The Guide for researchers joining Sapienza has been fully digitised and updated.

To ensure full accessibility for international researchers, in 2025 Sapienza created fully English-language web sections for research support services:

• Grant Office - International Collaborative Programmes Unit
• Grant Office - International Individual Programmes Unit
• Scientific cooperation and networks Unit
• Sapienza Calls for Proposals Unit
• Regional and National Calls for Proposals Unit
• Research Product Catalogue and Evaluation Unit
• Research Ethics and Compliance Unit

Sapienza organises an annual soft skills training programme, held during November and December, for PhD candidates and researchers, providing a wide-ranging offer that is continuously expanding. The training programme attracts around 5,000 participants each year and has grown steadily: from 15 courses in 2023 (also open to European partners within the CIVIS network and Rome Technopole) to 19 modules in 2024, reaching a record 21 training modules in 2025, focusing on European project design, intellectual property, research ethics and big data. The organisation of the 2026 edition of the training programme is currently underway.

Sapienza organises the annual Ph.D. Welcome Day in January, a welcome event that gives new PhD candidates the opportunity to learn about Sapienza's policies, as well as the services and benefits available to them. The initiative forms part of a broader strategy aimed at creating a welcoming, inclusive and stimulating environment. This vision is put into practice through an ongoing programme of soecial events, interdisciplinary training initiatives and networking opportunities, designed to support researchers throughout their academic journey.

Sapienza organises the annual Horizon Europe @ Sapienza programme, consisting of information sessions and targeted training activities designed to provide an in-depth overview of the various types of Horizon Europe funding programmes and schemes. The initiative aims to encourage and support the active participation of the Sapienza research community in European calls for proposals, providing researchers with the strategic tools needed to develop and submit successful applications.

In 2023, Sapienza launched the RIS4CAREER pilot project within the framework of the CIVIS European University Alliance (Horizon 2020 project). The initiative trained senior researchers to act as mentors, pairing them for six months with early-career PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers to support their career choices and entrepreneurial development.

Sapienza's has maintained a consistent financial commitment to the Sapienza's Call for Third Mission and Outreach Initiatives (covering education, public health and inclusion), structured around two funding streams: Third Mission, aimed at Sapienza departments and structures, and Introduction to Third Mission, supporting projects submitted by PhD candidates, specialist trainees and research fellows.

Among the main initiatives demonstrating Sapienza’s ongoing commitment to promoting public engagement as part of the University’s Third Mission — with particular attention to involving early-career researchers and the wider community through festivals, thematic events, and opportunities for scientific and cultural exchange — are the editions of the "Teatro delle Migrazioni" Festival (in Italian), the "Outreach activities: what's in store for the future" series of meetings, and the Sapienza Festival "La dignità inquieta".(in Italian). In line with this approach to social engagement, "FARO Sapienza" was established: an Open Lab included in the European network of CIVIS Open Labs, which strengthens the connection between the University and its social and civic environment, with a particular focus on public participatio

Following a monitoring phase of ministerial reforms, Sapienza promptly approved and adopted the Regolamento Unico for the awarding of research contracts, postdoctoral positions and research appointments. The document governs selection procedures, legal status and financial and social security arrangements, ensuring full alignment with the European Charter for Researchers.

The administrative workflow for the recruitment of Full and Associate Professors has been fully digitised. Through the CINECA PICA platform (in Italian), 101 recruitment calls were managed entirely online in the first year alone (2023). By 2024, the processes had been fully standardised in digital form, resulting in a significant reduction in recruitment times.

Sapienza is committed to providing financial support for internal research opportunities, maintaining the upward trend in investment established in recent years. Spaienza's main internal research funding mechanism comprises four annual funding calls: Research (Large, Medium, Small and Departmental Research Projects, together with Starting Research projects); Medium and Large Scientific Equipment of strategic interest to Sapienza; Major Excavations; and Conferences, Seminars and Workshops. This commitment resulted in direct investment of more than €14.7 million in 2023, €14.4 million in 2024, and €13.1 million in 2025.

To promote responsible research, in 2024 Sapienza established the Ethics Committee for Transdisciplinary Research (CERT). In 2025, the Academic Senate and the Board of Governors approved the Guidelines on Compliance for Dual-Use Research Activities, introducing a rigorous ethical and regulatory screening process for research projects carried out in collaboration with partners outside the European Union.

In March 2025, Sapienza launched The Toolbox against Gender Violence,(in Italian) a multidisciplinary 20-hour online course comprising 19 modules and open to the entire student community. At the same time, from November 2025 the Comitato Unico di Garanzia (CUG) organised the seminar series Recognising, Naming and Combating Violence. Reinforcing the principle that all forms of moral and sexual harassment are unacceptable, on 3 December 2025 the University adopted a new Code of Conduct for the Protection of Personal Dignity and the Prevention of Harassment (Rector's Decree No. 3485/2025). The Code, also translated into English, introduces robust safeguards for all members of the University community, including both students and staff, together with mandatory disciplinary measures.

• To encourage participation in the excellence programmes of Horizon Europe—namely the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)—Sapienza has developed the SAPIExcellence strategy, implemented through four dedicated funding schemes: BE-FOR-ERC, SEED OF ERC, SEAL, and ADD.
• Principal Investigator Incentive Scheme: Sapienza annually launches a funding call to support ERC and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) Principal Investigators.
• Visiting Professors: The University provides annual funding to promote international academic mobility by hosting distinguished Visiting Professors from overseas.
• Horizon Europe Award: An annual Horizon Europe Award Call provides funding to Principal Investigators of collaborative European projects that have received a positive evaluation from the European Commission but could not be funded due to budgetary constraints.
• Horizon Europe Project Coordination Call: This annual funding call supports the preparation costs of collaborative Horizon Europe proposals coordinated by Sapienza.

In 2025, a solidarity call was launched to support researchers from countries affected by economic or social crises. Twenty-two grants were awarded, with 45% allocated to West Asia, giving priority to Palestinian researchers.

In order to involve the scientific community in the implementation process of the HR Excellence in Research Action Plan, a survey was conducted in 2025, with the expert support of the Dipartimento di Comunicazione e Ricerca Sociale (CORIS), to monitor the perception and level of awareness among Sapienza's scientific community regarding the measures implemented by our university over the years.

The survey received responses from more than 1,100 participants, including full professors, associate professors, researchers, and PhD students, with a response rate of approximately 17%. Among the main topics addressed in the survey, respondents were asked to express their views on the recognition of international experience among the evaluation criteria for researchers; the promotion and protection of individual research freedom; the absence of discrimination based on age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or language; as well as the adequacy of the information provided by Sapienza regarding research funding opportunities and the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality across academic and institutional activities.

The survey results highlight a high level of awareness and broad recognition among Sapienza's scientific community of the positive working conditions and research environment, as well as of the financial and training support initiatives promoted by our university. The overall outcome is therefore positive. However, the results also reveal limited awareness of Sapienza's HR Excellence in Research process and of the fact that many of the initiatives implemented in recent years in support of researchers are closely linked to the Action Plan. It will therefore be necessary to strengthen efforts aimed at increasing this level of awareness