DiSTA's activities for the community

The Department’s Third Mission activities have strong interactions with the social, productive, and economic contexts of the territory. Without excluding the stimuli and inputs coming from the cultural sphere and public opinion, with which the Department maintains continuous collaboration, these activities also provide an opportunity to disseminate and communicate scientific research results.
These virtuous and productive synergies – non-profit in nature, but of high cultural, scientific, and outreach value – are addressed not only to professionals and specialists, but also to students, non-academic audiences, and the wider public.

The projects include research and consultancy activities, scientific and technological advisory work, data processing, interdisciplinary valorisation of the territory, and critical and reflective studies.
In particular, the Department maintains ongoing relations with Regione Lombardia, the Province of Varese, the Municipality of Varese, the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milan, the Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Superintendence of Milan/Varese, the Paleontological Institute and Museum of Zurich, the Cantonal Museum of Natural Sciences of Lugano, the Civic Museum of Natural History of Milan, Film Studio’90 (review “Di Terra e Di Cielo”), the Museum of Bolzano, InfoPlanet, the Italian Association for Environment and Safety, the Association of Clients and Construction Managers, Assoamianto, CGIL, EBM, INAIL, ConfAPI, AiFOS, the Local Health Authority – Insubria, professional Orders of Engineers and Surveyors, Agenda 21 Lakes, and the UNESCO Transnational Scientific Commission for the World Heritage site of Monte San Giorgio.

Moreover, Third Mission initiatives often take the form of multidisciplinary scientific conferences with a public-oriented approach, thematic study days on cultural, current, and contemporary issues, and cycles of educational seminars.

Special attention is devoted to Public Engagement initiatives, which are equally important for the dissemination of research activities and are aimed at a broad and diverse audience. Among the social and cultural development activities of the territory are popular science publications and exhibitions; participation of faculty members in radio and television broadcasts on both local and national channels; contributions of faculty members as commentators in local media; and the organisation of conferences and seminars with a public outreach focus, often featuring internationally renowned speakers.

All initiatives

DiSTA and Industry

The relationship with public and private enterprises is continuous, stimulating, and productive, and demonstrates the Department’s well-established integration within the regional territory.
These interactions, made possible also by the Department’s innovative and multidisciplinary nature, are expressed through numerous collaborations between academic staff and economic, productive, and social organisations not exclusively located in the reference area.

More specifically, this relationship takes different forms of joint activity, ranging from partnerships in research projects focused on applied research with direct impact on production processes, to the involvement of companies in student training through internships and company-based placements, as well as the delivery of professional seminars aimed at transferring practical experience.

Collaboration with the industrial and business sectors also takes into account the specific characteristics of the territory in terms of employment opportunities, as shown by the active involvement of representatives of the economic sector in the annual consultations organised by degree programmes and their participation in advisory committees.

For detailed information on spin-offs and patents, see:

Spin off

Initiatives for citizens

Since its establishment, the Department has been fully aware of the importance of knowledge transfer in contributing to the civic and social development of the territory.

Accordingly, also by responding to inputs from public opinion and leveraging the opportunities offered by the innovative and multidisciplinary nature of its academic staff, the Department’s activities include the organisation of exhibitions, scientific conferences with a strong outreach component, and public reflection and critical discussion events on scientific and cultural topics.

These initiatives are capable of combining research dissemination with meaningful contributions to current affairs, news discourse, and public debate through the media.

The Department’s open and multidisciplinary character has enabled a distinctive approach to addressing a wide range of topics for the public, using diverse methods, perspectives, and interpretations that engage multiple areas of the sciences. This is further reflected in the involvement, alongside academic staff, of cultural figures, nationally and internationally renowned professionals, and representatives of political and social institutions.

The topics covered range from the environment to information, from contemporary critical historical and philosophical thought to science and computer science, resulting from continuous and productive dialogue among faculty members and a broad segment of civil society.

To view events organised by the Department, visit:

Events – Third Mission