Research at Unipi: an overview
Challenging the future. Looking back, thinking ahead. Since 1343
Since the foundation of the University in 1343 our research has covered all contemporary disciplines.
Famous alumni of the University include Galileo Galilei and Antonio Pacinotti, along with Nobel Prize winners such as Giosuè Carducci (Literature), Enrico Fermi (Physics) and Carlo Rubbia (Physics).
The University of Pisa (UNIPI) comprises around 54,000 students, 1,500 faculty members and 1,550 administrative staff distributed over 20 large departments and 7 university centres covering all subject areas, and including a Centre for Instrument Sharing and a Green Data Centre.
UNIPI is committed to promoting high-quality research and teaching in all fields of knowledge and to opening up its programs to an ever-increasing number of international students and researchers.
It ranked 7th in Italy and 383rd worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2021 and is rated as one of the top ten Italian Universities by the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking 2020.
Involved in 206 EU-funded research projects as part of H2020 and other European programmes from 2014-2020 (EU contribution: €68.3m) and in 377 research projects funded by national bodies from 2017-2020 (national contribution: €42.3m), UNIPI is a member of several European and International networks and is engaged in many of the most important EU initiatives regarding European research policies.
With its 85 Italian, 16 European and 7 U.S. Patents and 28 spin-off companies, UNIPI considers the process of technology transfer to the private sector and society more generally one of the key points of its mission.
Fostering basic research will ensure that the University of Pisa continues to create new ideas, theories, and models while maintaining a critical outlook and approach to current and future global issues.
Facts and figures
- 50,000+ students
- 1,550 Academic staff
- 1,621 Technical and Administrative staff
- 20 Departments
- 7 University Centres
- 206 EU-funded research projects (2014-2020)
- 377 research projects funded by national bodies (2017-2020)
- 9 ERC Grants under H2020
- 85 Italian Patents
- 7 US Patents
- 16 European Patents
- 28 spin-off companies
- 113 prizes won by spin-offs
International rankings:
- QS world university rankings (2021): 7th in Italy, 383rd worldwide
- Shanghai ARWU (2019): 1st - 3rd in Italy, 151-200 worldwide
- Times Higher Education - THE (2020): 10th in Italy, 351-400 worldwide
- NTU Taiwan (2019): 7th in Italy, 213th worldwide