With a rich program of events, conferences and didactic workshops at the Faculties of Sciences and Engineering and at the Museum of Calculating Instruments, the University of Pisa celebrates the net and Italy's first connection to internet which took place in Pisa 25 years ago.
On the occasion of the first edition of the Internet Festival, which took place in the month of May at Pisa, the University is promoting a series of initiatives on the most important sectors of IT research such as search engines, social networks, robotics, understanding of natural language and its applications to innovative networks, without neglecting other areas like medicine, the humanities, economics and the natural sciences which, thanks to IT, have been able to develop new spheres of research.
"Pisa has always been considered the 'cradle' of computer science," Nicoletta De Francesco ,Vice Chancellor at the University recalls. "It was here in fact that the first electronic calculator in Italy was designed and created in the second half of the nineteen fifties. Also it was at the University of Pisa where the first degree course in "Science of Information Technology" was instituted in 1969. Following that, in 1983, the first PhD course in IT was set up in Pisa University together with the Universities of Genoa and Udine. Furthermore, in 1986, the first internet connection in Italy was experimented in Pisa, the third in Europe after Norway and England. From that time on, our University has demonstrated its skills in maintaining leadership in IT research and 'networking' with a proactive and innovative role which bears witness also to the events we have programmed for this occasion."
The scientific events promoted by the University of Pisa are planned to recount the history of the digital revolution through its protagonists, illustrate the new applications in sectors such as medicine, and divulge the new frontiers of IT reseach.
Furthermore, at the Internet Festival, the University of Pisa will be the protagonist of a round table where the creation of the Tuscan digital Agenda will be debated. This will allow aid in best exploiting the potential of information technology and communication for encouraging innovation, economic growth and progress.
"This first edition of the 'Internet Festival' wishes to fulfil the task of a scientific education not limited solely to University studies, research laboratories and technological innovation," declares Gian Luigi Ferrari, professor of IT and organiser, at the University of Pisa, of the Internet Festival. "Divulging and spreading IT scientific knowledge means making the vast public at large understand the cultural challenges which accompany the adoption of a particular technological solution."
Surfing the internet in a fast way and for free by connecting to it from one's own room in a university residence building, from the libraries, the study rooms and didactic centres and, soon, from gardens and other open spaces belonging to the University. With the completion of the connection in optic fibre of the Praticelli area, this possibility will be available to University of Pisa students thanks to the plan coordinated with 'DSU Toscana' which aims to improve and broaden services for students in response, in particular, to the technological demands of the young generation.
The results achieved by Pisa University in the field of information technology infrastructures (which place among the most avant-garde centres in Italy) were illustrated in the month of April at the 'Palazzo alla Giornata' by the Chancellor, Massimo Mario Augello, by the President of 'DSU Toscana', Marco Moretti in the presence of the Vice Chancellor for Students, Rosalba Tognetti, the DSU territorial director of Pisa, Magda Beltrami, delegate for the University telecommunications systems and network services, Riccardo Cambini, delegate for IT and telecommunications, Stefano Suin and the person in charge of the projects, Stefano Ciuti.
The projects realized over recent months are diverse. The principle project aimed at achieving a specific metropolitan circuit based on optic fibre with very high velocity available from the Pisa D.S.U. which connects all the seven Pisa University resident buildings: Compaldino, Don Bosco, Fascetti, Mariscolgio, Nettuno, Praticelli and Rosellini. This system allows around 1,500 students to connect to internet from their residences just as if they were in the University libraries or study rooms, with the possibility of using all the on-line services that the University of Pisa offers on its own network. This circuit, created thanks to the competence and professionality available within the University, and with a contribution from DSU, will allow the offering of services calibrated for the specific needs of DSU Toscana consumers.
The creation of this network has proved to be a large commitment, especially for the University residence at Praticelli – the largest in Tuscany with more than 800 beds – because the optic fibres have had to cross through two council area boundaries and other zones which have turned out to be complex from a logistic point of view. The traffic generated by the DSU and its residences network has already overcome all expectations, since it uses 20-25 percent of the general traffic of data that is created on the entire University network.
This project came along after 'wireless' was installed in the most frequented University centres used by the students such as classrooms, libraries, didactic centres and snack bars within various faculties. With a suitable technical equipment, wifi is being installed also in certain open spaces belonging to the University like, for example, gardens off the libraries and departments, with the aim of transforming these places into study spaces and spaces for aggregation adherent to the students' technological expectations.
And for the future? If it succeeds in establishing synergy with the Pisa Council, the University will be able to offer wireless connection also outside its own jurisdiction, in the nerve points of the city, thus offering its own students the chance of being connected on line to their own faculty site at, say, the railway station or from their lodgings or from their classrooms.
The seminars of the "PhD plus" project were inaugurated in April at the department of Computer Science. This is a new training and practical course that the University of Pisa has created for its PhD students, with the aim of encouraging diffusion of an entrepreneurial spirit among young scholars and the commercial improvement of innovative ideas. The first speaker was Professor Ray Garcia, former professor and mentor of entrepreneurship at the MIT Media Lab, and presently Professor at Baruch College, New York City. Professor Garcia (who, with his activities, has helped the creation of more than 30 start up projects in the internet sector) held the first set of lessons on the theme "New venture entrepreneurship for innovators and inventors."
One hundred and eleven students from all Pisa University PhD programs, mainly scientifically and technologically based, took part in the "PhD plus" project. Almost all had top level professional qualifications. Most spoke two or three languages, had spent some time abroad and could boast publications of international importance. More than half have had experience working in Italian or international companies, while around ten of them have been involved in patenting and spin-off projects.
The "PhD plus" project, set up by the Vice Chancellor for Applied Research and Innovation, Paolo Ferragina, is the first initiative of its kind in Italy and is one of the most advanced projects in the field in Europe. It has three principle objectives. Firstly, to install in the PhD students a basic competence for a definition and achievement of applied and industrial research projects through stimulating their entrepreneurial skills. This is what the European Union firmly hopes for in its European Strategy 2020 document, and what the Tuscan Regional Council urges in its recent proposal for a "re-appraisal of research expenditure."
Secondly, to encourage the creation of new top level technologically innovated companies via commercial improvement of ideas arrived at during the years of post-graduate study. Finally, to create a network of relations so as to make the most promising research (carried out by young scholars from the University of Pisa) known to the world of industry and investors. The aims of the projects are the strengthening of the academic-industrial synergy, and the promotion of job positions in industry for young PhD students.
It was the first phase of a collaboration process between the University of Pisa and the Université Qadi Ayyad of Marrakesh which will give life to exchanges and knowledge 'transmission' within the Euro-Mediterranean scientific community. The round table: "Circulation of knowledge in the Mediterranean between past and present," whose protagonists were a delegation from Morocco ( and guests in the month of April at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy), launched a high level model of interaction between the northern and southern banks of the Mediterranean.
This project, unique in Italy and rare in Europe, will enable students, post-graduate research students and professors to spend periods and follow courses at the two universities while favouring research on a particular field in the two directions; and, above all, taking advantage of the complementary competence present in the two institutions.
The delegation from Morocco, led by the dean of the Faculté des Lettres dell'Université qadi Ayyad at Marrakesh , Ouidad Tebbaa , made up of professors Abdeljalil Hanouche, Abdelati Banouar and Thami Dardari , were received by the deputy chancellor Nicoletta De Francesco and vice chancellor for internationalisation, Alessandra Guidi. Since complementarity is particularly needed in the field of human sciences, the initiative has been taken up by the Faculty of Literature and strongly wished for by its dean, Alfonso Maurizio Iacono and by Gianfranco Fioravanti, director of the Inter-University centre 'Incontro di culture' (Meeting of Cultures) http://www.gral.unipi.it
Post-graduate research students from Marrakesh who wish to study Greek, Latin, Italian literature and philosophy, Pisa post-graduate research students who wish to study classical Arabic and its poetry and literature will be able to start an exchange program. However, the project will not stop here: common initiatives can also include the natural sciences, the social and juridical sciences and cultural tourism.
By re-tying together the paths of past knowledge circulation, the University of Pisa is today setting the stage for an organised project consisting not only of scientific knowledge to be shared – as already is happening thanks to numerous agreements among universities from Mediterranean countries – but also knowledge of the human sciences to be shared. Greek, Latin, classical Arabic lie alongside the natural and social sciences in the search for a communication process which more and more systematically integrates post-graduate researcher's acquisitions and teacher's experience.
Reviving a tradition that goes back to 1843, the University of Pisa has awarded the 'Ordine del Cherubino' (The Order of the Cherubim) to ten of its professors. This award and recognition goes to those scholars who have contributed to increase the University's prestige thanks to their particular scientific and cultural merits or for their contribution to the life and functioning of this institution. The professors called to receive the insignia and diploma are the following: Aldo Balestrino from the Faculty of Engineering; Giovanni Umberto Corsini from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; Marcello Giorgi from the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences; Roberto Dvornicich from the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences; Carlo Bartolozzi from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Giuliano Massimo Barale from the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy; Francesco Tolari from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Franco Bonsignori from the Faculty of Law; Bruno Neri from the Faculty of Engineering and Gian Mario Cazzaniga from the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
The morning began with an introduction by the Chancellor Massimo Mario Augello who, after reminding the old origins of the award, talked about the deepest meaning of the meeting. "This today" – he said – "is not merely an event which is rich in history and tradition: it is, rather, a recognition of the scientific excellence that has always characterised and still characterises our University: as such, it is projected into the future, since it represents for all young scholars who have undertaken the tiring but fascinating path of research an example to follow, and a challenging goal to pursue ." Soon after he turned directly to face the prize winners and affirmed that, "Your scientific paths are therefore a clear example of the wealth and complexity of research that is carried out at the University of Pisa and such as allows our University to be considered as one of the established best in Italy according to the national and international classifications, with certain disciplines at the top of European and world rankings."
In his talk the Chancellor developed his reflection upon the difficult times the University of Pisa and the Italian University system in general are going through. Being aware of the persistent difficulties involved, he wished to send a sign of cohesion and optimism. "The University of Pisa, just like the entire Italian University system, is going through a particularly delicate phase in which it is hard to see at the moment any possible positive ways out. We mustn't be discouraged about this fact, however; we must, on the contrary, find in our pride (which is connected to our history and our present) solid motivations for building a future which will still remain at the height of our traditions."
After having summarised some of the strategic lines of the University governance, Professor Augello concluded with the reminder that along the journey towards a building of the future those operating within the institution must "be able to draw from their heritage, ideas, values and principles, which are present in our glorious tradition and are the basis from which we can look towards the future with renewed optimism."
Two new educational and exhibition rooms dedicated to the minerals of Tuscany and to the invisible world of protistans enrich the vast scientific collection of the Museum of Natural History and Territory of the University of Pisa based at the 'Certosa' Monastery in Calci. These new spaces were inaugurated during a study convention in which Professor Paolo Orlandi, from the Earth Sciences Department, gave a paper on 'Mineral wealth in Tuscany: 2000 years of history and science,' and Graziano Di Giuseppe, from the Biology Department, spoke on 'Micro-organisms at the Museum: protistans in a new dimension of scientific disclosure.' After the inaugural papers there was a guided tour of the new rooms followed by a workshop entitled 'A project organised for scientific disclosure of knowledge on protistans' set up by the Italian Society of Protistanology 'Onlus'.
The opening of the new rooms fits nicely into the environment of the Museum's education policy, which is undergoing continuous evolution and expansion. It proposes educational and scientific projects and courses on the environment mainly for schools, but also for the general public interested in in-depth cultural and scientific studies.
How many minerals do you need to make a mobile phone or a car? How many minerals do we come across every day; even at our homes? And how many do we use thanks to instruments that technology, old or new, builds so as to make our lives more simple? These are some of the questions the exhibition entitled 'The mineral wealth of Tuscany', dedicated to "useful minerals", aims to answer by starting out with the ancient mining history of our region through its most important findings.
Mineralisation in pyrite (iron disulphide) of southern Tuscany, the hematite (ferric oxide) mines on the Island of Elba, the silver strands of the Apuane Alps are some of the examples of this history demonstrated by the samples on display in the show cases.
These minerals have favoured the development of the great Etruscan and Roman civilisations and up until the first half of the 20th century they represented an important resource for our territory. Today, the economic value of these minerals has diminished , but their historical, scientific and museological importance has increased and their heritage remains to be studied and valued.
The exhibition was organised by the Department of Earth Sciences, in particular by Professors Paolo Orlandi Christian Biagioni and Elena Bonaccorsi, and by the Museum , represented by Massimo Cerri.
Also the new educational and exhibition room on Protistanology starts off with a few queries. What are protistans? What is their evolutionary importance and their relevance in the ecological and sanitary fields? These unicellular micro-organisms initially acquired a structure similar to our cells and, for this, they are considered the creators of the largest evolutionary leap in the history of living organisms. As indicators of quality levels of the environment they are, furthermore, considered to be of valuable sanitary interest and of great importance to institutional involvement in public health. Among them, in fact, we find agents of infectious diseases like malaria, toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis.
The room was created thanks to a project funded my MIUR (Ministry of Education for University Research) whose executive partners are the Museum, the Italian Society of Protistanology 'onlus' and the Italian National Association of Natural Science Teachers.
L’Università di Pisa, insieme all’Università di Siena, ha ricevuto la cittadinanza onoraria di Curtatone, il comune del mantovano teatro della famosa battaglia del Risorgimento italiano. L’onorificenza è stata conferita dal sindaco Antonio Badolato durante una seduta straordinaria del Consiglio comunale che si è svolta venerdì 10 giugno. Per l’Ateneo pisano, alla cerimonia erano presenti Maria Antonella Galanti, prorettore per i Rapporti con il territorio, e Marco Guidi, presidente del Comitato scientifico per le celebrazioni del 150° anniversario.
La cittadinanza onoraria è stata attribuita ai due Atenei toscani per ricordare il sacrificio del battaglione toscano, formato dagli studenti delle Università di Pisa e Siena, che prese parte e si distinse per il valore alla battaglia di Curtatone e Montanara il 29 maggio 1848, nel corso della prima guerra per l’indipendenza nazionale.
L'Università di Pisa ha avviato, con l'unanime e convinta adesione del Senato accademico e del Consiglio di amministrazione, il percorso che la porterà, nel giro di un anno, a presentare il primo Bilancio Sociale della sua storia. Il percorso di definizione del nuovo strumento, che è tra i punti salienti indicati dal rettore Massimo Augello sin dall'inizio del suo mandato, è stato illustrato martedì 14 giugno 2011, nella sede di Palazzo alla Giornata, dallo stesso rettore, dal prorettore vicario, Nicoletta De Francesco, dal prorettore per le Politiche di bilancio e coordinatrice del progetto, Ada Carlesi, e dal direttore amministrativo, Riccardo Grasso.
Il Bilancio Sociale dell'Università di Pisa presenterà e analizzerà, con un'ottica a 360° e sulla base di dati almeno biennali, le attività che l'Ateneo gestisce sia direttamente che indirettamente (attraverso aziende speciali, centri di ricerca, consorzi e altri organismi sui quali esercita un'influenza di particolare rilievo). Esso rappresenta quindi un'occasione unica per conoscere e far conoscere anche all'esterno, in profondità, la complessa realtà operativa dell'Ateneo, in tutte le sue diverse valenze e sfaccettature. La costruzione del Bilancio Sociale avrà anche un ruolo importante a sostegno della cultura della valutazione e, tramite una serie di indicatori che verranno costruiti, potrà funzionare come strumento di verifica delle strategie dell'Ateneo, oltre che come supporto dei processi decisionali ai diversi livelli di responsabilità e quindi, in ultima analisi, come mezzo per migliorare le performance dell'istituzione.
Il Bilancio Sociale mira inoltre a promuovere e migliorare la comunicazione tra Ateneo e stakeholder di riferimento, puntando in particolar modo a valorizzare una strategia comunicativa diffusa e trasparente. Tali stakeholder saranno inoltre coinvolti direttamente nel suo processo di costruzione, alcuni tramite la somministrazione di questionari (studenti, personale docente e tecnico-amministrativo), altri tramite interviste mirate ai key opinion leader delle istituzioni economiche, sociali e territoriali che intrattengono rapporti stabili con l'Università.
Un obiettivo impegnativo, quindi, che sarà gestito da un gruppo di progettazione e controllo coordinato dal prorettore per le Politiche di bilancio, Ada Carlesi, e composto anche dal prorettore vicario Nicoletta De Francesco, dai prorettori Rosalba Tognetti e Maria Antonella Galanti, dal direttore amministrativo Riccardo Grasso, dalla professoressa Margherita Galbiati in rappresentanza del Nucleo di valutazione e dal professor Mauro Rosi in rappresentanza dei direttori di dipartimento, da Simone Kovatz, rappresentante del personale tecnico-amministrativo, e da Michele Fortezza, rappresentante degli studenti.
La professoressa Carlesi coordinerà anche il Gruppo operativo, composto da funzionari dell'amministrazione universitaria: tale gruppo farà da supporto alla redazione del documento che, per la sua complessità e articolazione, necessiterà comunque della collaborazione di tutti coloro che a vario titolo operano all'interno dell'Ateneo.
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The University of Pisa has today joined iTunes U, a dedicated area of the iTunes Store (www.itunes.it) that offers free audio and video content from leading educational institutions.
The University of Pisa on iTunes U has more than 150 pieces of content from various departments which can be downloaded to a computer, iPhone, iPod or iPad. Educational podcasts include courses in history and languages, videos provide glimpses of university life, student profiles and introductory lectures on science. The important cultural heritage currently preserved in University affiliated museums are also represented. Students are now able to engage with the content whenever and wherever they choose, whether at home while studying or commuting on the bus or train.
“The University of Pisa, founded in 1343, is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Italy, with a leading role in the area of new technology”, says Prof. Massimo Augello, the Rector of the University. “This project is an example of how the University combines tradition and innovation”.
Welcoming the launch on iTunes U, Prof. Nicoletta De Francesco, the vice-Rector, says, “Our University is giving its students an additional learning tool and is also opening itself up to a variety of audiences, such as potential students, staff, alumni and the general public. Anyone willing to enhance his or her own knowledge can now do this through the University of Pisa on iTunes U".
Enrica Salvatori, member of the CISIAU (Interdepartmental Centre of Information Services for the Humanities) says, “Audio and video podcasts have become a powerful tool for students and lifelong learners. At CISIAU, we always embrace new technologies and use them effectively for teaching, learning and research".
For years the CISIAU has offered Humanities students the opportunity to access learning materials online. Recently the centre opened a Digital Culture Laboratory which produced and prepared the materials for the University of Pisa on iTunes U.
From the post Unification years to the controversial phase of the Gentile reform; from the democratic re-building of the post second world war period to the 'season' of contestation in nineteen sixty-eight: the contents of this volume “Per una storia dell'Università di Pisa” (For a history of the University of Pisa) edited by Romano Paolo Coppini and Alessandro Breccia (Bologna, Clueb, 2010) nearly arrive at the events of today. It was presented at the end of March in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Law. This volume, as well as, giving a significant contribution for knowledge ( still not systematised ) of the history of the University in the contemporary age, offers a general picture of Pisa University and its role as one of the most important centres for scientific elaboration in the country and a privileged place with civil, social and political training.
After Professor Marco Guidi's greetings from the University of Pisa's Chancellor and from Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgi (the Chancellor's culture relating delegate), Sandro Rogari from the University of Florence, Antonio Cardini from the University of Siena and Marco Collareta from the University of Pisa all gave talks. The event was introduced and coordinated by Gian Paolo Brizzi from the University of Bologna.
The essays contained in the volume critically present the evolutionary political positions of the University after the Italian Unification. They touch upon both the normative and institutional themes of the evolution, as well as those relating to the city of Pisa, the Tuscan territory, other Pisan University Centres and civil society articulated as a complex whole. Particularly appealing for its breadth and for the complexity of reconstruction is the section on the subjects of study and research, on the schools of thought and on personages who have characterised the last hundred and fifty years and from whom an extraordinary variety of excellence, which has characterised the life of the University in every field, emerge in humanistic, scientific and social sciences studies.
This volume is the monographic insert dedicated to the history of Italian Universities hosted by the “Annali di storia delle università italiane” (Historic annals of Italian Universities), an annual periodical publication which allows for and provides points of discussion and information on the world of universities in Italy.