Author: Farmacia

A history of Cat-Human Relationship: 2mln granted by ERC to the FELIX project

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A history of Cat-Human Relationship: 2mln granted by ERC to the FELIX project

A research on the evolutionary history of the cat was awarded by the European Union with a grant of 2,000,000 euros. Molecular biologist Claudio Ottoni won the prestigious ERC Consolidator grant for the research project “FELIX – Genomes, food and microorganisms in the (pre) history of cat-human interactions”.
Claudio Ottoni, a graduate and a doctorate from Tor Vergata University, is one of the 17 Italian researchers who have been awarded this type of grant at universities or national research centers. Only another 30 Italians who work in foreign institutions have received the grant and .
The researcher will conduct his research, which will last five years, at the Centro di Antropologia molecolare per lo studio del DNA antico (Molecular Anthropology Center for the study of ancient DNA(, directed by Professor Olga Rickards, Department of Biology of Tor Vergata University.

 

Cats and Humans: a long lasting relationship
The relationship between humans and cats has been very intense since ancient times. “The FELIX project – explained Ottoni – will deal with the analysis of over 800 archaeological samples of cats (bones, teeth and even samples of Egyptian mummies) that date back to 10,000 years ago up to recent historical periods (18th – 19th century ). The samples come from archaeological sites in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa ».
A previous study, published in 2017 by the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, showed that cats have essentially followed two routes in their history. A land route, which leads them to populate the Middle East and Anatolia when men began to cultivate the land about 10 thousand years ago; and one that passes through the maritime trade routes, from ancient Egypt to various European ports up to the North Sea, between the 8th and 11th centuries.
About the Research
The study will follow three investigative lines: One genomic line – in which whole genomes will be analyzed and not just mitochondrial DNA, and two new lines of research compared to the previous study: diet and microorganisms.
“We will do an analysis of the ancient cat genomes to investigate at a higher resolution than the 2017 study the selective processes associated with human interaction and the mixing between cat populations of different geographical areas (and also wild and domestic) , in particular in relation to the spread of the cat with human populations in prehistoric and historical times », explains Claudio Ottoni.

Claudio Ottoni of Tor Vergata University has been studying the cat-human relationship since 2016.

According to the research conducted so far, today’s cat is very similar to that of then: Few traits have changed due only to artificial selection or to those “chosen” by man purely for aesthetic reasons.
“We will also study how the cat’s diet has changed in association with humans, by analyzing stable isotopes, chemical markers of ancient diets, and dental tartar. Finally – concludes Ottoni – we will study the presence of any pathogenic microorganisms in ancient cats and how the human-cat relationship has determined the passage of particular infectious diseases to humans (zoonoses) “.
ERC Consolidator Grants: Italy the most awarded country
Italy with 47 researchers out of 327 grant winners, is the most awarded country in the 2020 edition of the ERC Consolidator Grants, established in 2013 by the European Research Council. The ERC Consolidator Grants are awards for researchers with an experience of between seven and twelve years from the completion of their PhD to answer the big scientific questions at research centers across Europe.
“A heartfelt thanks goes to the group of the International Research Office of the University of” Tor Vergata “- said the researcher – for all the technical support provided in the various stages of preparation of the project application”.

Useful Links:
– ERC Consolidator Grant 2020

YUFE launches Diploma Supplement Track

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YUFE launches Diploma Supplement Track

Imagine that you could create your own curriculum, choosing from academic courses offered at any of the YUFE universities. You could study, learn a language, do volunteer work, and professional training (virtually) in ten different countries. The information for organising your own individual learning experience will be at your fingertips and all activities and accomplishments will be acknowledged on your YUFE Diploma Supplement and, in the future, on a true European Diploma recognised throughout Europe. You could be part of the first group of students piloting our European University; the Young Universities for the Future of Europe.
Starting on Monday 30 November 2020 YUFE is opening its first version of the YUFE Diploma Supplement Track: The application period is open for 1 (one) week only, or shorter in case 40 students from your university have applied. Applications can be uploaded through the newly launched YUFE Virtual Campus until Sunday 6 December 2020, 23:59 CET. Since this year’s YUFE Diploma Supplement Track is still a pilot programme, we can only allow 40 students from each YUFE university to apply. When the application period is over, a selection committee will select the final 10 students per university based on their eligibility and motivation.
The YUFE Diploma Supplement Track offers you the opportunity to work on obtaining a minimum of 12 credits (ECTS) for academic courses at another YUFE university (via virtual, blended, and/or physical mobility), participate in the YUFE Academy and the induction courses, and take up activities leading up to the YUFE Stars all within a maximum period of 2 years.

YUFE Stars
At YUFE it is important to not only acknowledge your academic performance but also acknowledge your effort in mobility, language learning, professional training, job shadowing, and community volunteering. This is YUFE have created YUFE Stars, an innovative recognition system for activities with specific and personalised learning goals that not only relate to academic education in a European University setting. The YUFE Star System consists of 4 stars: the mobility star, the language star, the professional star and the civic star. They encourage students, staff and learners to pursue personal and professional development, while experiencing the possibility to contribute as individuals to society to activities with a Europe-wide impact.

YUFE Diploma Supplement
Upon completion of your YUFE journey, you will be rewarded with a YUFE Diploma Supplement, on which the YUFE Stars are also recognised.
You can earn the YUFE Diploma Supplement as a YUFE student, after fulfilling the below requirements:
Complete a minimum of 12 ECTS for (online/physical/blended) academic courses at another university in the YUFE Alliance than the university you are currently enrolled at; and
Complete a minimum of 2 YUFE Stars (including at least the Mobility Star); and
Participate in a minimum of 3 lectures from the YUFE Academy; and
Take part in all YUFE’s Induction courses on the YUFE Virtual Campus.
Remember: YUFE Diploma Supplement Track is a pilot activity and as such will be open only for a relatively small number of students.

Apply Now
See YUFE’s FAQ for more information on the YUFE Diploma Supplement Track.
The application process takes place through the YUFE Virtual Campus.

YUFE Alliance launches the Virtual Campus

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YUFE Alliance launches the Virtual Campus

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced our traditional everyday education and facilitated the creation of mini virtual campi in almost every country, the YUFE Alliance has actively been working on developing the very first version of the YUFE Virtual Campus, a first building block of a unique and interactive virtual environment that contains information for all YUFE community members.
It functions as the interactive red thread of our Alliance, bringing together all YUFE activities in a personalised digital environment, thus pursuing its goal of promoting accessible international education, mobility, multilingualism, and university-citizens communities solving European challenges.
The YUFE Virtual Campus, officially launching on Monday 23 November 2020, will be the ‘home’ of the YUFE Student Portal, which will enable students from different European countries and of different backgrounds to enroll in courses from other YUFE universities.
The Student Portal will provide students all the necessary information about the application process. YUFE Student Portal is only the first of several portals that will address other stakeholder groups and areas of activity of YUFE.
The YUFE Virtual Campus will allow the students (and shortly teaching and non-teaching staff as well as citizens) to ‘travel around Europe’ and visit 10 universities in 10 different European countries, and do all they can to continue benefitting from and contribute to building our European University.

YUFE Virtual Campus

Exam Information: Drug Analysis II – prof. Barbato

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Exam Information: Drug Analysis II – prof. Barbato

Drug Analysis II (Prof. Barbato) extraordinary exam session of December 14th 2020, will be in written and oral form using the platform Teams. Reservations will close on december 6th. The exam is reserved for “Fuori Corso” and for students on return from Erasmus.

Download the file “Technical and practical aspects of written test on Teams v3.1” for detailed instructions in english on the requirements to access the exam.

On december 9th there’ll be a Mandatory meeting session with Teams to test the connection and set-up.
All the students that reserve for the exam must partecipate. Send an e-mail to gaetano.barbato@uniroma2.it in order to receive the link to access the channel of the testing session.

Remote Exam

YUFE Career Tracks: Postdoc Call on European Identity

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YUFE Career Tracks: Postdoc Call on European Identity

The YUFE academic Staff Journey begins, the first YUFE Postdoctoral Programme Call is now open.

Have you recently finished your PhD and do you have a keen research interest in European Identity? Apply for a three-year YUFE postdoc position at one of our YUFE universities – and take part in the research activities of one of the first European Universities!

The postdoc positions are open to promising early career researchers holding a PhD. The programme is targeted at researchers from the Social Sciences, Humanities, and any other relevant field concerning the YUFEfocus theme European identity and responsibilities in a global world.

The Programme aims to build the first YUFE Career Track by providing early career researchers with excellent research conditions, dedicated mentoring and the opportunity to co-create one of the first European Universities.

Networking across YUFE and career development opportunities within YUFE and beyond will be at the center of the YUFE Postdoctoral Programme.

ErasmusJobs: Bridging the skills gap for the Erasmus Generation

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ErasmusJobs: Bridging the skills gap for the Erasmus Generation

Participating in a mobility experience increases the long term employability of students. (Erasmus Impact Study 2014). However, atthe same time, youth in Europe is facing huge challenges to find a job right after graduation due to the challenging labour market and the lack of skills and working experience. For employers, a mobility experience is generally considered an asset as 64% believe international experience is important, but eventually, the obtained transversal skills and knowledge are the aspects that matter the most (92%). Why are the skills gained through a mobility experience not clear and why does this lack of recognition still exist?

In response to this, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is launching ErasmusJobs, an Erasmus+ KA2 project, to bridge the skills gap for the Erasmus Generation. The project is a collaborative cross-European partnership between ESN, Masaryk University, LEO-NET, UNIVERSIDAD DE ALCALA, European Institute for Industrial Leadership, UNIVERSITE DE MONS, European University Foundation, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata” and Expertise in Labour Mobility B.V.

From Education to Labour Market

ErasmusJobs project aims to bridge the skills gap and enhance the transition from education to the labour market. Building on the core principle that a mobility experience reduces long-term unemployment, the project aims to clearly identify the skills gained during a stay abroad and make those more understandable by employers. In order to achieve that, ErasmusJobs brings together many stakeholders to ensure a future of employable Erasmus+ alumni.

The project aims to identify the obtained skills and translate these to the CV and labour market. It aims to create tools to identify such skills and work on the recognition of skills with employers and the industry, to create understanding. Finally, the project intends to create a common understanding of how these skills can be mapped and raise awareness among employers.

Building on that, the project will create a platform for all involved stakeholders to advertise, recognise and recruit for specific transversal key competences. The platform, similar to ErasmusIntern.org, will helpErasmus+ Alumni to better advertise skills gained through a mobility experience, volunteering, or other non-formal learning.

Training Toolkit and Best Practices

Further aiming to increase the impact, the project will implement a training toolkit for the various stakeholders involved. The toolkit will further ensure that students are aware of their skills, raise awareness in the industry, support career offices and promote the various outcomes of the project through training content.

Finally, the ErasmusJobs project will work to translate all the outcomes of the research, competency profile and skills mapping, to easily understand and implement best practices. A final conference will be organized in Brussels to launch the Job platform of the Erasmus Generation. Several trainings for university staff will be organised, to equip them with the knowledge on how to identify and promote the skills gained by university students through informal learning.

More Info

AIESEC Italy Online Presentation

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AIESEC Italy Online Presentation

Are you looking for an impactful experience that allows you to develop leadership and soft skills?
Would you like to practice or learn a new language in a working experience abroad? Then AIESEC is what you are looking for!

Come and discover AIESEC Italia‘s projects on October 29th in an online event in which we’ll help find the best suitable projects for everyone. During the event you’ll have the opportunity to listen about all the different projects we offer and ask questions directly to our members in order to clarify any doubts, questions or curiosity you might have.

We highly recommend everyone who’s even just slightly interested in the topic to come join us for this event. What are you waiting for?

REGISTER

Contacts

Email: romatorvergata@aiesec.it

Facebook : AIESEC Italia

Website: AIESEC Italia

YUFE Help Desks: Co-create the future of both your region and Europe

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YUFE Help Desks: Co-create the future of both your region and Europe

Experience Europe right at your doorstep and co-create the future of both your region and Europe. The Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) Alliance aims to create a European University, but to also bring local communities and universities closer together. One of the first concrete steps in this framework are the YUFE Help Desks.
YUFE Help Desks will provide citizens with the opportunity to ask questions on different topics, e.g. legal issues, entrepreneurial advice, digital tools/applications, economics, studying, developing language skills, etc.
Questions will be answered by the students of YUFE universities under the supervision of university staff. Working at the Help Desk will not only give you practical experience, but also enable you to earn YUFE stars based on learning agreements and/or, when Help Desks are part of the study curricula, ECTS credits. For staff, Help Desks offer a platform to engage more closely with society. Detailed information on how to enrol will be available at the beginning of 2021.
Help Desks can be found in the city, the university campuses or are run online. The first Help Desks will be launched in May 2021, and the information on the respective locations and opening hours will be available to citizens of the YUFE regions and students and staff of YUFE universities in early spring 2021.

For more information: yufe.eu/citizens-and-cities/.