The “Center of Applied Studies for the Sustainable Management and Protection of Mountain Areas (GeSDiMont)” was established in2006, based on a need to conduct applied research focusing on mountain-specific challenges
GeSDiMont is an organization made up of 8 Departments of Unimi – the University of Milan – that promotes, coordinates and develops scientific and applied research activities regarding mountain areas in general, with a particular emphasis on the environment, agriculture and forestry. The departments are: VESPA (Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”); DEMM (Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods); SPS (Department of Social and Political Sciences); DEFENS (Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Sciences); DST (Department of Earth Sciences “A. Desio”); ESP (Department of Environmental Science and Policy); BAC (Department of Cultural Heritage and Environment), with DISAA (Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Territory, Agroenergy) coordinating.
The “Ge.S.Di.Mont” Research Center active at the UNIMONT hub has the objective of promoting and experimenting methodological and operational innovation specific to the characteristics, complexities and needs of mountain areas and to start activities of joint research and technology transfer on strategic issues for the development of mountain areas.
Under the guidance of the Ge.S.Di.Mont Research Center, UNIMONT also promotes numerous specialization courses, also delivered remotely, and various multidisciplinary seminar initiatives, which can be streamed through a virtual classroom and available on demand.
The virtual classroom is also used to involve local communities and stakeholders, with whom it organizes virtual work tables through social networks that encourage the exchange of experiences. The UNIMONT website also offers a series of information and services useful to the various players in the Italian mountains to encourage development and innovation processes, as well as the exchange of good practices.
The center works closely with European and international institutions active in the same area of intervention, hence establishing stable collaborative relationships. UNIMONT, is an active and proactive “crossroads” of local, national and international networks that deal with the mountains, and is present in the main working groups dedicated to internal and mountain areas, with particular reference to youth entrepreneurship.
