On July 15, the results of Sapienza's Call for Solidarity in Research and Education - Visiting Professors were presented to the Academic Senate and the Board of Governors. This call will allow scholars from countries in critical economic or social situations to carry out their activities at Sapienza. This call, which Sapienza has added to the usual Sapienza Call for Visiting Professors 2025, aimed at all countries, was published at the end of May with a deadline of July 4.

A total of 26 applications were submitted, 22 of which were eligible for funding totalling €198,000. Sixteen of the winning projects come from Palestine (seven from Gaza and nine from the West Bank). The visiting professors' activities will cover various scientific and cultural fields for educational and research purposes, ranging from archaeological excavations to the sustainable use of groundwater resources in Palestine and the development of teaching methodologies in emergency contexts.

The call for applications was aimed at lecturers, researchers and experts with proven scientific qualifications, affiliated with universities, institutions or research bodies in the 35 countries listed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation's three-year development cooperation policy planning and guidance document for 2024-2026. A quota of 45% of the grants was reserved for scholars from institutions based in Middle Eastern countries (Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria). Of these, at least 60% was allocated to scholars from Palestine. In addition to criteria relating to experience and authority, research objectives, educational activities and expected results, the evaluation criteria for applications also included the potential exposure to risk of the visiting professor.

As an additional contribution, Sapienza will provide accommodation free of charge to visiting professors for the duration of their stay in Rome, following the order of priority identified in the call for applications.

Both the call for Visiting Professors 2025 and the call for Solidarity for Research and Education required all foreign researchers receiving funding to adhere to the fundamental values of the European Charter for Researchers and Sapienza's Code of Ethics, with particular attention to the potential dual-use aspects of research, supervised by Sapienza's panel established in 2021 and integrated in 2024.