The ‘City Prize’ initiative celebrates the talent and commitment of university students and promotes research focused on the city of Bolzano. It is intended to bring young people closer to the world of public administration, encouraging the development of innovative skills and supporting research as a driver of progress and innovation. The scheme is also designed to inspire young people to actively contribute to the future of the local community.

Any bachelor’s and master’s degree students from Italian (public and private) and foreign universities are eligible, as long as the focus of the work is the city of Bolzano Bozen. Two prizes of €1000 each will be awarded to bachelor’s degree graduates, and two prizes of €2000 each will be awarded to master’s degree graduates, with a specific recognition reserved for graduates of the master’s degree course in Public Policy and Administration of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Bolzano.

Examples of the topics that students can choose from include the digitalisation of processes to improve public services; budget and performance management; urban planning; student housing; green transitions and the history of the city.

Professor Stefania Baroncelli from the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano worked with the Municipality of Bolzano to establish the scheme. She said “The award is one of the results of the city-university collaboration that is part of the EUniverCities Network programme in which the Municipality of Bolzano and Unibz actively collaborate”.

The City of Bolzano Bozen is equally keen to promote collaboration with higher education institutions in the belief that universities play a vital role in developing and sharing new discoveries, as well as educating future leaders.

For further details about this initiative, follow the links to the City of Bolzano or the Free University of Bolzano