VIU News
Are you an artist passionate about sustainability?
The S+T+ARTS4WATERII Residencies call is now open for applications till June 26!
Check the call in the official website of S+T+ARTS 4 Water II project, and follow the guideline.
The round table "The Future of Fusion Energy" was held in Venice on June 15 at Venice International University (VIU). Some of the leading experts and scholars in the field of fusion energy participated, with the scientific contribution of Eni, the main sponsor of the initiative.
The meeting represented the high point of the PhD Academy entitled "Energy and Society. The case of fusion", aimed at PhD students that VIU organized from June 10 to June 14. The scientific program of the PhD Academy was coordinated by scholars from the Universities of Padua, Milan-Bicocca, and the Universities of Bordeaux and Ljubljana and was aimed at 20 students selected by VIU member universities.
'Promoting quality communication of Artificial Intelligence: insights from an AI research project' is the focus of VIU presentation at AISCICOMM24, the research conference on 'Science Communication in the age of AI' coordinated by prof. Mike Shäfer, University of Zurich, on stage June 6-7 at ETH.
The presentation is based on insights from MUHAI project where VIU is leading the communication and dissemination activities.
Thursday, May 30, 2024
5 pm, Aula Magna (1E)
Asylum and Migration Management and Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition were the two legislative measures that were debated and discussed during the weekend of May 3-5, 2024, at the VeUMEU (Venice Universities Model European Union), a simulation of the legislative procedures of the European Union.
Organized by students of the Venice Diplomatic Society and Ca’ Foscari, VeUMEU attracts participants from various universities, including Venice International University. Students took on roles as Members of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the press corps, gaining invaluable experience in international relations, policy-making, debating, diplomacy, and journalism.
DISCO will be part of the Urban Logistics Innovation Day that will be held on the 4th of June in Brussels.
Innovation is key to decarbonizing urban freight transport and improving the sustainability of urban logistics. This event brings together innovation practitioners from the urban logistics sector and forward-thinking cities to promote the use of innovative technologies, such as the Physical Internet, to achieve sustainability goals. It will discuss trends, challenges, and cooperation opportunities, and facilitate dialogue between public and private sectors to create a policy framework for zero-emission urban freight.
For further information please visit the official website.
On May 15, VIU hosted the VIULecture Blue Carbon, Sustainability and Europe, an educational screening of the docufilm Blue Carbon, followed by a thought-provoking debate on the critical role of Blue Carbon and European initiatives to underscore the importance of wetlands. These ecosystems have the potential to contribute significantly to mitigating climate change, aiding adaptation, and promoting sustainable development.
The film showcased coastal ecosystems, like mangroves, that excel at sequestering carbon dioxide from both the atmosphere and the ocean. The subsequent discussion drew comparisons with the Venice Lagoon, home to Europe’s largest coastal wetland.
The SMACH Forum project is set to create a vibrant Europe-Southeast Europe platform for intercultural exchange on Sustainable Management of Cultural Heritage. Co-funded by the Central European Initiative, this innovative project is spearheaded by VIU, alongside partners such as the University of Ljubljana, CNR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, and the City of Venice.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
16.45 pm, Room 1G
Venice International University, San Servolo Island
Francesca Vianello, Head of Europe Direct Venezia Veneto, City of Venice
Annalisa Piras, Director of the Wake Europe Campaign
Ilda Mannino, Scientific Coordinator of the TEN Program on Sustainability of VIU
Jane da Mosto, Executive Director of We are here Venice
On the occasion of the Feast of St. Mark awards ceremony on April 25 at the Palazzo Ducale, a special award was presented to Ambassador Umberto Vattani, President of Venice International University for his service to the City of Venice.
In receiving the award, a magnificent winged lion in red and gold glass, symbol of the Serenissima, ambassador Vattani thanked the Mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, the authorities and those present, recalling the countless activities carried out by Venice International University in the city and sharing the award with all the team of his collaborators:
Starting on April 25, 2024 day-trippers to the city of Venice will have to pay an "Access Fee" of €5 on selected dates.
Students and professors of VIU activities are exempt. However, they must register and receive an exemption voucher.
On the selected dates there may be checks around the city to verify if visitors have paid the fee or have the necessary exemption voucher.
The dates for which the Access Fee must be paid, or an exemption voucher must be requested:
- April 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
- May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26
- June 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30
- July 6, 7, 13, 14
From April 17 to May 16, 2024, MoCA Shanghai in collaboration with Venice International University will present the exhibition "TRAVELLERS MIRROR CITIES" echoing the spirit of the 60th Venice Biennale’s theme "Foreigners Everywhere".
The exhibition, curated by Miriam Sun, Executive Director of MoCA Shanghai, and Giuliana Benassi, an Italian curator, will present the work of artists who are among the exponents of contemporary art scene in China and Italy including, Fu Tong, Gabriele Silli, Guo Fei, H.H. Lim, Jin Wang, Josè Angelino, Matteo Nasini, Oliviero Rainaldi, Qiu Anxiong, Rä di Martino, Shi Chengdong, Yang Yongliang.
Cities, as geographic, social, and cultural spaces, contain numerous layers of value that are not readily apparent.
This exhibition, centered around the theme of "TRAVELLERS MIRROR CITIES", is set within the context of Venice International University, a space dedicated to international exchange of knowledge.
The exhibition aims to ingeniously construct a conceptual art route of "The Traveler’s City – A Spiritual Mirror Image of One’s Self and the Foreigner", weaving a dynamic narrative with two threads, one apparent and the other concealed.
By employing the non-linear presentation of artworks by Chinese and Italian artists and in diverse artistic languages (i.e., the apparent thread), the exhibition intends to prompt travelers to keep raising questions to the city, awakening them at points of art and guiding them to seek the reflection of themselves in the mirror within the replies from the city (i.e., the concealed thread).
Thus, the purpose of the exhibition is not only for travelers to find answers to the city’s visual enigmas but also to outline their self-reflection and encourage their further contemplation on interpersonal relationships. As Calvino wrote in a dialogue between the Kublai Khan and Marco Polo in his novel, Invisible Cities, "As to the City of Utopia, even though we have not discovered it, we cannot abandon our efforts to seek for it."
DISCO Project was presented at the Transport Reasearch Arena in Dublin on April 16, 2024 in two sessions alongside other urban logistics projects, represented by several of our partners:
Special Session 2.3 Innovation in Urban Logistics: Public and Private Sectors Thriving Together
Date: Tuesday, 16 April
Time: 9:45am – 11:am CEST
Location: Hall 8A-3 (Simmonscourt)
Poster Session 3.4 Logistics and Sustainable Transport
Date: Tuesday, 16 April
Time: 2:30pm – 3:45pm CEST
Location: Hall 8C – Poster Area Simmonscourt, Stage 4
VIU has an open Erasmus+ call for application for short term doctoral mobilities to European VIU member universities.
A call has just been published for PhD students of select Erasmus+ VIU mobility consortium members to apply for a short term doctoral mobility to the following VIU member universities in Europe:
- KU Leuven in Belgium
- Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Germany
- University of Bordeaux in France
- University of Ljubljana in Slovenia
Rolling admissions are open until May 10, 2024.
Science communication has entered the public debate at different levels: it supports the societal dimension of science, levers significant funding opportunities for research, and contributes to build a successful dialogue with decision makers.
VIU Graduate activities are a unique opportunity to deepen specific knowledge through interdisciplinary lenses. Also, they offer highly qualified researchers opportunities to acquire transversal skills that not necessarily have been part of their disciplinary curriculum.
Science communication is one of those skills: more and more researchers find themselves to communicate their research to a wide audience, as it is the case with social media. This certainly might have a great impact in terms of visibility and recognition within the scientific community and, often, beyond but the message must be clear and coherent, and the messenger must be ready to positively and skillfully engage in (sometimes arduous) debates.
The Science Communication seminars offered within the VIU graduate seminars are based on the results and the Toolkits developed by QUEST project, coordinated by VIU and focusing on quality science communication: a series of Toolkits for scientists, journalists, museum explainers and social media managers are available in QUEST website, and can also be used on a free basis as self-learning tools.
Rolling admissions are open for the last places in some of our 2024 Summer Schools:
- Organizing for Sustainable Futures: Micro and Macro-Institutional Conditions of Transformation
- Linguistic Landscapes: Using Signs and Symbols to Translate Cities
- Advanced Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management
- Science Diplomacy in the Age of Climate Change
PCST Venice Symposium, September 28-30, 2023
At the Symposium in September, a Concluding Statement was issued to draw attention to the need for research and academic institutions to consider the strategic value of public communication of science, and to mobilize support for these activities.
The Statement highlights the multitude of benefits that investments in science communication can yield, including benefits to society (combating misinformation, making science accessible, equipping citizens to access the public debate on science), benefits to institutions (building reputation, increasing students’ employability, and becoming known as engaged and responsive civic institutions), benefits to research and researchers (offering new work perspectives, improved visibility, to be effective across disciplines, and helping to recruit new collaborators).
Public communication of science and research has more and more become part of the researchers’ job, often demanded by research funders and policy makers as a pathway towards societal impact of research.
