UNITA Governance Meeting in Torino: Shaping the Future of the Alliance
From 15 to 17 September 2025, the University of Torino hosted the UNITA Governance Meeting, a milestone event marking both the end of the second year of the current project phase and the fifth anniversary of the alliance. The meeting gathered representatives from all partner universities to reflect on the progress achieved and to chart a shared vision for the years ahead. Discussions revolved around UNITA’s strategic framework, which brings together five key dimensions: Education and Pedagogical Innovation, Research and Innovation, International Strategies and European Values, Community Building, and Quality, Impact, and Sustainability. This structure fosters synergies across activities while strengthening UNITA’s coherence as a European University Alliance. In Torino, the Governance Board and strategic groups engaged in high-level dialogue on long-term priorities, from enhancing mobility and Open Science initiatives to reinforcing student and staff participation. Special attention was also given to sustainability and impact assessment, ensuring that UNITA’s work continues to deliver tangible benefits to its communities. Looking ahead, the meeting served as an important step in preparing for the upcoming “+2” application phase and the midterm report, both of which will be crucial in shaping the next stage of UNITA’s journey. The Torino Governance Meeting confirmed once again UNITA’s role as a laboratory for innovation, inclusion, and cooperation, reaffirming its commitment to building a strong, future-oriented European University.
Matching event of the Global Health hub at UNIBS
On June 12th and 13th, UNIBS hosted a Matching Event in Global Health, one of the six Hubs of the Alliance. The theme of the Matching Event – Mental and Physical Health, Wellbeing, and Preventive Medicine in Humans and Animals – involved 46 researchers from different universities within the Alliance, representing a wide range of scientific fields. The main goal of this Matching Event was to create professional connections between researchers with scientific interests in related thematic areas and to facilitate the launch of joint projects among partner universities. After registration and institutional greetings by the Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Prof. Roberto Ranzi, and Professors Donatella Placidi and Elisabetta Ceretti, coordinators of the Global Health Hub in Brescia, the researchers delivered their elevator pitches to the audience, providing a valuable opportunity for mutual introduction and a deeper understanding of each others’ research topics. Rector Prof. Castelli introduced the plenary session in which Prof. Silvia Clara Giliani – Rector’s delegate for International Research – and Clémence Roggo – R&D from Hes-so – presented different research opportunities such as UNITA Starting Grants and Horizon Europe programme. In the afternoon and throughout the following day, researchers engaged in one-to-one and group matching sessions aimed at fostering further collaboration among participants. The second day concluded with a meeting to gather final remarks and an optional visit to the medical and engineering laboratories of the University of Brescia. To ensure continuity of the Matching Event, a call for Starting Grants to fund collaborative projects will be published; proposals will have to be aligned with the themes of the event and include researchers from three different universities within the Alliance.
