UPO - a mix of old and new...

​Roberto Fanganiello

​InnovaSpace Scientific & Strategic Consultant.

In this month of November I have joined the University of Eastern Piedmont (Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro - UPO) to lecture BSc students on basic and applied research in regenerative medicine and tissue regeneration, MSc candidates on innovations in medical biotechnologies, and PhD candidates on bone and cartilage tissue bioengineering. These courses are very much in line with my own three-pronged professional interests: basic and applied research, educational projects/programs, and technology transfer from academia to the market.
With different degrees of depth, the main purpose of these courses is to provide students with a concrete understanding of complex biological systems, studied at the molecular, cellular and physiological levels (and especially related to humans), to equip them with practical knowledge of state-of-the-art biotechnological protocols used in the medical field, and to guide them on developing communications and networking skills in order to cooperate in multidisciplinary, multifaceted teams. The ultimate goal is to prepare them so they will be able to quickly fit into the working environment, at national, European and extra-European levels after graduation.

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The UPO is quite new. It was established in 1998, in the towns of Novara, Alessandria and Vercelli, in the Italian region of Piedmont, bordering France, Switzerland and the Alps. On the other hand, it also has an illustrious and very traditional ancestry. It originated from 7 faculties that belonged to the University of Turin, one of the oldest universities in history, established in 1404. Within this unique setting, UPO researchers, lecturers and students benefit from the best of both worlds: the old, permeated with lessons from history and with time-tested solutions, and the new, charged with flexibility, plasticity and adaptability to the ever-changing world that we live in. 
In line with this conception, the university has created a smart ambiance to encourage synergistic collaborations between researchers, lecturers and scholars. Additionally, what I can sense is that the best and brightest students can fit in effortlessly and find it very easy to benefit from this milieu. Lastly, but equally as important (especially for non-European students looking to improve their CVs with solid international experience), UPO actively promotes international collaboration and encourages international students to apply to their various academic programs (many of them delivered in English). 
I hope the students enjoy my talks as much as I am enjoying giving them. To learn more about UPO, please access "https://www.uniupo.it/" and to learn more about international applications, visit "https://www.uniupo.it/".