CSEIA has been recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence' by the European Commission's Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) for the three-year period 2024-2027, thanks to an interdisciplinary project on food security (FOSTER - 'Food Security Team of Early-career Researchers').
The proposal, submitted in the framework of the call for proposals 'Jean Monnet Actions - Centres of Excellence', foresees the creation of an interdisciplinary laboratory of young researchers from the University of Parma, who will carry out research, teaching and dissemination activities on food safety and food security, also in collaboration with European and African partners of the University of Parma. The aim is to bring together the different skills acquired by the assistants, postgraduates and doctoral students involved in the project, combining studies on human nutrition, agroecology and the sustainability of food chains from the perspective of different scientific disciplines.
The team that will manage this project includes a number of researchers from the University, as well as the members of the CSEIA Council (Filippo Arfini, Elena Carpanelli, Emanuele Castelli, Antonio D'Aloia, Chiara Dall'Asta, Daniele Del Rio, Franco Mosconi, Maria Cristina Ossiprandi, Laura Pineschi, Lucia Scaffardi, Matteo Truffelli and Veronica Valenti), many of whom have been working in the field of food safety for some time. For the activities with academic partners in Africa, the project will also benefit from the support of the CUCI (University Centre for International Cooperation), directed by Nadia Monacelli. The laboratory activities, which will benefit from European funding of €100,000, will be coordinated by Emanuele Castelli, Director of CSEIA and scientific leader of the project.
The FOSTER project was awarded a score of 92/100 by the European Commission's evaluators, thanks to an approach that combines a scientific portfolio of excellence with strong dynamism and innovation.
