Uniworld: a bridge between USI and Verona

During the course of the academic year, numerous professors, lecturers and researchers visit the University of Verona to carry out a month or more of joint activities, such as research and teaching. Through the Uniworld initiative, the Venetian university then describes their experience by means of short videos, designed to publicise the contents of the collaboration.

Representing the Università della Svizzera italiana in this partnership recently was Emiliano Albanese, Professor of Public Health at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Institute of Public Health (IPH). At the University of Verona, Albanese collaborated on a project originally conceived by Professor Corrado Barbui and Professor Marianna Purgato, who had noted the need to address the difficulty of summarising and combining the results of the extensive research and evidence in the field of measures aimed at improving the mental health of the population.

Prof. Albanese, in particular, contributed to the project by introducing a methodological perspective previously applied in working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), based on the fusion of two approaches. This allows the development of a new tool, called the Verona-Lugano tool, capable of distinguishing and categorising scientific evidence in the areas of promotion, prevention or treatment of mental disorders.

"The partnership between the Università della Svizzera italiana and the Università degli Studi di Verona is a joint venture", Albanese emphasised in the Uniworld video, "that unites highly complementary skills. At Swiss level, this collaboration has also led to the allocation of a Scientific Exchange from the SNSF to Professor Emiliano Albanese for the organisation of a public event, which will take place on 4 September and details of which will follow, and a themed workshop dedicated to mental health.

Below is the video produced as part of the Uniworld initiative, with an interview with Emiliano Albanese.