ALMA MATER STUDIORIUM, University of Bologna

Unibo is one of the largest and most active Italian universities for research and innovation. It has a multicampus structure (Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini), with 32 Departments - 14 of which awarded as Departments of Excellence - and 5 Schools.

It offers 243 degree courses (a.y. 2021/2022), including 96 international degree courses, 56 classes delivered in English and 48 PhD courses. The total number of students enrolled is 90,291 (a.y. 2021/2022), with 7,062 international students.

Unibo is active in all research fields, with over 10,000 publications a year and exceptional results in attracting research funding at both the European and national levels. As part of the Horizon 2020 programme, Unibo partook in 350 research projects funded with over 150 million euros. At the national level, Unibo contributes to around 200 PRIN projects, including 62 projects as national coordinator. At the regional level, it runs more than 214 funded projects.

Unibo is also very active in innovation and technology transfer, with 520 patented titles, 37 spin-offs and 12 start-ups, 7 Interdepartmental Centres for Industrial Research (CIRI), and numerous agreements and collaborations with the industrial sector.

The University of Bologna is rooted in the local innovation ecosystem from a European and global perspective, participating in the most relevant R&I networks at the national and European level, both thematic and institutional (including the UNA Europa Alliance and The Guild of European Research-intensive Universities). It is also committed to achieving the SDGs and promotes ethics at all levels by adopting policies on diversity (including the GEP) and research integrity.

The Industrial Relations, Third Mission and Communication Division (ARTEC) has developed an extensive range of services as part of a structured collaboration strategy with the industrial sector. These activities include knowledge transfer (including the management of patent portfolios), the dissemination of research results, often enhanced through spin-offs and start-ups, and the ensuing collaborations with the local, national and international innovation ecosystem.

For these reasons, the University of Bologna is among the top universities at the national level and receives steady mentions in all the major international rankings. As of 2022, it is ranked 172nd in the Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings.

The University of Bologna is one of the most active universities at the European level in the agri-food and bioeconomy sector. The Alma Mater has over 1,000 researchers investigating these thematic areas under different Departments and inter-departmental.

This significant critical mass allowed Unibo to become the top Italian University for the ability to attract European funds allocated for the agri-food and bioeconomy sectors within the Horizon 2020 framework programme, thus consolidating the position already achieved within the Seventh Framework Programme and placing itself firmly among the top ten most successful European universities.

Of particular relevance are the sectors of food safety, promotion of a safe and consumer-friendly agri-food system, support of policies within the FOOD 2030 strategy, sustainability and circular economy, re-use of aquatic biomass and agri-food waste, which see the University involved in numerous projects, initiatives and collaborations in the fields of training, research and innovation, including the IBISBA and METROFOOD Research Infrastructures, the FOODforce networks, European Bioeconomy University, HealthGrain Forum, EPSO, CO2 Value Europe, European Bioplastics, Euromarine, MoniQA, Fabre TP.

The Alma Mater is also among the founding members of the International Research Centre DISH - Global Centre for Food Safety and Quality, along with the University of Lund, the Danish Technology University of Copenhagen and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which contributes to the promotion of the University's excellence in the field of agri-food research on a global scale.

Academia