The 2001-2003 Centres of Excellence sponsored by the Ministry of Education and University Research: A compendium of research and education activities

The CD presents the research and graduate/post-graduate educational activities of 56 Excellence Research Centres established in the period 2001-2003 by the Italian Ministry of University and Research for Science and Technology. The Centres' research activities address Information and Communication Technologies, Biomedical Science and Technology, International legal, social, and economic interactions, Innovative Technologies for the Humanities, Monitoring and Dynamics of hydro-geological unbalance. The Centres were selected on the basis of a rigorous, competitive selection process that involved panels of international experts. The Ministry supported in part the operations of the Centres for three years. At the end of this period, the financial support had to be secured with other sources such as industry, national and EU research organizations. Today all Centres are still active. A significant number of graduate students and post-graduate researchers have been trained by the Centres. Their research results are also featured in the CD.