Department of Excellence of the Faculty of Sciences 2023-2027

The Faculty of Sciences has been confirmed as a Department of Excellence for 2023–2027, renewing the prestigious ministerial recognition already obtained in 2017. Through this program, the Ministry of Universities and Research funds the top 180 departments of Italian state universities, selected on the basis of the quality of their research output and the strength of their proposed development plan.

The new project of the Scuola Normale includes the creation of a research center dedicated to quantum information and computation, with a particular focus on the physical–mathematical foundations and on defining new research lines within the scientific areas of the Science Class.
This initiative continues the work of the previous five-year period, which was dedicated to Computational and Data Sciences, and preserves its spirit of exploring the most innovative directions in the computational and information sciences. The expertise gained and the infrastructures already established provide a solid foundation for this new endeavor, which now concentrates on a novel and strategic challenge: quantum computing, a field poised to redefine the future of computational sciences.

With this project, the Scuola Normale aims to become a leading international player in this emerging field, enhancing its commitment to fundamental and multidisciplinary research.

The ministerial funding, complemented by additional co-funding from the Scuola Normale, will support over the five-year period:
• the strengthening of computing infrastructures;
• the opening of new positions for both research and technical–administrative staff;
• the funding of six doctoral scholarships;
• the promotion of research and scientific dissemination activities;
• reward initiatives for technical–administrative personnel.