NeTS Linguistics Lab @ IUSS (Laboratory for Neurolinguistics, Computational Linguistics and Theoretical Syntax) was established in April 2021 and it is the natural continuation of the linguistics activity of the NETS Center, established in March 2011, and directed by Prof. Andrea Moro, Professor of Linguistics, until September 2016 then by Prof. Cristiano Chesi until the center was terminated in March 2021.
The Lab is now directed by Prof. Cristiano Chesi.
The aims and activities of the center are mainly related to the issues of the theory of natural language, in particular to syntax and its interface with semantics and pragmatics, the computational models of processing, the neural localizations and architecture of linguistic processes.
The research and didactic activities will be carried out by relying also on agreements with other advanced schools and universities both at national and international levels.
The University School for Advanced Study IUSS Pavia is the last step of a long lasting higher education process started in 825 A.D. when Lotharius I, Emperor of the Romans and King of Italy, appointed Pavia, the ancient capital of the Lombard kingdom, as the site for higher education. This process went through the foundation - in 1361 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV - of the Studium Generale, later on named "University of Pavia", and it later became the sole University of the Duchy of Milan. After the decadence during the Spanish domination, the University prestige was restored by Maria Theresa Sovereign of Austria and Holy Roman Empress.
Just to focus on science, we can mention a few of the famous professors who taught at the University of Pavia: Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), who invented the "cardanic joint", a fundamental mechanical device; Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the inventor of the battery; Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832), who gave his name to many anatomical parts such as "the Scarpa triangle", and the Nobel Laureate Camillo Golgi (1843-1926), who invented the so-called "black reaction", which, for the first time, displayed the ramified structure of nerve cells, and discovered many microstructures including the famous "Golgi complex".
The Pavia University system provides a unique offer for more than 20.000 students, including a choice of University colleges. Among them: the "Almo Collegio Borromeo" and the "Collegio Ghislieri", established in the 16th centuries. They are now 15, hosting almost 2.000 students, and they offer a unique opportunity of study and cultural enrichment in a multidisciplinary and multiethnic environment. Through centuries the University of Pavia became one of the leading institutions in Europe.
Since 1997, IUSS fulfils an advanced teaching and research model successfully implemented by two other prestigious institutions in Italy, the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Scuola Sant'Anna in Pisa that are federated with IUSS since 2016. The core mission of IUSS is that of contributing to the growth of a small number of students, selected among five University colleges, by offering them, at any step of their higher education, qualified programs at an international level enhancing their capabilities and knowledge in an interdisciplinary fashion. IUSS is also committed to scientific progress by promoting Ph.D. programs and developing research activities at an international level.