Premio Giovani Ricercatori Euregio
Anche quest’anno, i giovani ricercatori e le ricercatrici dell’Euregio Tirolo-Alto Adige-Trentino vengono invitati a presentare i loro lavori di ricerca in occasione della quattordicesima edizione del progetto.

Alla cerimonia del Premio Giovani Ricercatori dell'Euregio 2024 ad Alpbach © Land Tirol/Sedlak

In occasione degli Euregio-Days 2025, che quest’anno saranno dedicate al tema della competitività, giovani ricercatori e ricercatrici sotto i 35 anni (nati dopo il 15/08/1990) avranno la possibilità di poter presentare i propri progetti di ricerca davanti a una giuria di alto livello e di confrontarsi direttamente sul tema con rinomati scienziati e leader politici.
Anche quest'anno giovani ricercatori sotto i 35 anni dell'intera Euregio possono affrontare il tema centrale del Tiroltag 2025, la competività. I sei finalisti potranno presentare ad Alpbach i loro approcci di ricerca sul tema della competività. Nel corso della cerimonia di premiazione, che si svolgerà la sera del 16 agosto 2025, verranno consegnati i tre premi sponsorizzati delle Camere di commercio dei tre territori dell'Euregio.
Euregio-Awards 2025
Categoria 1: scienze economiche, sociali, giuridiche, scienze dell'educazione e scienze umane
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
Categoria 2: Scienze tecniche, scienze naturali e medicina
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.