Presidente della Repubblica, economista, docente, giornalista e Governatore della Banca d'Italia: il ricordo della poliedrica figura di Luigi Einaudi è stata al centro dell’evento “Il presidente del miracolo”, organizzato dall’Università di Trieste e dalla Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. 

Il convegno è nato con l'obiettivo di rievocare un episodio particolarmente significativo della parabola storica della presidenza Einaudi, durante la quale si intrecciarono la storia d’Italia, la storia cittadina e quella dell’Università di Trieste. 

L'iniziativa, infatti, ha celebrato il 150° anniversario della nascita di Luigi Einaudi (1874-1961) e avviato alla conclusione il programma di eventi ufficiali del Centenario UniTS, ricordando i 70 anni dalla laurea ad honorem che l’Ateneo giuliano conferì all’allora Presidente della Repubblica, in occasione del ritorno di Trieste alla sovranità italiana.

Nel corso del convegno è stato proiettato il documentario “Il Presidente del miracolo”, curato dal regista Pupi Avati e prodotto dalla Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. 

Il filmato, che ripercorre la biografia del primo Presidente della Repubblica eletto dal Parlamento, attraverso materiale d’archivio, frammenti di interviste e dichiarazioni, ha fatto rivivere il pensiero di Luigi Einaudi: rigore della finanza pubblica, concorrenza, rigida separazione fra politica ed economia. Principi all’origine del boom economico che creò ricchezza per quella generazione e le successive.

Al termine della proiezione è seguita una tavola rotonda sul contributo, l'eredità e l'attualità del pensiero einaudiano moderata da Fabrizio Brancoli, Vicedirettore del Gruppo Nem con delega al quotidiano Il Piccolo. 

Alla tavola rotonda sono intervenuti Andrea Cangini, Segretario generale della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, Emma Galli, Direttrice del comitato scientifico della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi e Docente di Scienza delle Finanze all’Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Francesco Magris, Docente Politica Economica all’Università degli Studi di Trieste e Giacinto Micucci, Vicedirettore della sede di Trieste di Banca d’Italia.

"Era doveroso, all’interno delle celebrazioni del Centenario dell'Università di Trieste, dedicare un evento al ricordo di Luigi Einaudi, un uomo di stato e di scienza, legato a un episodio molto importante per il nostro Ateneo e per la nostra città”, ha spiegato il Rettore Roberto Di Lenarda, durante l’apertura dei lavori.

"Nel corso di quest'anno di celebrazioni abbiamo raccontato la storia di UniTS come un percorso che ricorda il passato, ma guarda soprattutto con determinazione e fiducia al futuro. Abbiamo incontrato e consolidato i rapporti con le istituzioni, il mondo della scienza e della cultura e i cittadini, con l'obiettivo di essere sempre di più un punto di riferimento imprescindibile del nostro territorio e del mondo scientifico, per costruire in sinergia il futuro della conoscenza", ha concluso il Magnifico Rettore.

100 eventi per i 100 anni di UniTS
Quello dedicato a Luigi Einaudi è stato l'appuntamento ufficiale numero 99 delle celebrazioni legate al Centenario dell'Università di Trieste. Il 100° evento, che concluderà il programma, sarà Homecoming 2024 - Storie di successo UniTS, che si svolgerà mercoledì 11 dicembre.

Mattia Zulianello, Associate Professor in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Trieste, has won the 2025 Santoro Prize, awarded during the conference of the Italian Political Science Association held in recent days at the University of Naples Federico II.

The prize recognises the most interesting unpublished paper among those presented at the previous year’s conference, which brought together more than 700 Italian and international scholars. The award, which Zulianello shares with his co-author Mirko Crulli (LUISS Guido Carli, Rome), concerns the article The populist radical right and climate change: a demand-side perspective, published in the journal Environmental Politics.

The paper analyses the relationship between populist radical right parties and climate change from a perspective that has so far received little attention: voter demand. The investigation is based on the most recent data from the European Social Survey (2020–2022) covering 22 EU and OECD member states.

The results show that voters of the populist radical right are, on average, less concerned about climate change than other voters, even when socio-demographic variables are taken into account. Moreover, the political context emerges as a key factor: climate scepticism is stronger in countries where green parties are more influential, where environmental issues are more prominent in the political system, and where PRR parties take more openly anti-environmental positions. By contrast, in the absence of these conditions, hostility towards environmental policies tends to diminish.

The research also stands out for its attention to possible alternative directions of influence between voting behaviour and climate attitudes, and for the adoption of innovative methodological strategies already tested in international comparative studies. The prize jury highlighted the scientific robustness and originality of the work, which opens up new perspectives in the study of the relationship between the populist radical right and climate change.

Roberto Di Lenarda, Rector Emeritus of the University of Trieste, has been elected President of the Italian permanent conference of university medicine departments, the body that brings together the heads of all medical disciplines in Italian universities.

The unanimous election represents recognition of Professor Di Lenarda’s longstanding commitment to promoting the quality of medical education, research, teaching innovation and the role of universities within the healthcare system.

This interuniversity conference represents almost one third of Italian academic staff: around 15,000 lecturers affiliated with the 52 academic disciplines (SSD) in the medical and sports areas (CUN Area 06), as well as related disciplines in biology, veterinary, agriculture and psychology involved in teaching medicine, dentistry, healthcare professions and the life sciences.

In his new role, Professor Di Lenarda, succeeding Professor Andrea Lenzi, who was appointed President of the National Research Council on 26 July 2025, will coordinate the activities of the interuniversity conference, fostering dialogue between institutions and disciplines and promoting shared policies to improve research, education and healthcare.

‘The permanent conference of university medicine departments is a strategic platform for addressing the future challenges of medicine and academic healthcare professions, from the sustainability of courses to the quality of care. I accept this election with satisfaction and a strong sense of responsibility: I thank Professor Lenzi and the entire community for their trust,’ said Professor Di Lenarda.

Roberto Di Lenarda has headed the Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery Clinic of the local health authority (ASUGI) for 25 years and is Head of the Integrated Department of Specialist Surgery. He served as Rector of the University of Trieste (2019–2025) and, previously, as Head of the University Clinical Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences (2012–2018). Between 2018 and 2024 he was president of the conference of university professors of oral medicine disciplines and a member of the Executive Committee of the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI).

The academic and research community extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Di Lenarda and wishes him every success in his new role.

Starting from 1st September 2025, the former Military Hospital complex in Via Fabio Severo has become a new student residence, stemming from an agreement between the University of Trieste and ARDiS, the Regional agency for the right to education.

The facility is state-owned and has been granted to UniTS for indefinite use. It will be managed by Ardis for five years, extendable upon renewal. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between the University of Trieste and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, which aims to expand the range of student accommodation available in response to the growing demand for housing, made more urgent by the increase in University enrolments in recent years. It also aims to make the regional university system more attractive to prospective students.

The complex will accommodate up to 239 students in 163 rooms of various types: 24 single rooms measuring 16 square metres; 63 single rooms measuring 18 square metres; 64 double rooms; and 12 double rooms adapted to accommodate students with disabilities. A portion of the places, no less than 63, will be reserved for students of the Collegio di merito ‘Luciano Fonda’, who will be able to use the facilities and equipment dedicated to educational, cultural and recreational activities.

The University will retain access to the former Commander’s House, including the Chapel Room on the third floor (excluding the concierge area, which will be managed by Ardis). This area will house the Innovators Community Lab, the training programme that the University of Trieste dedicates to innovation and entrepreneurship, administrative offices and job placement and guidance activities.

Accommodation will be allocated through public calls for applications and priority will be given to capable and deserving students who have limited financial means and who meet the requirements set out in the regional guidelines.

‘For the University of Trieste,’ says Rector Donata Vianelli, ‘the redevelopment of the former Military Hospital as a student residence is of key importance in terms of policies for the right to education and services for students. In a period of increasing housing pressure, the availability of student accommodation is essential to ensure equal access to university education and to further enhance the appeal of our University.’

A new composite material, based on the interaction between cerium oxide and carbon nanostructures, has been developed in a study coordinated by the University of Trieste and the University of Bologna and published in Advanced Functional Materials. The material has demonstrated the ability to convert CO₂ electrochemically with high energy efficiency, while using a significantly reduced amount of catalytically active components.

Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and a direct driver of global warming, is at the centre of international research efforts towards a net-zero economy. Electrocatalysis is one of the most promising strategies for transforming CO₂ into products useful to industry, while also contributing to the decarbonisation of production processes.

As Michele Melchionna, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Trieste, who co-authored the study with Giovanni Valenti of the University of Bologna, explains ‘The catalytic conversion of CO₂ is one of the most interesting and relevant challenges in the current scientific landscape and must be integrated into sustainable processes such as photocatalysis or electrocatalysis. This requires the development of rather complex catalytic materials, since the efficiency of CO₂ chemical conversion critically depends on a precise balance of the catalyst’s properties. For this reason, a highly effective strategy is to exploit the appropriate interfacing of multiple phases, as in our project.’

Paolo Fornasiero, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at UniTS and co-author of the study together with UniTS researcher Miriam Marchi, highlights another key aspect of the work: ‘In a politically unstable context, where the extraction and distribution of strategic chemical elements are heavily dependent on geopolitics, it becomes increasingly important to maximise catalytic efficiency and material stability, thereby reducing the quantities needed to achieve performance that is industrially acceptable.’

The study also involved research groups from the University of Padua and the San Sebastián CIC biomaGUNE research centre and was carried out with the support of several projects, including the European H2020 Decade project and the Italian PRIN-PNRR ECHO-EF and PRIDE projects. 

Link to the article

The first staff meeting of Rector Donata Vianelli took place today in the Cammarata Room of the Rector’s Office. The meeting focused on planning and aligning the activities that will engage the new University governance in the coming months.

Rector Vianelli and Deputy Rector Mauro Tretiach met with the 27 collaborators who will support the work of the University’s governing bodies and administrative structures in pursuing the strategic goals of the University of Trieste over the next six years.

Vice-Rectors
Eight Vice-Rectors will be working alongside the Rector: Paolo Fornasiero (DSCF) for Research, Paolo Edomi (DSV) for Teaching and the Right to Education, Caterina Falbo (IUSLIT) for Public and Social Engagement, Guido Bortoluzzi (DEAMS) for Business and Territorial Relations, Roberta Nunin (IUSLIT) for Staff, Union Relations, and Equal Opportunities, Luca Bortolussi (MiGE) for Digital Transformation, Adriano Venudo (DIA) for University Infrastructure, and Barbara Campisi (DEAMS) for Quality.

Delegates
The team also includes seventeen academic delegates. Francesco Longo (DF) will oversee PhD programmes, while Erik Vesselli (DF) will focus on Technology Transfer and relations with research institutions. Matteo Cornacchia (DiSU) has been entrusted with Innovative Teaching, and Elisabetta Madriz (DiSU) with Orientation Planning. Elisabetta De Giorgi (DiSPeS) will be in charge of Mobility and International Relations, and Roberta Altin (DiSU) will work on Development Cooperation.

Giulia Caccamo (DiSPeS) will serve as delegate for Student Community Policies, Vanessa Nicolin (DSM) for Student Wellbeing and Inclusion, and Diego Abenante (DiSPeS) for Territorial Campus Policies. Alessandro Massi Pavan (DIA) will be responsible for Sustainability and Energy Transition. Francesca Larese (DSM) will focus on Working Conditions, Health and Safety; Giampaolo Dolso (IUSLIT) on General and Legal Affairs; and Stefano Ciampi (IUSLIT) on Administrative Simplification and the University’s Prison Campus. Giulia Barbati (DSM) will be in charge of Data Reporting, while Paola Rossi (DEAMS) will handle Budgeting, Economic Planning and Fundraising.

Lead contacts
Lastly, four lead contacts will take on responsibilities in specific strategic areas. Alberto Pallavicini (DSV) will continue to coordinate the activities of the Transform4Europe – T4EU – The European University for Knowledge Entrepreneurs project. Paolo Sorzio (DiSU) will oversee Teacher Training, while Giovanni Longo (DIA) will serve as Mobility Manager and Paolo Bevilacqua (DIA) as Waste Manager.

The 14th edition of Trieste Next, the Research Festival, has been officially presented. From September 26 to 28, 2025, Piazza Unità will once again become a grand stage for science: over the course of three days, more than 100 events and hundreds of scientists from all over the world will engage in dialogue with the public, reflecting together on the challenges of our time and exploring the frontiers of technological innovation.
This year’s theme is: “Life Within. Conversations across Science and Technology.”

“The University of Trieste, with its wide range of academic disciplines, is a perfect match for the 2025 edition of Trieste Next,” says Donata Vianelli, Rector of UniTS and President of the festival’s Scientific Committee.
“Once again, we’re offering visitors a rich and diverse program, supported by 200 volunteers who make the event possible. Thanks to the support of the Region, we will also host two internationally renowned guests: Brian Kobilka and David Quammen. For the first time, students and staff from our university have also been involved in designing the program. In addition to talks and events, we look forward to welcoming visitors in the exhibition pavilions in Piazza Unità d’Italia, where they can experience the latest developments, curiosities, and trends in scientific research first-hand.”

UniTS events at Trieste Next, day by day, with the active participation of the entire academic community:

Friday, September 26
Saturday, September 27
Sunday, September 28

These are the ten exhibition areas curated by UniTS at its stand in Piazza Unità:

UniTS Stand – September 26–28

The UniTS stand will feature a shop selling University merchandise during the following hours:

Friday 26 September: 4pm - 10pm

Saturday 27 September: 10am - 10pm

Sunday 28 September: 10am - 8pm

Trieste Next is promoted by the Municipality of Trieste, the University of Trieste, the NEM Nord-Est Multimedia Group/Il NordEst/Il Piccolo, Area Science Park, OGS – National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, and SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies.
The event is co-promoted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Organized by Post Eventi, the festival is a project of Trieste City of Knowledge and is held in collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Milan.
The main partner of the event is Generali.
Partners include AcegasApsAmga, Estenergy, Insiel, and Smact Competence Center.
Content partners include EuroBioHighTech, AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, Fondazione Telethon, and the INAIL Prosthesis Centre.

www.triestenext.it

Almost 500 third- and fourth-year high-school students have enrolled in the second round of the Summer Training Modules (https://portale.units.it/en/studiare/orientarsi/moduli-formativi), which are set to fill UniTS classrooms from 1st to 5th September.

Most of the students come from high schools in Friuli Venezia Giulia, but some are travelling from Aosta, Belluno, Cremona, Bergamo, Mantua, Pavia, Pordenone, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Alessandria, Cosenza and Rome.

The second round was inaugurated by the Rector's Delegate for Prospective Student Policies, Prof. Elisabetta Madriz, with a brief introduction to the Summer Training Modules, followed by a quick presentation by the Luciano Fonda College.

On 3rd September, the Luciano Fonda College, located in the former Military Hospital at Via Fabio Severo 40, will host an evening event with an aperitif and a talk on climate, energy and conviviality for registered participants.

The floor was then given to the UniTs Prospective Students Support staff, who coordinated testimonials from student ambassadors. The result was a powerful peer testimony which not only highlighted the range of different paths taken, but also showed that an individual’s path is not always linear and that, precisely for this reason, attention and deep self-knowledge is needed to make the most of one's talents and passions.

These experiences shared about making choices and different university paths provided useful food for thought in what was an important moment in the support of future students.

There are 12 modules scheduled until 5th September, which will be run by University lecturers across the following fields: humanities, engineering, earth sciences, physics, chemistry, pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry and technology, law, mathematics, artificial intelligence and data science, statistics, and biology.

The Summer Training Modules are an outreach project now in its eleventh year. The Modules are designed for third- and fourth-year high-school students to help them explore their interests through an intensive experience of university life in a field of their choice with the aim of supporting them in making an informed choice about their educational path.

A total of 702 students enrolled in the first session in July, signing up for one of the 17 modules offered across the fields of architecture, healthcare professions, economics and management, engineering, mathematics and earth sciences, humanities, dentistry and dental prosthetics, political, and international and diplomatic sciences.

The total number of enrolments in 2025 shows a steady increase in the number of students participating in this important outreach initiative, with 1,190 enrolments compared to 1,075 in 2024. This demonstrates not only the initiative’s strong appeal, but also that this UniTS taster experience is seen to be effective.

All info: https://portale.units.it/it/studiare/orientarsi/moduli-formativi 

The University of Trieste is one of five of research institutions participating in the INSIDE oceanographic mission (Unravelling the lithosphere-asthenosphere system of the Tyrrhenian back arc basin through geological, petrological and geophysical data, integration and geodynamic modelling), a campaign coordinated by the national research centre (CNR) that brings together an international team aboard the research vessel, the Gaia Blu. The campaign aim is to improve knowledge of the Tyrrhenian seabed and the underlying geological structures. 

Some of the most important activities include the measurement of terrestrial heat flow and the application of advanced seismic imaging techniques. The latter of which allows researchers to obtain high-resolution images of the bathymetry and seabed, making it possible to identify active faults, recent sedimentary deposits and ongoing deformations. Heat flow measurements, on the other hand, mean the heat rising from the Earth's mantle towards the seabed can be quantified. This is a decisive parameter for assessing the thermal state and tectonic activity of the basin.

The new data acquired is unprecedented in its accuracy and will offer new insights into the thermodynamics of the Tyrrhenian region and its relationship with seismic and volcanic phenomena.

On board the Gaia Blu are Prof. Magdala Tesauro, professor of Solid Earth Geophysics, and research assistant Dr Racine Abigail Basant, both from the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences. The Trieste group contributes to the choice of data acquisition points, data collection and laboratory analysis. 

'The interpretation of these results,’ emphasises Prof. Tesauro, 'will allow us to estimate the physical properties of the crust and upper mantle of the Tyrrhenian basin, achieving one of the main objectives of the project.’

The INSIDE mission is coordinated by Dr Maria Filomena Loreto of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR-ISMAR) and involves the participation of UniTS, the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Genoa (DISTAV), the Rome2 INGV section on 'Geomagnetism, Aeronomy and Environmental Geophysics', and the Université de la Sorbonne (UPMC, Paris).

Results were presented in Trieste from the cross-border clinical research project X-BRAIN.net - Network for cross-border cooperation aimed at the rehabilitation of stroke patients with innovative technologies, funded by the Interreg Italy-Slovenia Programme with a total budget of €750,000.

Coordinated by the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences at the University of Trieste, the project involved the participation of the Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper), the Neurological Clinic of ASUGI’s Cattinara Hospital and the Neurology Unit of Izola General Hospital.

The aim of the project is to make stroke rehabilitation more effective, a crucial challenge for today's healthcare system, by activating a targeted protocol in the very first days, enhanced by the use of innovative technologies. ‘The multimodal approach,’ explains project coordinator Professor Gianni Biolo of the University of Trieste, ‘combines nutritional integration, cognitive training through virtual reality and prehabilitation activities to ensure the maintenance of muscle mass and strength and to modulate the reorganisation processes within the central nervous system that are typical of immobility, promoting a more rapid recovery at the end of the period of inactivity.’

The experimental phase was conducted on healthy volunteers, with an average age of 68, who had to stay in bed for ten days. ‘From a nutritional point of view,’ continues Biolo, ‘we intervened by increasing protein intake from 0.8 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day and introducing a daily intake of 3.5 grams of the amino acid leucine, in order to ensure the maintenance of muscle mass.’

‘Through immersive and multisensory environments,’ explains Dr Luka Šlosar of the Science and Research Centre Koper, ‘the volunteers underwent mental training that preserved the flow of neuromuscular information and modulated the reorganisation processes within the central nervous system. In this way, it was possible to promote the maintenance of muscle strength and accelerate recovery times.’

‘Strokes are one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,’ emphasises Professor Paolo Manganotti, director of the Neurological Clinic at Cattinara Hospital, ‘with consequences that profoundly affect daily life. Intervening in the first few days with targeted rehabilitation programmes is essential for recovering compromised functions and improving quality of life. Thanks to the project, we were able to set up an active room entirely dedicated to the acute phase, equipped with virtual reality devices that allow for safe, stimulating and personalised exercises. The immersive and interactive aspect increases patient motivation and consistency, which are decisive factors in a successful recovery.’