The Italian Foreign Ministry has placed a special focus on Science Diplomacy, and its links to industrial application and value-added manufacturing, over the last few years. And both Italy and Serbia have a long-standing tradition in science and research, and they could both benefit greatly from this kind of approach
Scientific cooperation has been a major catalyst in building the special relationship that exists between Italy and Serbia. Every year, on the anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci (15th April), Italy celebrates “Italian Research Day”, paying tribute to Italian researchers and their contribution to science worldwide.
This year’s 4th edition of Italian Research Day was particularly meaningful, given the current global situation. Economic recovery finally seems to be in sight and Italy firmly believes that, now more than ever, it needs to connect research and technology to industrial application, in order to achieve growth and economic resilience while improving the country’s shock absorption capacity. We all are aware that challenging times are not yet over; that we all need to cope with the COVID- 19 pandemic and the need for sufficient vaccines worldwide, to reverse the economic downturn and address the employment crisis (which has been shown to impact women and young people more) and social inequalities.
For the 4th edition of Italian Research Day it was decided to build on the expertise of the collaboration between the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Southern National Lab in Italy (INFN) and the Vinča Nuclear Research Institute in Serbia, which dates back more than 20 years ago.
A webinar held on 15th April with Italian and Serbian experts focused on the field of applied research to needs-driven applications, as well as science-based innovative solutions to treat cancer.
Serbia’s Vinča Nuclear Research Institute has been conducting laboratory experiments in Italy, contributing to the development of sophisticated algorithms to improve radiotherapy efficacy in cancer treatment and reduce its side effects
The timing and progress of basic research differ significantly from those of applied science, but the general expectations are that both will ultimately lead to measurable outcomes in a shorter time than was required in the past.
The National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Italy is actively transferring technologies to the medical sector. For instance, frontier technologies find their applications in the field of medicine, like the proton therapy room to treat ocular cancer and use of the cyclotron accelerator to produce radiopharmaceuticals. Serbia’s Vinča Nuclear Research Institute has been conducting laboratory experiments in Italy, contributing to the development of sophisticated algorithms to improve radiotherapy efficacy in cancer treatment and reduce its side effects.
This is just one of many examples of the transfer of state-of-the-art knowhow and technologies that are produced in Italian science labs and exported to industries to improve quality of life. Applications are indeed endless: not only in medicine, but also in environment protection, cultural heritage preservation, ocean protection, space exploration and much more.