On Saturday, September 27, the CNR - Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM) hosted a conference as part of the annual Trieste Next - Festival of Scientific Research. The event, held within the “Percorsi di Scienza” section, was dedicated to introducing university students and PhD candidates to the world of distributed research infrastructures, with a special focus on NFFA-DI and NFFA-Europe, its Europe-wide counterpart.

Moderated by Giulio Curiel, infrastructure manager of NFFA-DI, the conference offered a practical guide to navigating the proposal-based access model that enables researchers to overcome limitations in their home laboratories. By submitting research proposals, scientists can gain access to advanced instrumentation and multidisciplinary expertise across a network of laboratories.

The conference aimed to fill a critical gap in academic training: understanding how to leverage distributed RIs to conduct high-quality research.

Three main presentations provided a comprehensive overview of the infrastructure landscape and practical advice for aspiring researchers:

1. What Is a Distributed RI and Why It Matters
   Speaker: Elisabetta Travaglia, Technologist, CNR-IOM
   Travaglia introduced the concept of distributed research infrastructures, highlighting their strategic value for the scientific community and society. She emphasized the benefits of access to cutting-edge resources, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the broader impact on research quality.

2. Designing Research: Ingredients of a Successful Proposal
   Speaker: Barbara Ressel, Researcher, University of Nova Gorica
   Ressel offered a hands-on guide to crafting effective research proposals. From defining objectives to selecting methodologies, she shared key elements that increase the chances of success and touched on the role of generative AI in proposal writing.

3. Case Study: A User’s Journey Through NFFA
   Speaker: Vitaliy Feyer, Researcher, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich
   Feyer recounted his experience using the NFFA infrastructure to advance his research. He detailed the process, resources accessed, collaborations formed, and the outcomes achieved -demonstrating the real-world impact of distributed RIs.

The full recording of the conference is available here (language: Italian).