UniCittà, the project conceived by the Municipality of Trento and the University of Trento to promote discussion and best practices for the relationship between the academic and local communities, started in 2016 and continued to develop until today.
Its purpose was to transform a University "in" the city, into "the University of Trento", which is part and parcel of the community.
It includes a number of small and large projects through which University students and professors are involved in city life to improve the wellbeing of its citizens.
Mayor Andreatta and Rector Collini took stock of progress achieved in these years of work in a public meeting that was held at the City Hall and then signed a programme of joint initiatives for 2019-2020.
The initiatives focus on five areas: security, economics and society, students and participation, smart cities and mobility, communication.
Here are the new projects for 2019-2020:
- Security and legal aspects
The project consists of a series of subject-specific seminars on urban security in which researchers from the University will discuss with local public officials on the perception of security and on its representation in the media, and on urban regeneration in connection with security. It also includes a 20-hour course for students and municipal employees on urban security, law and crime ("Sicurezza urbana: questioni giuridiche e criminologiche"). - Students and participation
There are several projects in this area. The Poplar Festival, organized by students and now in its third edition, that brings together culture, social participation, involvement, and encourages communication between the university and the local community. The Trento Cultural Footprint project, which aims to re-invent some public spaces that are property of the City and the University: these areas will be temporarily assigned to citizens and university students who will cooperate to use them for cultural and artistic activities. The purpose of "La Città del dibattito" is to encourage public discussions, and to make them a common practice in the community through tutoring and training activities; as a first exercise, the project aims to discuss local issues. Finally, given that municipal elections will be held in 2020, a programme will be launched to inform students about the opportunity to serve as poll clerks or poll station presiding officers. - Smart cities and mobility
In this area, discussion with citizens will be encouraged on mobility from the city centre to the hill of Trento, and other activities will be defined at a later stage. - Communication
To give visibility to the projects that are promoted for the good of the city and to provide information and collect feedback from citizens, one project will focus on visibility and visual identity. The new website of UniCittà is now available: www.unicittatrento.it
For more information read the press release (PDF | 198 KB).