% of graduates have started their careers abroad, 68.2% are currently contributing to the economic and social growth of Italy’s North-East.

Hosted by journalist Marinella Chirico, the evening went from institutional speeches – with greetings from the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Municipality of Trieste and Fondazione CRTrieste – to educational proceedings and musical interludes with Ben & the Soul Sisters, composed of Joy Jenkins, Michela Grilli and Sara Roversi, accompanied on piano by Marco Ballaben. The event concluded with the traditional cap toss, a symbol of the end of one’s studies and obtaining a PhD degree.

Graduation Day was organised with the contribution of Fondazione CRTrieste and was part of the Triestestate summer festival, promoted by the Municipality of Trieste – Department of Culture and Tourism, with the collaboration of the Department of Education and Family Policies, the Department of Territorial Policies, PromoTurismoFVG and the Trieste Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Federico Rosei, Professor of Industrial Chemistry at the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Trieste, has been appointed Full Member of the Italian Academy of Engineering and Technology (ITATEC), an institution that brings together outstanding figures in the fields of engineering, technology and applied sciences.

Founded in 2022 with the support of the Lincean Academy and currently in the process of official recognition, the Italian Academy of Engineering and Technology aims to promote technical and scientific culture at both national and international level.

ITATEC currently has 122 members, including founding members, full members (appointed on the basis of outstanding scientific merit), junior members (researchers under 40) and councillors (from companies, organisations and institutions operating in relevant sectors). Among its key objectives are the exchange of knowledge between universities, research bodies and industry, the development of shared positions on strategic issues, the provision of advice to public and private decision-makers, and the representation of the Italian technical-scientific community at European level.

The Academy also aspires to serve as Italy’s official representative within the European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE), an organisation that brings together national academies from 23 European countries and provides high-level scientific and technological advice to European institutions, governments, businesses and organisations.

Professor Rosei adds his membership of ITATEC to a distinguished list of affiliations with international academies and scientific societies, including the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Materials Research Society, as well as honours awarded by the Canadian Association of Physicists, the American Vacuum Society and the International Conference on Nanoenergy and Nanosystems.

The Société Chimique de France has announced that Sabrina Pricl, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Trieste, has been awarded the 2025 French-Italian “Stanislao Cannizzaro – Jacques Arnaudon Chemistry Lectureship Award”, in recognition of her scientific achievements in molecular biochemistry, at the interface between experimental and computational chemistry, and her strong ties with the French chemical community.

The prize is jointly awarded by the Société Chimique de France - a prestigious scientific institution founded in 1857 - and the Italian Chemical Society, as part of a bilateral agreement renewed last May in Paris. Its aim is to annually honor an outstanding Italian or French scientist who has distinguished themselves in the field of chemical research. The award is traditionally followed by a lecture tour in both France and Italy, with the winner serving as keynote speaker.

Sabrina Pricl is the scientific director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology (MolBNL@UniTS) at the University of Trieste, where she leads interdisciplinary research projects in nanomedicine funded by national and international public and private institutions. Her work focuses on integrating experimental techniques and supercomputing to study protein–protein interactions in cancer therapies, and on developing advanced nanosystems for targeted delivery of drugs, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Author of over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and an active promoter of technology transfer and science outreach, Professor Pricl was awarded the title of Eminent Scientist by the University of Łódź (Poland) in 2020.

The official award ceremony will take place in June 2026 during the national congress of the Société Chimique de France in Bordeaux.

The seventh edition of the SuMoth Challenge has recently come to a close on the waters of Lake Garda. Hosted by the Fraglia Vela Malcesine, the international competition brought together the world’s top university teams in the fields of naval engineering, design and sustainable development of next-generation foiling boats.

Taking centre stage this year was the Audace Sailing Team from the University of Trieste, competing with two boats: the new prototype BAI – Flax Bandit, helmed by Leonardo Centuori, and the updated BAI – Flying Lina, sailed by Zeno Tarlao. Both are the result of intensive work over the past year, with the design phase starting in October 2024 and construction beginning in February.

On the water, the UniTS team stood out for its exceptional performance, winning every race and receiving the award for the most high-performing boat in the competition. In the overall rankings, the Audace Sailing Team secured second place, finishing just behind the team from Politecnico di Milano, whose prototype featured more refined finishes but was less advanced from a fluid dynamics perspective.

This result is a major motivational boost for the entire team, who now look ahead confidently to the development of their next vessel. The BAI – Flax Bandit project will be retained as the foundation for future work, with a focus on improving construction techniques and optimising key design elements, particularly the hull structure and foil profile.

Confirming the team’s technical excellence, the project received extremely positive feedback from leading companies in the nautical sector, who praised both the engineering quality and the originality of the design solutions. This recognition further strengthens the team’s resolve to continue developing with enthusiasm in the next phase of the project.

From 7th to 11th July, the University of Trieste will become an international hub of ideas, languages and cultures. For the first time, the University will host two initiatives promoted as part of the Transform4Europe (T4EU) University Alliance: the First Festival of European Culture and Languages – Tourism and Heritage from the Border and the First T4EU Sustainable Heritage Student Competition.

Two distinct yet complementary events, both centred around sustainable tourism, cultural heritage and environmental memory. The week will bring together students from all the T4EU partner universities for a programme of workshops, urban explorations, seminars and collaborative projects.

The Festival – conceived as a Blended Intensive Programme – offers a critical and participatory exploration of cultural tourism in border regions, through dynamic lectures, performances, workshops and unconventional itineraries that rediscover the city and its many historical and linguistic layers.

The Competition, organised in collaboration with the stakeholder GLAM “Museo della Bora” and the Innovators Community Lab, focuses on the relationship between cultural heritage, the environment and generational awareness. Participants will work in teams to design new visions of environmental heritage, fostering dialogue between local experience and global challenges.

A truly European week that also includes five events open to the public, held in English and free of charge, where the city becomes a classroom, a space for exchange and a bridge between disciplines, experiences and generations. An invitation to look with new eyes at what surrounds us – both within and beyond borders.

📎 Full Festival Programme 
📎 Full Competition Programme

The eleventh edition of the Summer Learning Modules, the orientation initiative promoted by the University of Trieste for students in their third and fourth year of high school, officially opened today.

Topics explored in this first session’s 17 modules range from mental health to the design of human-centred spaces, from analysing the world through a gender lens to uncovering engineering transformations, from the mysteries of matrix calculus to biomedical analysis, and from global economic forecasts to the shaping of biographical and autobiographical narratives.

The Summer Learning Modules offer high school students an immersive experience of academic life, helping them explore their interests and make a more informed choice about their future university studies. Participation may also be recognised as PCTO (transversal skills and orientation activities) by students’ home schools.

Following last year’s success, the initiative has once again attracted a large number of students, with 700 taking part, and continues to attract students from beyond the regional borders. Participants come not only from Friuli Venezia Giulia but also from Veneto (Treviso, Venice, Belluno), Lombardy (Milan, Bergamo), Emilia-Romagna (Bologna), Tuscany (Florence, Grosseto), and from further afield, such as Puglia (Bari) and Calabria (Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria). There are also a number of international attendees.

The Summer Learning Modules will continue throughout the week. A second session is scheduled for September, before the start of the school year.

As part of UniTS’s summer orientation programme, prospective students can also take part in guided tours of Piazzale Europa Campus led by student tutors. These tours offer a valuable opportunity to gather information and explore the university's setting, spaces and facilities. To take part in a guided tour, booking in advance is required.

A full immersion in business culture and industrial innovation: the students of the Innovators Community Lab (ICLab) at the University of Trieste took centre stage in a study visit to the headquarters of the Marcegaglia Group in Gazoldo degli Ippoliti (Mantua).

The group was welcomed by Emma Marcegaglia, Chair & CEO of Marcegaglia Holding and former President of Confindustria (2008–2012), and Antonio Marcegaglia, President & CEO of Marcegaglia Steel, who shared the story of a family business that has grown into one of Europe’s leading industrial groups in the steel sector.

During the visit, the ICLab students had the opportunity to engage directly with the company’s top executives on key issues such as business model transformation, relationships with suppliers and investors, crisis management, and the environmental and economic sustainability of green projects.

One of the most memorable moments was the visit to Casa Marcegaglia, the company museum inaugurated in 2023 and dedicated to the history, values and vision of the Marcegaglia entrepreneurial family. A striking digital installation gives voice to Steno Marcegaglia, the company’s founder, who recounts his humble beginnings and rise in the industrial world.

The museum offered UniTS students an immersive experience where art and industrial heritage blend with the idea of enterprise as a common good, in a narrative that uses technology to interweave identity, memory and social responsibility.

The visit concluded with a tour of the historic plant in Gazoldo degli Ippoliti, which today employs more than 1,700 people and remains a strong symbol of the Group’s deep local roots.

The initiative forms part of the training programme of the Innovators Community Lab, which in this edition has expanded its role modelling opportunities to provide students with inspiring examples, hands-on experiences and valuable professional contacts to better understand the dynamics of innovation, business and the world of work – through direct interaction with key players in the production system.

The virtual exhibition Italy in Antarctica is now online, created to mark the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM XLVI) and the 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP XXVI), hosted in Milan for the 2025 edition.

The exhibition explores Italy’s scientific presence in Antarctica, highlighting operational infrastructure, the governance model of the National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA), and Italy’s strategic role in international cooperation on the continent.

Among the contributors to the project is the National Museum of Antarctica, which has exhibition sites at the Universities of Trieste, Genoa and Siena. The Museum serves as a national hub for the promotion and dissemination of scientific knowledge about Antarctica.

The initiative provides a valuable opportunity to share the findings of research conducted in the White Continent, with a particular focus on:

• environmental protection and management of ASPAs (Antarctic Specially Protected Areas)
• studies on the Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea
• research on ecosystems and climate change
• pollutant monitoring
• results from Antarctic ice core drilling

The exhibition is accessible via direct link or by scanning the attached QR code. 

The University of Trieste is strengthening its commitment to research and training in the fight against primary liver cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. In collaboration with Italian Liver Foundation (FIF), the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer – Provincial Association of Trieste (LILT), and the local healthcare service ASUGI, the University is set to establish a shared operational protocol for the creation of themed working groups.

The agreement was announced during a multidisciplinary seminar held at FIF’s headquarters in Trieste, as part of an initiative dedicated to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The event brought together researchers, clinicians and students with the aim of promoting an integrated approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

Professor Saveria Lory Crocè, Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Trieste and Director of the Departmental University Clinic of Liver Diseases, highlighted the importance of technological innovation in tackling liver cancer:
"In today’s diagnostic and clinical landscape, there is a lack of standardised biomarkers and clinical indicators for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. New tools based on artificial intelligence will undoubtedly play a key role, a major area of research at our university.”

"Throughout the day," added Claudio Tiribelli, Scientific Director of the Italian Liver Foundation, “the focus was placed on the importance of primary and secondary prevention, early diagnosis, and multidisciplinary care of patients, as well as the need to invest in education and scientific outreach to raise public awareness about chronic liver diseases. The meeting ended with a clear message: only by pooling expertise, resources and vision can we improve the prevention and treatment of liver cancer, for the benefit of both patients and the wider community.”

The operational protocol between UniTS, FIF, LILT and ASUGI marks a significant step forward in establishing a structured collaboration, based on joint scientific research projects, academic training and public health initiatives that serve both the region and the scientific community.

Just a month before his 71st birthday — he was born in Livorno on May 24, 1954 — Mario Fiorentini passed away. He was Professor of Roman Law and Foundations of European Law at the Department of IUSLIT of the University of Trieste.

After earning his Law degree with honors in 1981 from the University of Pisa, he joined the first cycle of the PhD program in Roman Law and the Law of the Eastern Mediterranean (University of Rome La Sapienza, 1983–1986), focusing his research on culti gentilizi, the subject of his first monograph (1988). In 1991, he won a national competition for a research position at the Faculty of Law of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, where he remained until 1996. That year, he transferred to Trieste, where he would later be appointed Associate Professor in the early 2000s, following the publication of Fiumi e mari nell’esperienza giuridica romana (2003).

Though afflicted for some time by a painful illness, he continued his studies until the very end, driven by an unshakable passion for antiquity. A profound scholar, he was able to move effortlessly between legal, archaeological, literary, and historical dimensions. In the last decade, his research activity intensified, resulting in numerous refined essays and two substantial monographs: Il giurista e l’eretico (2016) and Natura e diritto nell’esperienza romana (2022).

Colleagues remember him as courteous to all and always ready with a witty remark; seated in his office, hunched over his computer from late morning into the evening, his door always open to welcome students, with whom he had a bond of total dedication and sincere affection — a sentiment clearly echoed on a Facebook page in his honor: Quelli che amano il Prof. Fiorentini.