Euregio-JungforscherInnenpreis

2025 werden bereits zum 14. Mal Nachwuchsforscher:innen aus der Europaregion Tirol-Südtirol-Trentino eingeladen, ihre Forschungsarbeiten zum Thema "Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Standort Euregio" einzureichen.

Das war die Verleihung des Euregio-JungforscherInnenpreises 2024 in Alpbach © Land Tirol/Sedlak

Schließen

Anlässlich der Euregio-Days 2025 in Alpbach, die sich dem Thema „Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Standort Euregio“ widmen, können Nachwuchsforscher:innen unter 35 (Stichtag: 15.08.1990) ihre Arbeiten einreichen, vorstellen und sich mit renommierten Wissenschaftler:innen und politischen Verantwortungsträger:innen austauschen.

Zum Jungforscher:innenpreis 2025 sind junge Forschende aus der gesamten Euregio zugelassen. Die Finalist:innen können in Alpbach ihre Forschungsarbeiten vorstellen, wo am Abend des 16. August 2025 auch die Preisverleihung stattfindet. Die drei Förderpreise stammen auch heuer wieder von den Handels- und Wirtschaftskammern der drei Euregio-Länder.

Euregio-Awards 2025

Die Euregio-Awards (im Bild vor der Verleihung 2024) werden 2025 zum 14. Mal an Jungforschende und zum 8. Mal an Unternehmen vergeben.

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Finalist:innen 2025

Kategorie 1: Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Rechtswissenschaften, Bildungs- und Geisteswissenschaften

Marco Turrini

Career competences and employability growth through mentorship

This study demonstrates how mentoring programs can enhance the career competencies and employability of students transitioning into the labour market in the Euregio. The research adopted a multidisciplinary approach that integrates psychology, pedagogy, and organizational science. Overall, 222 participants have been intensively monitored via questionnaires throughout their mentoring program. The results indicate that mentorship process factors such as perceived deep similarity, feedback quality, and proactive career behaviors positively influence career competences and employability. The study provides evidence-based insights to optimize mentoring programs and contributes to understanding how career sustainability can promote long-term competitiveness.

Valentin Wett

Pathways to Integration: The Effect of Apprenticeships in Understaffed Professions on Refugee Employment

This study evaluates Austria’s apprenticeship policy (2012–2018), which allowed asylum seekers to start vocational apprenticeships in shortage occupations during the asylum process. Using a fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design and focusing on Afghan men aged 14–33 in Western Austria, it finds that participants gained 935 additional employment days, earned €67,759 more, and relied significantly less on welfare benefits over five years. Robustness checks confirm causal effects, showing no effect for Syrian asylum seekers, who were less exposed to the policy due to generally shorter asylum processes. Structured apprenticeships can accelerate refugees’ labor market integration and may improve regional economic resilience amid persistent skilled labor shortages. These findings are highly relevant for Euregio, where demographic shifts and labor shortages affect all three regions similarly and businesses increasingly face global competition from countries less affected by such constraints.

Kategorie 2: Technische Wissenschaften, Naturwissenschaften und Medizin

Eva Casotti

Observation of vortices in a dipolar supersolid

Supersolids are exotic states of matter that exhibit both solid and superfluid properties simultaneously. In these systems, atoms arrange themselves in a crystal-like structure while maintaining frictionless flow. First predicted in solid helium, supersolidity has recently been realized in ultracold dipolar atomic gases. The crystal-like density modulation is observed in situ, whereas phase coherence can be inferred through interference patterns. However, quantized vortices—the hallmark of superfluidity—had not yet been observed. We report on the theoretical investigation and the first experimental observation of vortices in a dipolar supersolid of dysprosium. Vortices appear as density depletions and phase windings in time-of-flight images. Under rotation, the system exhibits both irrotational flow and rigid-body characteristics, revealing the dual nature of supersolidity. These results may help us further understand neutron stars, where supersolid-like phases are believed to exist.

Elena Fogazzi

Proton Computed Tomography: a novel imaging tool for proton therapy

Proton therapy is an advanced radiotherapy modality offering superior dose localization and reduced damage to healthy tissues, due to the unique physical properties of protons. Accurate determination of proton range and tissue interactions is essential to optimize proton therapy, with stopping power values of biological tissues being the key parameter. Our project proposes a novel method to directly measure the stopping power map using a proton computed tomography system developed by INFN, University of Trento and Trento Hospital. The system has been characterized for clinical use and calibration development, showing promising imaging performance. Based on that, its potential integration into treatment planning has been designed and validated. First tested at the Trento Proton Therapy Center, an experimental survey extended its application to other European centers. The results support proton imaging as a tool for accurate treatment planning and future proton therapy advancements.

Julia Hofmann

Bioenergetic Function: A Predictive Biomarker to Expand the Donor Pool for Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation remains the only curative option for many patients with end-stage liver disease, yet the demand for donor organs far exceeds the supply. Accurate assessment of organ quality prior to transplantation is therefore essential to identify all suitable donor livers. Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP), a transformative organ preservation technique, maintains donor livers at 37°C extracorporeally on an artificial blood circuit, enabling real-time functional evaluation. In this study, we show that analyzing mitochondrial function—crucial for cellular energy production—provides valuable insight into the liver’s bioenergetic function during NMP. Mitochondrial biomarkers assessed in this way reliably predict clinical outcomes after transplantation. This approach helps to enhance donor organ selection, to expand the available donor pool, and to counteract the ongoing organ shortage in transplantation medicine.

Hamed Saleh

Integrating Sustainable Electronics and Artificial Intelligence for Plant Health Monitoring: Potential Tools for the Future of Euregio’s Agriculture

This research presents a sustainable approach to plant health monitoring, integrating electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy with machine learning for early detection of water and iron stress in tomato plants. Over 8000 measurements per condition were collected under controlled conditions, with classification models achieving high F1 scores (0.89–0.93). To enhance sustainability, tomato plant waste was converted into biodegradable electrodes using graphene nanoplatelets, yielding composite films with electrical resistivity of 0.46 Ω · m. These materials showed strong performance and durability in bioimpedance sensing. The work supports Agriculture 4.0 and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by promoting precision agriculture and circular bioeconomy.