The DIGILAFS project (Digitisation of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy), promoted by the University of Trieste’s Library and Museum Services, seeks to enhance and preserve the documentary section of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy, held within the Writers and Regional Culture Archive.

DIGILAFS is one of the projects funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region as part of the regional call for proposals for “Interventions aimed at promoting the use of ICT solutions and augmented reality for the benefit of cultural operators” under the PR FESR 2021-2027 funds.

The approved €63,440 of funding will cover all expenses for the duration of the project, which is set to last 24 months. Project activities began on 1 July and will include the purchase of a professional planetary scanner for the purpose of document digitisation.

The documentary section of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy consists of personal documents and heterogeneous materials of particular importance, including a collection of letters by Pietro Nobile (414 items), historiographical documents relating to the world wars, family documents, records, postcards, photographs and 313 historic documents (parchments, papal bulls, proclamations).

The collection’s variety and historical interest coupled with the extremely fragile condition of most of the paper documents mean that its digitisation and online promotion are essential if this particular piece of cultural heritage is to be valorised and made accessible to potential interested parties.

The long-term objective of the project is to complete the digitisation of the cultural heritage preserved in the Archive of Writers and Regional Culture and, in the short term, to scan at least 40% of the documentary section of the Fonda Savio Legacy, in order to make it accessible to the public via the regional portal and the University Museum Services portal.

The EAES Research Grant has been awarded to Professor Silvia Palmisano, Associate Professor of General Surgery at the University of Trieste, and her team, for the project Teaching Rectal Surgery through Artificial Intelligence Navigation – TRAIN Study. This is an international recognition conferred by the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES).

The study, which involves an international network of experts, aims to enhance training in rectal surgery through the integration of artificial intelligence–based navigation systems.

Founded in 1990, the EAES is one of the leading international organizations in the field of endoscopic surgery and related interventional techniques, engaged in promoting training, research, and development activities, as well as organizing high-level scientific congresses.

The grant, worth a total of €30,000 and awarded annually to two or three carefully selected projects, supports clinical and translational research activities to promote safe and high-quality minimally invasive surgery.

For Professor Palmisano, who also serves as Medical Director of the Complex Structure of Surgical Clinic at the Giuliano Isontina University Health Authority (ASUGI), the award of the grant “highlights the value of teamwork and international collaboration.”

Starting from the academic year 2025/26, the University of Trieste will activate a second Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene at the Pordenone campus, alongside the one already offered in Trieste. The publication of the admission call for the Health Professions degree programs confirms the new developments in the educational offer anticipated in recent weeks.

The total number of places for the Dental Hygiene degree program (CLID) will therefore increase from last year’s 30 to 50, equally distributed between Trieste and Pordenone. This further expands the University’s presence in Pordenone, following the launch of the Dietetics degree program last year.

Separate rankings will be drawn up for the Trieste and Pordenone Dental Hygiene programs: applicants may indicate both campuses and, if eligible, may be admitted to their second choice through ranking shifts.

For the a.y. 2025/26, UniTS has planned the training of 460 future healthcare professionals, through the activation of ten first-level degree programs: Health Assistance (40 places, Gorizia), Dietetics (30 places, Pordenone), Physiotherapy (40 places, Trieste), Dental Hygiene with 25 places in Trieste and 25 in Pordenone, Nursing (200 places, Trieste), Speech Therapy (30 places, Trieste), Environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques (20 places, Gorizia), and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Techniques (30 places, Trieste).

Among the inter-university programs with the University of Udine, which alternate annually between the two institutions, this year the Midwifery degree program returns to Trieste, with 20 available places, four more than in the previous UniTS call (2023). At UniUD, the Biomedical Laboratory Techniques and Medical Radiology Techniques for Imaging and Radiotherapy degree programs will be offered, each with 40 places available.

In addition, the new rules regulating admission to Master’s Degree programs in Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine provide for reserved quotas of up to 20% of the planned places in related health profession degree programs, available to candidates who are not admitted in the merit ranking at the end of the filter semester. At the University of Trieste, this will allow for up to 40 additional enrollments in Nursing, 8 in Health Assistance, and 4 in Environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques.

Applications must be submitted exclusively online by 1:00 p.m. on 28 August, according to the procedures indicated in the official call. Each applicant may select up to three different degree programs, for which they will be considered in the rankings.

The admission test, common to all degree programs, will take place on Monday, 8 September 2025 in Trieste, at the Piazzale Europa campus (buildings H3 and C1), starting at 11:00 a.m., with identification procedures beginning at 8:30 a.m. The test will last 100 minutes and will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions, covering reading skills and acquired knowledge, logical reasoning and problem solving, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

The Italian Ministry of Universities and Research has granted Maurizio Prato the prestigious title of Professor Emeritus.

The decree, signed by Minister Anna Maria Bernini on 5th August 2025, recognises Maurizio Prato’s extraordinary academic and scientific career as a former full professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Trieste.

The Emeritus Professorship is the crowning achievement of an extremely successful career full of awards. Prof. Prato began his career in 1983 at the University of Padua and continued from 1992 at the University of Trieste, first as an associate professor and, from 2000, as a full professor, until his retirement in 2023.

A member of the Accademia dei Lincei and Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC biomaGUNE in San Sebastián (Spain), Maurizio Prato has made fundamental and interdisciplinary contributions to the field of nanoscience, particularly in the design and synthesis of carbon nanostructures for applications in bio-nanotechnology and in the conversion and storage of solar energy. 

His research has become an important point of reference for the scientific community thanks to his work on innovative, controlled and reproducible synthetic protocols and analytical methods for the functionalisation and design of carbon nanostructures – an area of research which, in recent years, has also been extended to include graphene and carbon dots. His contributions have significantly advanced the understanding and control of the chemistry of carbon nanostructures, placing them at the centre of a number of developments in technology.

Prof. Prato has received numerous national and international awards, including the prestigious Raffaele Piria Medal awarded in 2024 by the Italian Chemistry Society, reserved for scholars who have honoured Italian organic chemistry and represent a continuation of its distinguished traditions. He has also obtained significant research funding, including two ERC Advanced Grants, in 2008 and 2020, and was appointed a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in 2010, a member of the European Academy of Sciences in 2013, the Academia Europaea in 2015, the Venetian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts in 2018, the National Academy of Inventors (USA) in 2021 and the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain in 2022. He is an honorary professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Over the years, Prof. Prato has formed a veritable school. His research group at the University of Trieste has trained over 230 students, PhD students, post-docs and visiting professors, many of whom come from abroad. Numerous former members of his group have embarked on successful scientific careers and now hold prestigious positions in high profile universities and research centres. The success of his colleagues and students is a testament to his ability to inspire and guide young scientists towards innovative and unexplored paths.

His intense research activity has led him to publish over 800 articles in high-impact international journals, with a total of over 82,000 citations and an h-index of 132 (Scopus). He has conducted research at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA (1980), University College, Dublin, Ireland (1983), Yale University, New Haven, USA (1986-87), and the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA (1991-92). He was a visiting professor at the Chemistry Departments of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 2001, the University of Namur, Belgium, in 2010, the University of Strasbourg in 2014 and the University of Mons (Belgium) in 2018. 

Maurizio Prato has also contributed to the community at the University of Trieste by holding important institutional roles. He was Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, leading the merge with the Department of Chemistry in 2010, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy from 2002 to 2013, PhD Coordinator for the Pharmaceutical Sciences programme for two three-year periods, and Vice PhD Coordinator for the Chemistry programme for an additional two three-year periods.

A chemist and scientist of the highest calibre, Maurizio Prato is internationally recognised for his scientific contributions, but also for his humanity and kindness. The ministerial conferral of the title of Professor Emeritus is a well-deserved recognition of an extraordinary career which has contributed significantly to strengthening the prestige of the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and our university, both nationally and internationally.

Rector Donata Vianelli congratulates Prof. Prato on this important recognition, expressing gratitude for his contribution to the scientific prestige, internationalisation and, more generally, growth of the University of Trieste on behalf of the entire academic community.

On August 10, Pio Nodari passed away. He was a former Full Professor of Economic and Political Geography and Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Trieste from 2000 to 2003.

The Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics "Bruno de Finetti" (DEAMS) remembers him for his academic work, carried out with great passion and dedication, and for his political commitment, which made him a leading figure in the civic and political life of Trieste.

Professor Nodari’s teaching activity was primarily dedicated to undergraduate and doctoral degree courses within the Faculty of Economics.

His scientific production focused mainly on the study of migration phenomena, but also addressed a wide range of themes and disciplines, such as territorial planning, sustainable economic and tourism development, economic and political dynamics in the north-eastern border area of Italy and the Balkans, political-economic territorial organization processes of the European Union, and the study and development of cartography and Geographic Information Systems applied to economic decision-making and territorial planning. In this context, it is worth recalling his promotion of the interdepartmental centre of excellence in telegeomatics “GeoNetLab.”

For many years, he led the working group of the Association of Italian Academic Geographers (A.Ge.I.) on foreign immigration to Italy, effectively coordinating the national inter-university research on the subject, benefiting over the years from PRIN funding—reserved for projects of significant national interest—and from CNR grants.

He was an tireless promoter of initiatives aimed at enhancing research activities, with particular attention to involving and supporting young emerging scholars. In this spirit, in addition to creating the Laboratory of Economic and Political Geography—still active at DEAMS—he was among the founders of the “Ezio Vanoni” Centre for Economic and Political Studies in Trieste and the “Giorgio Valussi” Centre for Tourism Studies in Gorizia.

He was a mentor to more than one generation of students, many of whom have gone on to hold academic positions at the University of Trieste and other universities.

Pio Nodari was also the organizer of many national and international seminars, meetings and conferences, including the Italian–Romanian Colloquia, and numerous events held as part of Interreg Italy–Slovenia projects.

His commitment and the esteem he enjoyed within the Italian academic geography community are also evidenced by the fact that he served for many years as an elected member of the A.Ge.I. Governing Council.

Those who worked with him remember him with respect, affection and gratitude.

The Department of Life Sciences (DSV) at the University of Trieste is a partner in a project that uses cutting-edge technology to reconstruct the environmental evolution of the Venice lagoon through the analysis of historical and contemporary macroalgae. 

Coordinated by Professor Stefano Loppi of the University of Siena in an Italian first, the initiative involves use of a new high-precision X-ray instrument, recently acquired with NRRP funds by the University of Siena. The instrument allows metal content in samples to be detected without damaging them.

The University of Trieste working group is made up of Professors Annalisa Falace (Environmental and Applied Botany) and Stefano Martellos (Systematic Botany), with the collaboration of PhD students Alessandra Metalli and Linda Seggi (PhD programme in Environment and Life). 

The UniTS team's activity focuses on three main areas: collecting the macroalgae currently present in the lagoon (already carried out in June), providing specialist expertise in algae taxonomy and biology, and scientifically enhancing particularly historical museum collections.

The study will focus on over 200 algae samples dating back to the 1930s, kept in the Vatova-Schiffner algae collection at the Natural History Museum of Venice under the care of Raffaella Trabucco, which will be compared with current specimens collected by the Trieste research group.

‘This is the first time in Italy that this technology has been applied to herbarium samples of macroalgae,’ emphasises Professor Stefano Martellos. ‘The analyses are completely non-invasive and allow unique and irreplaceable museum collections to be preserved, expanding their research potential.’

‘Macroalgae are excellent bioindicators,’ adds Martellos, ‘and analysing their chemical composition over a period of almost a century allows us to accurately reconstruct the impact of human activity on the lagoon ecosystem, providing valuable data for more informed environmental management.’

‘The potential is enormous,’ comments Professor Loppi, project coordinator. ‘We can rewrite the environmental history of these areas, making a scientific heritage that has been little explored until now accessible to the public.’

The project will be completed by the end of the year and the results will be presented at two important international scientific events: the 9th International Plant Science Conference and the 3rd Conference of the International Association for Biomonitoring of Environmental Pollution.

Gold shines bright in Piazzale Europa thanks to Tommaso Vianello!

On the final day of competition at the FISU World University Games, held in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region, Tommaso Vianello, a student at the University of Trieste, claimed the top step of the podium in rowing.

Enrolled in the Master’s degree program in Strategy, Consulting and Business Logistics (DEAMS), Vianello secured the gold medal in the mixed quadruple sculls, competing alongside Martina Fanfani and Alice Ramella (University of Genoa), and Lorenzo Baldo (University of Padua).

The Italian crew led the race from the very start, setting a pace that no opponent could match. With a time of 6:38.39, the quartet crossed the finish line nearly two seconds ahead of Germany (6:40.12) and more than eight seconds ahead of Lithuania (6:46.41): a commanding margin, highlighting their undisputed technical and athletic superiority.

The victory by Tommaso Vianello and his teammates contributes to the outstanding performance of the Italian delegation, which closed this edition of the Games with 43 total medals (14 gold, 10 silver, 19 bronze), placing fifth in the global medal table behind Japan, China, the United States, and South Korea, and first among European nations.

The entire academic community proudly celebrates Tommaso Vianello’s exceptional achievement, recognizing the dedication and commitment required to balance academic studies with high-level competitive sport.

The first wonderful medals for student-athletes from the University of Trieste have arrived at the FISU World University Games Rhine-Ruhr 2025!

After a top-level tournament, the Italian women's university water polo team won the bronze medal, with three UniTS students celebrating on the podium.

Giorgia Klatowski (Law), Emma De March (Environmental and Nature Sciences and Technologies), and Guya Zizza (Psychological Sciences and Techniques), key players for both the university national team and Pallanuoto Trieste, fulfilled their dream of winning a medal that rewards a path marked by great commitment and dedication.

In Duisburg, during the third-place final won 10–5 against New Zealand, the Azzurre, coached by Maurizio Mirarchi, showed determination and quality, redeeming themselves after a hard-fought semifinal defeat against the United States, which ended only in a penalty shootout after a very balanced match.

In the bronze medal final, Giorgia Klatowski scored a hat trick, and Emma De March also netted a goal.

This marks the third consecutive Universiade podium for the university version of the Setterosa, while at the Piazzale Europa campus, there is great celebration for an extraordinary result that reflects the strength of the dual career model — a model the University of Trieste actively promotes, supporting students who strive for excellence both in sports and in academics.

In the photo on the homepage, from left to right: Giorgia Klatowski, Emma De March, and Guya Zizza.

The project Compassionate Leadership – CompAct has been officially launched. Promoted and funded by the Veneto Region, it is part of a strategic intervention plan aimed at addressing the increasingly alarming rise in unplanned resignations. The project seeks to adapt the compassionate leadership model to the Italian healthcare context, proposing a leadership style capable of recognizing workplace distress, understanding its causes, and intervening to foster a more sustainable work organization — one that is centered on the idea of “caring for those who care.”

The University of Trieste is a key scientific partner in the adaptation and validation phase of the international model to the Italian context, alongside the Universities of Milan, Padua, and Verona. Representing UniTS are Prof. Sara Cervai (Work and Organizational Psychology) and Prof. Gabriele Blasutig (Organizational Sociology), both from the Department of Political and Social Sciences.

The project addresses the challenges posed by the so-called “Great Resignation” and the growing unease among healthcare workers, by promoting an approach based on mutual care, relational responsibility, and organizational wellbeing.

Developed with the scientific contributions of Michael West (King’s Fund UK), compassionate leadership is a model already successfully tested in several European countries, particularly in the United Kingdom. It has proven effective in improving workplace climate, reducing burnout, and increasing satisfaction among both healthcare professionals and patients — especially in emotionally demanding environments like healthcare settings.

“At the international level, results are promising,” said Prof. Sara Cervai. “We need to understand how this model can work in the Italian context, within a public healthcare system where people are experiencing alarming levels of distress. We are aware of the impact that leadership roles can have on staff wellbeing, and we aim to support both leaders and collaborators in regaining motivation and wellbeing in their professional practice, through a scientific approach.”

CompAct is a two-year action-research project, with field trials conducted in two Venetian Local Health Units (ULSS 3 Serenissima and ULSS 4 Veneto Orientale), involving both top and middle management in three operational units (internal medicine, emergency services, and primary care).

Within this framework, the University of Trieste is responsible for the cultural adaptation of the model, through translation, reworking, and comparison with existing best practices, in close dialogue with the professionals involved. The following stages will include implementation within healthcare organizations, scientific validation, and dissemination of results.
“There are many cultural and linguistic challenges ahead,” Cervai explained, “starting with the very meaning of the word compassionate, which in Italian must be understood as empathy and support, not as pity or sentimentality.”

The other academic partners will be in charge of quantitative validation (Prof. Paolo Gubitta, University of Padua), qualitative validation (Prof. Elisa Ambrosi, University of Verona), and dissemination (Prof. Federico Lega, University of Milan). The Veneto Region will oversee both the coordination and the implementation within the participating healthcare organizations.

The project’s kick-off meeting was held in Venice, at the Scuola Grande di San Marco Evangelista, in the presence of the Regional Minister of Health and the General Director for Health of the Veneto Region, the General Directors of the two participating ULSS units, and university representatives.

This initiative is part of the strategic actions outlined in Resolution No. 960/2024 of the Veneto Region to tackle the retention crisis in the public healthcare sector and stands as a virtuous example of collaboration between institutions, academia, and the healthcare system.

Promoting innovation, digital and green transition, and cooperation among Italian and Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the blue economy sectors: this is the goal of the LEAP TO BLUE – Unleash the potential for joint transition in the blue economy project, funded by the Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027 Programme and officially launched with the kick-off meeting held at the University of Zadar.

The University of Trieste is a scientific partner in the project through the Department of Economic, Business, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (DEAMS), with a team coordinated by Professor Rubina Romanello and composed of faculty members, research fellows, and technical-administrative staff: Guido Bortoluzzi, Alberto Dreassi, Chiara Marinelli, Antonio Eusebio Fiori, and Piero Gabrielli. The project, led by the University of Zadar, is expected to last three years, with a total budget of over six million euros, of which nearly one million is allocated to UniTS.

LEAP TO BLUE addresses shared challenges faced by the coastal regions of Italy and Croatia, including the adoption of advanced technologies, the development of digital and environmental skills, access to international markets, and the reduction of territorial disparities. The difficulties many SMEs encounter on the path toward green and digital transition—together with the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation—require integrated responses and a cross-border vision.

The project aims to engage over 150 small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting them in adopting sustainable and innovative practices, creating new jobs, and expanding into new markets. To achieve these goals, LEAP TO BLUE will promote training and mentoring activities, facilitate business collaborations through networking events, and implement a voucher scheme through two calls, allowing SMEs to access specialized services for innovation, growth, and internationalization.

The University of Trieste is actively involved in all phases of the project and will play a key role in two Work Packages. In WP2 – Cross-Border Partnerships and Service Launch for Blue Economy Transformation, UniTS will take part in workshops aimed at promoting the project’s opportunities to service providers and SMEs in both Italy and Croatia, including hosting one of the events in Trieste. In WP3 – Sustainability model for upskilling and reskilling to enable competitive and sustainable cross-border blue economy, UniTS will contribute to the development of a monitoring system for skill and human capital development, a strategic element for ensuring sustainable and long-lasting growth of the blue economy in the Adriatic context.

During the inaugural press conference in Zadar, Professor Romanello stated that the University of Trieste is particularly pleased to play an active role in an initiative aimed at strengthening the blue economy ecosystem in the Adriatic basin through collaboration among academia, businesses, and institutions. The project, she emphasized, represents a concrete opportunity to support SMEs in adopting more sustainable and digital business models, while creating new synergies on both sides of the Adriatic.

LEAP TO BLUE involves six main partners: in addition to the University of Trieste and the University of Zadar, participants include the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb, ARTI Puglia, and Unioncamere Veneto. The initiative is also supported by numerous Italian and Croatian institutions, including HAMAG-BICRO, the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, Unioncamere Italy, and ART-ER Emilia-Romagna.