Politecnico di Torino honours Teresa Ribera
Politecnico di Torino has awarded Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, the PoliTO Foresight & Innovation International Award 2026, an international distinction established by the University to honor individuals who stand out in addressing major innovation challenges through strategic vision and global impact.
The award ceremony took place on the morning of Friday, June 12, at the Sala Mappamondi of the Torino Academy of Sciences, as part of an event dedicated to energy transition, innovation, and European competitiveness. The event was attended by representatives from institutions, academia, and industry.
The proceedings opened with institutional remarks by Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security; Alberto Cirio, President of the Piedmont Region; Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of Torino; and Stefano Corgnati, Rector of Politecnico di Torino.
"With this recognition, Politecnico di Torino aims to celebrate not only an individual path of excellence, but also a broader ability to interpret change and guide it" commented Rector Stefano Corgnati. "The Foresight & Innovation International Award is dedicated to individuals who understand that progress is not merely a technological issue, but also a political, institutional, and strategic one, and who can translate this awareness into public action and long-term vision. Teresa Ribera has been selected for the authority of her institutional and international career and for her contribution to shaping a European agenda capable of combining ecological transition, competitiveness, skills development, public responsibility, and strategic vision."
The ceremony featured a Laudatio delivered by Giovanni Federigo De Santi (Politecnico di Torino and Chair of the Energy & Climate High Level Group). "The award seeks to highlight a form of leadership that addresses one of the defining challenges of our time: building sustainability and competitiveness together," said Giovanni Federigo De Santi. “It reflects a vision aimed at reducing Europe’s strategic vulnerabilities without sacrificing openness, accelerating decarbonization without weakening European manufacturing, and strengthening energy security while maintaining a strong commitment to social equity. At the same time, it recognizes the importance of securing the investments, infrastructure, critical materials, and skills required to navigate the transformations underway."
The ceremony continued with the official presentation of the award by Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, and the Rector of Politecnico di Torino, Stefano Corgnati. Teresa Ribera then delivered a Lectio Magistralis on the prospects for Europe’s energy and industrial transition.
In her current role as Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera is one of the leading figures shaping European policies on the energy transition, industrial competitiveness, economic security and the protection of strategic assets. Her work contributes to advancing an integrated vision for Europe’s development, combining decarbonisation, innovation and industrial growth, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the need to strengthen the continent’s strategic autonomy and industrial capacity.
“Europe’s future will depend on our ability to turn innovation into opportunity, sustainability into competitiveness, and technological leadership into shared prosperity. The clean transition is not only an environmental imperative. It is Europe’s growth strategy for the decades ahead. It is how we strengthen our energy security, reduce strategic dependencies, create quality jobs and ensure that European industry remains a global leader in a rapidly changing world. This recognition belongs to all those across Europe — researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, workers and public institutions — who are helping to build that future every day”, Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission states.
The event continued with a keynote lecture by Lucia Visconti Parisio (Energy & Climate High Level Group and University of Milano-Bicocca) on long-term contracts in the evolving electricity system, followed by a panel discussion on innovation in the energy sector for competitiveness, featuring Rector Corgnati and Giulia Genuardi, Director General of Enel Foundation.
PoliTO’s welcome of Teresa Ribera began the day before the award ceremony, with a visit to Environment Park focused on leading research and innovation initiatives in the field of the energy transition. The visit provided an opportunity to present the Energy Transition Hub Torino, the ecosystem promoted by Politecnico di Torino, IIT and Environment Park, which brings together advanced research infrastructures, scientific expertise and industrial partnerships to accelerate the development of technologies and solutions for decarbonisation. Particular attention was devoted to activities in the fields of hydrogen, CO₂ capture, management and utilisation, and technologies for sustainable industrial transformation—strategic areas for achieving Europe’s climate neutrality, energy security and competitiveness objectives. The visit also provided an important opportunity for discussion on the contribution that research, innovation and collaboration among universities, institutions and industry can make to Europe’s energy transition and to strengthening the European Union’s strategic autonomy.
By awarding Teresa Ribera, Politecnico di Torino reaffirmed its commitment to fostering dialogue among research, institutions, and industry on the strategic issues of energy transition and sustainable development, while recognizing leaders capable of guiding transformative change.
- Immagine
NomeTeresa Ribera - Immagine
NomeAlberto Cirio - Immagine
NomeRector Stefano Corgnati - Immagine
NomeMinister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin - Immagine
NomeGiovanni Federigo De Santi - Immagine
NomeMarco Mezzalama - Immagine
NomeStefano Lo Russo - Immagine
NomeLucia Visconti Parisio
PoliTO Foresight & Innovation International Award
Established in 2025, the Foresight & Innovation International Award is presented annually by the Rector of Politecnico di Torino upon recommendation of the Energy & Climate High Level Group, the independent body of European experts that supports the University in its policy advisory mission.
The winner is announced during the EU–Italy Energy Days, the international symposium organized by Politecnico di Torino in cooperation with the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, with the support of the Ministry of University and Research and the European Commission.
The inaugural edition of the award was presented to Mario Draghi, author of The Future of European Competitivenessreport, in recognition of his contribution to the debate on Europe’s economic and industrial future and for his leadership within both European and Italian institutions.