The SISSA Explorations into the Neuronal foundations of Sensory Experience (SENSEx) Lab is part of SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies (in Italian: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, hence the acronym). The SISSA mission is to carry out state-of-the-art research in selected disciplines while training PhD students and postdoctoral fellows through intensive classroom and research experience.  

Founded in 1978, SISSA has evolved into a recognized hub of excellence within the national and international academic spheres. While popular surveys like Shanghai do not bother to normalize for the size of the institution and thus rank SISSA somewhere in the hundreds, we place greater trust in the assessment of panels that regularly visit SISSA and analyze how the university functions and what we produce. For instance, the International Scientific Advisory Committee characterizes SISSA as solid and innovative, while offering valuable recommendations for continuous enhancement. In the national evaluation of research quality (VQR), SISSA is at the top. Additionally, assessments from the National Agency (ANVUR) provide constructive feedback (1).  

A telling metric of research activity is the acquisition of prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding. Here, SISSA excels. For instance, the total number of ERC grants obtained divided by the total number of faculty is approaching 0.4 (2), which is much higher than the values seen in the university systems of all European nations (3). Indeed, scaled to the faculty size, SISSA is among a handful of European leaders. The Cognitive Neuroscience PhD, alone, has secured 7 ERC grants of various formats. 

SISSA is made up of around 80 professors, approximately 100 post-doctoral researchers, and 300 PhD students (the numbers are fluid, of course). SISSA's research and educational pursuits are organized into three departments: Physics, Mathematics, and Neuroscience. The School awards only the PhD degree, but we host many MSc students for advanced coursework and thesis projects. To uphold its status as a scientific center of excellence on both national and international fronts, SISSA remains committed to selectivity, elite standards, and size limitations. PhD admissions are highly competitive, with fewer than 10% of applicants securing acceptance. Faculty selection and promotion hinge on a rigorous peer-review assessment of productivity and creativity. 

(1) In 2020 the Italian National Agency for th Evaluation of the University and Research Systems carried out an in-depth assessment of SISSA’s research and training record as part of an accreditation process. The assessment concluded with the maximum score, and was summarized thus: “SISSA is an international advanced training school of an extremely high level, that unites excellence in research in the disciplines of Physics, Mathematics, and Neuroscience with training and teaching characteristic of the best graduate universities of the British system (Oxford and Cambridge). The continuous and intense interaction between the faculty and students represents a defining characteristic of the School, unique in Italy and rare even at the European level. The management of the School… is intelligent and competent… and has succeeded in maintaining year after year the levels of excellence that characterize the School in the international scene.”

(2) ERC at SISSA 

(3) ERC research grants by country, university and domain