Department of Chemistry

Four Ethiopian professors from the University of Wollo visited the University of Torino (UNITO) from July 11^th to July 25^th, under the mobility programme Erasmus + KA107 - Partner Countries.

The Erasmus project, led by Prof. Ivan Norscia of the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (DBIOS), also involved the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA; Prof. Gabriele Beccaro), the Department of Chemistry (Prof. Cristina Prandi) and the Department of Drug Science and Technology (DSTF; Prof. Ornella Abollino, Prof. Donatella Boschi and Dr. Francesca Baratta).

In particular, the Erasmus mobility involved the professors Faris Hailu Tessema, agronomist and vice-rector for Research and Community Service of the University of Wollo, Dagnachew Mulu Lakew, ethnobotanist and dean of the Science College of the same Ethiopian university, Gezahegn Getachew Zelelew, ecologist and Hussein Ibrahim Seid, primatologist. The professors of the University of Wollo held seminars and visited the labs of the departments involved in the Erasmus project and - with the support of the director Prof. Consolata Siniscalco – they also visited the Botanical Garden of UNITO. The professors were also welcomed into the Rectorate by Prof. Marcella Costa, vicar vice-rector for international education, by Prof. Egidio Dansero, vicar vice-rector for sustainability and development cooperation, by Prof. Alessandra Fiorio Pla, institutional delegate for UNITO international mobility and by Dr. Emanuela Barbero, coordinator of UNITO internationalization area (foto1).

The presence of the Ethiopian professors at UNITO was pivotal to the organization, at DBIOS, of the multicultural workshop "KINGDOM ERASMUS AND BEYOND: ETHIOPIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES" (foto2), which involved – as speakers - various professors and PhD students from the departments involved in the Erasmus with Ethiopia but also from the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society (CPS), thanks to Prof. Cecilia Pennacini, coordinator of an Erasmus + K107 Partner Countries with the University of Makerere, Uganda. Among the speakers, Prof. Cristina Giacoma presented the exchange activities - in the education, research and third mission domains - in the Indian Ocean area and with the multifunctional center of the forest of Maromizaha (Madagascar), also possible thanks to the Erasmus+ KA107 Partner Countries past and ongoing projects  with different universities of Madagascar and Comoros. The participation of undergraduate and graduate students to the workshop was very satisfactory.

The mobility was also possible thanks to the crucial support of the internationalization offices of the Natural Sciences area (Dr. Sara Colaone, Dr. Giovanni Andriolo and Dr. Anna Vandelli) and central international offices, both for mobility (UNITA Section and International Mobility: Dr. Marcella Re, Chiara Morabito and Alice Traverso-Bernini) and for international agreements (International Relations and Development Cooperation Section, Dr. Alessandra Pachì and Manuela Ciarrocchi, with all the staff). The Erasmus exchange made it possible to assess the weakness and strength aspects of the shared activities, to consolidate existing relationships, and to lay the foundations for future collaborations, possibly to be extended to other Ethiopian universities.

The balance of mobility was therefore very positive and the hope is that the experience can soon be repeated.