Accurate measurements are the basis of every effective diagnosis and safe treatment. To ensure that this fundamental requirement for patient safety is met the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste and the University of Trieste have launched the world's first Master's degree in Radiation Metrology.This new two-year course, which began on 26 January, is part of the Master's Degree in Advanced Studies in Medical Physics and is co-funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Medical technologies that use radiation, including widely used techniques such as X-rays, CT scans and radiotherapy, save many lives every year. Using them to make accurate and safe diagnoses and treatments requires highly specialised professionals who can calibrate the instruments and assist medical staff in using the calibration results to ensure the safety and effectiveness of radiation diagnostics and treatment.

The new course in radiation metrology in Trieste will provide a small group of selected students, mainly from the Global South, with the managerial and technical skills they will need to become qualified radiation metrologists and play this vital role in their countries. Once graduated, the Qualified Radiation Metrologists will work in Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratories, centres established by the IAEA and the World Health Organization (WHO) to disseminate radiation dosimetry quantities in accordance with international basic safety standards. They will operate the specific equipment needed for radiation measurements, perform calibrations, evaluate the results and issue calibration certificates.

Four students coming from Venezuela, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa will start their two-year training next January. During the first year they will attend the lectures of the Master of Advanced Studies in Medical Physics, with additional courses focussing on dose measurements and calibration. Discussions are underway with the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) to provide part of the practical, hands-on training that will be delivered during the second year, either at the Italian National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology (INMRI-ENEA) in Rome, Italy, or at IAEA in Vienna, Austria.

“Accurate measurements are the cornerstone of safe and effective use of ionising radiation. This pioneering post-graduate programme is a strategic investment that will support global health and safety in the use of ionising radiation, creating the experts who will ensure that diagnostic and therapeutic radiation doses are precisely delivered and standardized worldwide, optimizing patients’ exposure and advancing health care,” said Mauro Carrara, Head of the Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics Section at the IAEA.

“According to international guidelines, before undertaking an internship and then practising the profession, medical physicists and radiation metrology experts need appropriate postgraduate training,” added Donata Vianelli, Rector of the University of Trieste. “Our Master's Degree in Advanced Studies in Medical Physics guarantees all the skills necessary to work in a hospital or metrology centre."

“We are grateful to the IAEA, the University of Trieste, and all our partners for their collaboration and efforts in creating with us a strong a successful programme in medical physics. It’s a wonderful example of multilateral collaboration for addressing the growing need for scientific expertise around the world in this important field. The work we have carried out together has paved the way for the new specialization in radiation metrology. We are excited to support the training of professionals who will play a vital role in this field,” said Atish Dabholkar, ICTP Director.

The Master of Advanced Studies in Medical Physics (MMP)

The Master of Advanced Studies in Medical Physics (MMP) is a two-year training programme run jointly by ICTP and the University of Trieste. The programme provides young graduates of physics or related fields (mainly from developing countries) with postgraduate theoretical and clinical training so that they may be recognised as clinical medical physicists in their home countries. The programme comprises a year of basic and advanced courses taught in English and prepared with the assistance of experts from ICTP, the University of Trieste, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and appointed external advisors. This is followed by a year of professional clinical training in a medical physics department of an Italian hospital in the programme's training network.

Almost 190 medical physicists have graduated so far from the programme, launched in 2014. They have come from more than 70 different countries, mainly in the Global South. About 90 of them have come from Africa, 44 from Asia, 41 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 14 from Europe and 1 from Oceania. Almost 40% of them are women.

Starting next year, a new collaboration with the United Nations University, through the International Institute for Global Health, will enrich the educational offering of both tracks of the Master of Advanced Studies in Medical Physics Programme by offering a course on medical ethics and issues related to global health.

The MMP is co-sponsored by the IAEA, and is supported by the International Organisation for Medical Physics (IOMP), the European Federation of Organizations in Medical Physics (EFOMP), the Italian Association of Medical Physics (AIFM), in collaboration with Trieste university hospital. The Master’s Programme is accredited by IOMP

From the Roman ports of Aquileia and Tergeste to shipbuilding in Monfalcone, from ‘multicultural’ Trieste to the memories of the two World Wars in Gorizia, up to the history of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region: seven talks to span two millennia of transformations, frontiers and coexistence in the Venezia Giulia area.

These and related themes are at the centre of ‘Ports, Peoples and Societies in a Borderland’, a public seminar series promoted by the Department of Humanities (DiSU) at the University of Trieste and supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Opening on Wednesday 21st January, the series explores the history of Venezia Giulia through migrations, identities and memories.

The initiative is itinerant and will consist of six public talks, covering four cities in Friuli Venezia Giulia - Trieste, Gorizia, Grado and Ronchi dei Legionari – with the aim of engaging a broad audience in some key aspects of the long-term history of Venezia Giulia in our region. 

‘The six talks,’ explains Tullia Catalan, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Trieste and project lead, ‘will bring together historians and specialists from different disciplines to discuss themes such as the port systems of the area from Roman origins to the present, the social, national and linguistic borders typical of a borderland, the memories of the two World Wars, and the economic transformations and migratory flows past and present.’

These are themes in which the University of Trieste is also engaged internationally through Transform4Europe, the European alliance of universities that UniTS helped found and which highlights the role of universities in borderlands.

Institutions in the region have actively contributed to the organisation of the talks. ‘Trieste, Grado, Ronchi and Gorizia offered to host and promote the events,’ notes Catalan, ‘a sign of the strong relationships that the University of Trieste has built over the years with the cultural institutions of the Venezia Giulia area.’

The concluding talk, dedicated to the creation and development of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, will take place in Trieste on 17th April 2026 and will be organised in collaboration with the Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage at the University of Udine.

Programme

21st January at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
Discovering the ancient world: the Roman ports and peoples of Aquileia and Tergeste
with Fulvia Mainardis (UniTS), Emanuela Murgia (UniTS), Monica Chiabà (UniTS) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

The speakers will retrace the Roman origins of the two ports and their commercial role through the archaeological evidence of Trieste and Aquileia. They will discuss life in the two ports, maritime trade and the various peoples who passed through the region, bringing new languages, cultures and knowledge.

25th February at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
The rich and the poor in Trieste from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era
with Miriam Davide (UniTS), Andrea Scartabellati (independent researcher), Antonio Trampus (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Local society and its population will be examined across different periods through the lenses of social justice, philanthropy and charity, with attention to everyday life and the needs of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. The focus will also include key institutions such as the Istituto Generale dei Poveri, tracing its transformations from the Habsburg to the Fascist period and its current role within contemporary welfare.

4th March at 16:30, Consorzio Culturale del Monfalconese, Conference Room (Piazza Unità d’Italia, 24), Ronchi dei Legionari
Shipbuilding and the city: the Monfalcone shipyard from the nineteenth century to today
with Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Giuseppe Grimaldi (UniTS), Giulio Mellinato (University of Milano-Bicocca) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

This talk retraces the relationship between the shipyard and the city from the Habsburg period to the present. Through labour history, the evolution of urban space linked to the shipyard and the history of migration, the speakers will trace the transformation of Monfalcone into a key contemporary site of global labour dynamics.

5th March at 16:30, Sala del Consiglio Comunale di Grado (Municipio, Piazza Biagio Marin, 4), Grado
Grado between Austria and Italy: the making of a seaside tourist resort
with Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Luciano Cicogna (Municipality of Grado), Paride Camuffo (independent researcher) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Grado’s attraction as a tourist destination dates back to the nineteenth century, when it became a seaside health resort and summer retreat for the Austrian bourgeoisie. This led to the architectural transformation of its urban spaces, the organisation of summer social life and, over time, to its development as a seaside destination to the present day. Grado therefore offers a contemporary example of sustainable tourism, grounded in its long-standing history as a holiday resort.

30th March at 16:30, Musei provinciali di Gorizia, Conference Room (Borgo Castello, 13), Gorizia
Monuments, museums and the memory of the two World Wars in Gorizia
with Massimo Baioni (University of Milan), Massimo Degrassi (UniTS), Alessandro Cattunar (Associazione Quarantasettezeroquattro) and Tullia Catalan (UniTS)

Gorizia was deeply scarred by the violence of the two World Wars, which left material and intangible traces of its past. Today the city is a symbol of the fruitful and peaceful relations between Italy and Slovenia, and the border has become a space of cultural crossings, also through the various museum exhibitions on both sides of the border. The talk will explore these themes through a range of perspectives.

1st April at 16:30, Civico Museo Sartorio, Sala Costantinides (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1), Trieste
Multicultural city, ‘quintessentially Italian’ city, city of science: Trieste between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
with Luca Giuseppe Manenti (Manlio Cecovini International Disclosure Society for Historical, Social and Ethical Studies), Tullia Catalan (UniTS), Elisabetta Vezzosi (UniTS) and Alessandro Carrieri (UniTS)

The great Habsburg port, crossroads of cultures and religions, underwent profound change after the World War I, with major population shifts driven by migration flows and a policy of mass nationalisation promoted by the Italian government of the time. For decades the border with eastern Europe became a wall, strongly opposing Slovenians and Italians. This tense climate persisted after the World War II and began to ease only in the 1960s and 1970s, thanks in part to the role of culture and science in the city, which acted as bridges to the East during the Cold War.

17th April at 16:30, FVG Region building, Tessitori multimedia room (Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan, 5), Trieste
Friuli Venezia Giulia 1963-2025: the creation and history of a special-statute region
with Raoul Pupo (UniTS), Igor Guardiancich (University of Padua), Patrick Karlsen (UniTS), Tullia Catalan (UniTS), Elena D’Orlando (University of Udine), Andrea Tilatti (University of Udine) and Andrea Zannini (University of Udine)

The concluding talk focuses on the creation and subsequent development of Friuli Venezia Giulia as a special-statute region, established by constitutional law on 31st January 1963. It will examine both the legal aspects of the region’s formation and the historical reasons underlying its establishment.

The Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences recently hosted the ‘Deep-sea Mineral Deposits: from Biogeochemistry to Geopolitics’ Winter School, held at San Giovanni Park, addressing topics at the intersection of science, the environment and highly topical global issues.

The initiative, sponsored by So.Ge.I. (Italian Geochemical Society), was organised as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the University of Trieste and the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and forms part of the activities of the Executive Protocol between the Institute of Oceanography (USP) and MIGe. 

The programme offered an overview of deep-sea mineral deposits (polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts, hydrothermal sulphides), associated microbial activity – drawing parallels with evidence of the earliest forms of life on Earth – and analytical investigation techniques, from Raman spectroscopy to synchrotron light-based methodologies. The programme also addressed the environmental, economic and geopolitical aspects of deep-sea mining, in a context marked by the growing demand for critical raw materials for the energy and digital transition.

Almost forty participants took part in the international training activity, including students, PhD students, laboratory technicians, researchers and lecturers, including participants from other Italian and foreign universities. The programme featured speakers from the Brazilian university: Prof. Christian Millo (Institute of Oceanography), marine geochemist, Prof. Douglas Galante (Institute of Geosciences), astrobiologist, Fernanda Jamel, PhD candidate in Microbiology, and laboratory technician Evandro Pereira da Silva.

The organisers are planning a Brazilian edition of the Winter School next July at the University of São Paulo, with lecturers from Trieste taking part as speakers. As part of the collaboration, USP and MIGe are also developing mobility initiatives for students and doctoral candidates, with internships at both universities: in March, a Brazilian student from São Paulo is expected to arrive and will be hosted by MIGe in the MercuRILab research group coordinated by Prof. Stefano Covelli, UniTS representative for the Memorandum of Understanding.

From regenerating the heart to designing more efficient solar cells: FIS (Fondo Italiano per la Scienza) has allocated a further €3 million to two cutting-edge research projects at the University of Trieste. Funding has been awarded to SOFTEN, focused on new approaches to reversing fibrosis and promoting cardiac tissue regeneration, and to A DIGITal twin for efficient solar CELLs, set to develop a ‘digital twin’ capable of simulating a solar cell in all its complexity and of accelerating, in a predictive way, the discovery of new photovoltaic materials.

FIS is an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) which supports excellent research modelled on the European ERC programmes, with competitive schemes designed to accompany researchers through different stages of their careers. The two grants obtained confirm UniTS’s ability to produce cutting-edge research while also acting as an attractive hub for projects that are highly competitive at the international level.

The project SOFTEN – Reversal of cardiac fibrosis and promotion of tissue regeneration through controlled SOFTENing of the extracellular matrix milieu, coordinated by Pasquale Sacco of the Department of Life Sciences, has been awarded around €1.65 million and addresses one of the most complex challenges in contemporary medicine: after an injury, the adult human heart is unable to regenerate effectively and tends to develop fibrosis, compromising its function.

The idea stems from observations in species such as the zebrafish, which can regenerate the heart thanks to a temporary ‘softening’ of the extracellular matrix. SOFTEN aims to reproduce and control this behaviour using specifically designed biomaterials, combining polymer chemistry, materials design and cellular and molecular biology methods to understand and steer the mechanisms of cardiac tissue repair.

The project A DIGITal twin for efficient solar CELLs, funded with around €1.33 million, is led by Virginia Carnevali, who will move from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to the Department of Physics at the University of Trieste to carry out the study.

The research aims to develop a digital twin of a solar cell capable of simulating the device in its full physical and structural complexity and of providing predictive insight both into conversion efficiency and into the discovery of new photovoltaic materials. The approach combines quantum simulations, molecular dynamics, statistical methods and experimental data, with the goal of bringing fundamental research and device engineering closer together in a key field for renewable energy.

As the researcher explains, Trieste and the Department of Physics were chosen for their internationally recognised expertise in developing codes and simulation techniques to study the structural and electronic properties of materials. The city also offers outstanding experimental facilities and a consolidated network of scientific partnerships built up since her PhD, which she completed in Trieste.

The FIS grants awarded to the projects led by Sacco and Carnevali add to the three already announced on 1st December 2025, attributed to Paolo Fornasiero (€2.3 million) and Federico Rosei (€1.9 million) of the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and to Matteo Marinelli (€1.1 million) of the Department of Physics. Five UniTS projects have been awarded funding by FIS in this round, amounting to €8.2 million overall.

‘We are very satisfied with these results,’ commented Rector Donata Vianelli. ‘FIS applies particularly rigorous criteria in evaluating projects, and the outcome confirms the University of Trieste’s ability to develop research that attracts funding and, in this case, human capital as well. The selected programmes reflect our commitment to key research areas: from biomedical research and biomaterials to tackle major health challenges, to advanced modelling of materials and devices for renewable energy.’

In occasione del Giorno della Memoria, l’Università di Trieste promuove, in collaborazione con Stazione Rogers, il 12° Convegno multidisciplinare “Convivere con Auschwitz”, in programma oggi alle 17 al Teatro Miela, .

Nato per mettere in dialogo saperi diversi e tenere viva una riflessione scientifica e civile sulle memorie della Shoah e della deportazione, il convegno propone, nella giornata che celebra le vittime dell’Olocausto, un percorso di approfondimento che unisce ricerca, testimonianze e linguaggi culturali.

L’edizione 2026 di Convivere con Auschwitz, caratterizzata dal sottotitolo “e l’umana barbarie”, delinea una lettura tra memoria storica e attualità: l’esperienza di Auschwitz non è solo un capitolo del passato, ma un criterio per riconoscere i segnali della disumanizzazione quando riemergono linguaggi d’odio, pregiudizi e forme di intolleranza, fino alla violenza contro i civili.

In questa prospettiva si colloca la presenza di ospiti che, da contesti diversi, riportano l’attenzione sul valore della testimonianza e della responsabilità individuale. Dal Giappone, Terumi Tanaka, Premio Nobel per la Pace 2024 e rappresentante di Nihon Hidankyo (l’associazione dei sopravvissuti alle bombe atomiche di Hiroshima e Nagasaki), porta al convegno uno sguardo che connette tra loro le memorie dei grandi traumi del Novecento e il loro insegnamento per il nostro tempo.

Accanto alla riflessione, trovano spazio anche i linguaggi della cultura e del teatro: Giorgio Cantarini torna al convegno con un monologo dedicato a Giorgio Perlasca, per ricordare come, anche nelle fasi più buie, possano emergere scelte capaci di salvare vite. E l’intervento di Bruno Bozzetto – con la presentazione di un episodio di Allegro non troppo – contribuisce a ravvivare la memoria con la forza evocativa delle immagini, come strumento di consapevolezza e di educazione.

Il programma prevede, inoltre, la relazione del decano di Ateneo Mauro Barberis (“Inizio della barbarie e fine della scrittura”), l’approfondimento di Sabina Passamonti (Università di Trieste, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita) su “I novecento giorni di Leningrado. La fame come moderno strumento di guerra”, e la testimonianza di Giuseppe Cantarini (neuropsichiatra) su “La Memoria di Giosuè. Famiglia, Benigni, Perlasca”. In chiusura, spazio alla riflessione sulle immagini della guerra con Mauro Rossi su Henry Tonks e alla presentazione, a cura di Elena Tonzar (EUT – Edizioni Università di Trieste), dei volumi 10 e 11 del convegno disponibili su OpenStarTs; la conclusione è affidata a Gianni Peteani, con un intervento dedicato ad Anna Frank.

In apertura sono previsti i saluti istituzionali della rettrice Donata Vianelli, seguiti dagli interventi di Giuseppina Scavuzzo (presidente Stazione Rogers Trieste) e Enzo D’Antona (presidente Teatro Miela). Modera Pierluigi Sabatti, presidente del Circolo della Stampa di Trieste.

La direzione scientifica del Convegno è di Mauro Barberis, decano di Ateneo e docente di Filosofia del Diritto; l’organizzazione è curata da Gianni Peteani, presidente del Comitato permanente Ondina Peteani. 

L'evento è ad ingresso libero e sarà trasmesso anche in diretta streaming sui canali YouTube di Stazione Rogers e del Teatro Miela.

L'Università di Trieste, in occasione della Giorno della Memoria, illuminerà la facciata di rosso.

Matteo Parenzan, Paralympic table tennis champion and a student at the University of Trieste, will be among the torchbearers crossing the city today with the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame, running one of the final legs leading to the arrival in Piazza Unità d’Italia.

On the Trieste stretch of the relay—bringing together communities and the values of sport—Parenzan will be joined by other outstanding athletes from Trieste, including basketball player Alberto Tonut, fencer Margherita Granbassi, judoka Veronica Toniolo and sailor Giovanna Micol, in a symbolic handover that brings different stories and disciplines together under the five rings.

For the UniTS community, this is a source of pride: Parenzan embodies, with determination and success, the dual career of university student—he is pursuing his degree in Political Science and Public Administration with excellent results—and elite athlete. He has made us, in turn, part of an extraordinary sporting journey that has seen him become World Champion 2022, European Champion 2023, and above all win Paralympic gold in Paris 2024 in table tennis Class 6, while continuing his studies with great commitment and strong academic performance.

AIRC Foundation supports Italian oncology research for 2026 through different types of grants that aim to make the national research ecosystem more competitive. This year, the University of Trieste benefits from two grants that support ongoing efforts to apply artificial intelligence to genomic and clinical data for a better understanding of how cancers evolve and how they respond to therapies.

Prof. Giulio Caravagna, Professor of Informatics at the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences (MIGe), is the recipient of a one-year Bridge Grant (almost €100,000), which comes at the end of the five-year My First AIRC Grant and allows the continuation of the work. The project — Characterising genotype and phenotype clonal evolution to response to therapy with Artificial Intelligence  — focuses on the analysis of clonal evolution in leukemia, in collaboration with the Oncological Reference Centre (CRO), Aviano, San Raffaele Research hospital and, in this new phase, with Area Science Park. The group will use tools developed in the first project to study the processes that drive the development of leukemia and to develop innovative methods to support increasingly targeted precision medicine strategies.

AIRC also renews its support for Alice Antonello, who is in the second year of the three-year project Dissecting the role and mechanisms of chromosomal instability in cancer evolution using Artificial Intelligence , which will receive a total of over €100,000. Research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence methods to DNA data to clarify the link between the occurrence of specific mutations and exposure to mutagenic agents: This is a crucial step to better recognise risk factors and guide prevention and intervention strategies.

The announcement of AIRC funding coincides, as usual, with Le Arance della Salute (oranges for research), the initiative that combines fundraising and public awareness on the importance of prevention through healthy living. On Saturday, 24th January, thousands of volunteers will be in the squares with small nets of red oranges, jars of jam and honey; along with solidarity products, a special publication will also be available to help citizens distinguish false information from science-based content, debunking myths about nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle.

In Trieste, stands will be set up on Via Dante (at the corner of Via San Nicolò), Piazzale Rosmini, Campo San Giacomo and the Torri d’Europa shopping centre.

The fifth edition of the Ingenio al femminile Award, a celebration of female talent, has selected UniTS PhD student Giulia Saccomano as winner of the ‘Best doctoral thesis’ category for her work ‘From pixels to diagnosis: applications of X-ray Virtual Histology (XVH) in clinical pathology’.

Supported by the Italian National Council of Engineers and designed to foster women’s talent and representation in engineering, this year’s award is inspired by the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence meets the challenges of 2050’.

The motivation reads:

‘Traditional histopathological examination provides two-dimensional images due to histological samples’ cut plane. XVH, on the other hand, is a technique that allows high-resolution, non-destructive three-dimensional observations while preserving the structure of the organ under examination. The research work involved the integration of advanced deep learning algorithms to manage and analyse large XVH datasets. Automated organ segmentation in XVH images improves the identification of critical characteristics such as cell architecture and the margins of a tumour mass, while also being able to accurately calculate the values of prognostic markers without the need to physically dissect the affected part. The research has led to the integration between clinical diagnostic imaging of the Department of Pathological Anatomy of Trieste’s hospital and physical-experimental imaging of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and the application of AI algorithms, in collaboration with the Computational Pathology Group at Radboud UMC (Netherlands), to improve the automatic segmentation of tumour masses and overcome the limits of traditional histopathology.’

Strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs by developing strategic skills, providing access to qualified services and building cross-border collaborations along the blue-economy value chain: these are the goals of LEAP TO BLUE – Unleash the potential for joint transition in the blue economy, a project under the Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027 Programme presented today at the University of Trieste, which is a partner in the initiative through its Department of Economic, Business, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (DEAMS).

The University of Trieste takes part in the project within a partnership led by the University of Zadar (Lead partner) and also involving Unioncamere del Veneto, ARTI Puglia – Regional Agency for Technology, Technology Transfer and Innovation, the University of Zagreb – FER and the Croatian Chamber of Economy.

LEAP TO BLUE is an OSI – Operation of Strategic Importance, i.e., a strategically relevant cross-border cooperation action selected within the Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027 Programme to address shared needs of Adriatic territories with joint, high-impact solutions. Running for 36 months until June 2028 and with a total budget of about €6.1 million, the project supports the digital and green twin transition of blue-economy companies through an integrated model combining capacity building – training and strengthening skills and organisational capabilities – and matchmaking and networking, i.e., connecting demand and supply and building collaboration networks between companies and innovation ecosystem actors.

“The University of Trieste,” explains Rubina Romanello, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Management and scientific lead for the University, “focuses in particular on upskilling – strengthening existing skills – and reskilling – developing new skills – to support human capital development and foster innovation, sustainability and growth.”

“As lead partner, the University of Zadar will be the scientific heart of the project,” says Andrea Vitlov from the University of Zadar, Communication Manager of LEAP TO BLUE. “Our goal is to turn research results into practical solutions that help the blue economy grow while keeping our environment healthy. We hope the project will become a blueprint for the future, showing that economic success and environmental sustainability can go hand in hand.”

As an OSI, LEAP TO BLUE is among the Programme’s more structured and financially significant projects, delivered by highly qualified partnerships and oriented towards tangible results, such as piloting new services and solutions and developing joint pathways in strategic sectors for the Adriatic area.

The six project partners will define a service catalogue for companies. Access will be regulated through a voucher scheme with two calls scheduled for autumn 2026 and summer 2027. The services offered to SMEs will focus on internationalisation, advanced training (on digital topics and ESG) and skills upgrading (upskilling) as well as innovation and technology transfer, with the aim of supporting companies through ongoing transitions and strengthening their competitiveness.

“LEAP TO BLUE supports blue-economy SMEs by providing, through a combination of vouchers and dedicated initiatives, fast access to specialised expertise, skills and cross-border partnerships that drive innovation and market growth,” states Jelena Grancarić Milin, Head of the Technology Transfer Department at the University of Zadar.

“The project,” Romanello continues, “has nearly €3 million available to fund 162 vouchers, with an average service value of €18,000 per company. The University of Trieste will be able to allocate more than €400,000 to support training and skills development pathways with a digital and environmental focus.”

Following the official presentation to the media, the University of Trieste will host in the afternoon the regional workshop “LEAP TO BLUE: Opportunities and Services for SMEs in the Blue Economy” to explore the project’s tools, services and opportunities and contribute to shaping an offer that genuinely matches companies’ needs.

The event is aimed at the project’s target audience: small and medium-sized enterprises operating in blue-economy sectors and actors in education, research and innovation support. “The workshop,” clarifies Guido Bortoluzzi, Vice Rector for relations with businesses and the territory at the University of Trieste, “is designed to bring SMEs and local stakeholders together and collect active feedback to define a service catalogue that meets companies’ needs, both in terms of content and access procedures.”

The event also includes an in-depth session on the main challenges for SMEs, with contributions – among others – from Francesco Venier, professor at the University of Trieste and MIB and an expert in organisational innovation; Carlo Poloni, professor at the University of Trieste and President of ESTECO; Luca Braidotti, professor at the University of Trieste and CEO of Sipeom Srl; and Bostjan Lozer, strategic advisor on business models.

From 1 January 2026, the University of Trieste will have a new Director General: Marco Porzionato.

Formerly a senior manager at the University of Padua and Director General of the University of Basilicata from November 2023 until 31 December 2025, Porzionato will take over as Director General of UniTS for the three-year period 2026-2028. 

During his career, he has previously worked at the Italian Ministry of the Treasury, at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) / State General Accounting Department and at Ca' Foscari University in Venice. He has an undergraduate degree in Political Science, a second-level master in University and Research Management and a specialisation diploma in European Community Law and Economics.

Porzionato succeeds Luciana Rozzini, who remains on the University staff as Head of the Financial Division.