Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) will once again take part in the European Researchers’ Night, transforming city squares, historic buildings and urban gardens across dozens of Italian and European cities into open-air laboratories
The event gives the public a chance to meet people who work in research on a daily basis, discover how new technologies are born, and understand how science tackles today’s major challenges, from sustainable energy to health, from robotics to genetics.
This year, IIT is returning with a rich programme of activities that combines science outreach and hands-on experimentation, and invites students, families and curious citizens to engage.
In Aosta, where the new Center for Clinical and Computational Genomics (C3G) of IIT has just opened, the European Researchers’ Night will take place at the Cascina Montfleury of the Institut Agricole Régional. The event is part of the EU‐wide UNight* project, coordinated by the Agile Arvier initiative.
The centre’s staff will meet with middle school students in practical activities aimed at exploring the secrets of DNA, protein synthesis, and the algorithms that transform genomic data into useful health information.
In Turin, at Castello del Valentino, Center for Sustainable Future Technologies (CSFT) together with the Politecnico di Torino will offer interactive labs and activities dedicated to sustainability. Participants will discover how to reduce CO₂ and produce green hydrogen via electrolysis, as part of the ECOMATES project.
The start-up project ECO-RED and the European GoodByO project will also be presented, showing how to turn waste and by-products into resources for tackling climate change, and giving an engaging experience of how European research contributes to a sustainable future.
In Genoa, as part of the European project SHARPER (SHAring Researchers’ Passion for Education and Rights), IIT will be present at the Giardini Emanuele Luzzati. The public will participate in interactive sensory labs, scientific experiments and outreach activities involving schools and citizens, exploring researchers’ role in society and discovering how science helps interpret complex phenomena
In Milan, the event will take place at the Loggia dei Mercanti, with Center for Nano Science and Technology (CNST) bringing practical activities on printed-electronics. The event is part of the NER25 project, promoted by the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia “Leonardo da Vinci” in collaboration with local universities and research centers.
Participants will see how organic semiconductors and advanced printing techniques can produce flexible circuits and bioelectronics, such as edible applications and devices for space. Two “one-to-one” meetings with IIT researchers will be held during the museum’s open night.
At the CNR Research Area in Bologna, the Researchers’ Night will provide an immersive journey between art and technology, in collaboration with the Center for Cultural Heritage Technology (CCHT) in Venice. The photo-exhibition “Robots Love Art Too” will display images created by the Venice Center, showing how digital technologies are revolutionizing the conservation and enjoyment of cultural heritage.
In Puglia, the European Researchers’ Night is promoted by the ERN Apulia MED project, coordinated by state universities, public research entities and local companies. In Lecce and Monteroni, IIT’s Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies (CBN) will be present with a full schedule of activities.
In Lecce, labs and stands will present the Center’s biomedical projects and invite schools and the public to participate in interactive experiments. At Monteroni, in the Palazzo Baronale, meetings will be held with local ASL doctors and there will be a competition among schools with a biomedical focus. The CBN also organises an afternoon open‐day to open up their labs to the public and show their applied research projects firsthand.
IIT’s scheduled appointments:
- Aosta — UNight Aosta at Cascina di Montfleury: 25–26 September, 09:00–13:00. Stands for middle schools with thematic panels: “Taster or not taster?”, “How much do you know about genomics?”, “In the shoes of an algorithm”.
- Turin — UNIGHT Torino at Castello del Valentino: 26 September, 17:00–00:00. Stands for projects IIT GoodByO & ECO-RED “Take a waste and turn it into a resource”. Also from 17:00–00:00: ECOMATES project with Politecnico di Torino: “CO₂ reduction and hydrogen production: European research at the forefront”.
- Genoa — SHARPER Genova at Giardini Emanuele Luzzati: 26 September
09:00–11:00 – Panel “Trick your senses”
• 17:00–19:00 – Panel “Unveiling the invisible: an interactive journey to discover the microscope”
• 19:00–21:00 – Panel “From the patient to the test tube: neurons in the lab to understand the brain”
• 21:00–23:00 – Panel “Mission Brain: how science challenges boundaries!” - Milan — NER25 at Loggia dei Mercanti: 26 September, 16:00–23:00 – Stand “Printed electronics: space, cells and food”. Open Night at Museo Nazionale della Tecnologia “Leonardo da Vinci”: two one-to-one meetings with IIT researchers “New carbon-based materials” (Elda Tara Hjordis Sala Ruben, IIT) and “Circuits that mimic the brain” (Luca De Pamphilis, IIT) from 18:00–21:30.
- Bologna — reAGIAMO at CNR Research Area: 26 September, 17:30–24:00 – Photo-exhibition in collaboration with the CCHT Venice “Robots Love Art Too”; guided tours at 19:00 and 21:00.
- Lecce / Puglia — ERN Apulia MED at Ex Monastero degli Olivetani: 25 September 09:00–17:00 & 26 September 10:00–23:00 – Presentation of CBN Lecce’s activities at “LEBiotec 2025”. On 26 September: 16:00–23:45 – Stand of ERC-MINING and PNRR-COMBO projects at “Lecce Researchers Night @ Olivetani and Studium 2000”. 26 September 15:00–22:00 – Stands, Panels and Workshops of CBN at Palazzo Baronale Lopez y Royo of Monteroni (LE). 26 September 14:00–18:00 – Open Day of CBN – Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies at Arnesano (LE).
