On Wednesday 28 January 2026, the Rector of the unibz, Prof. Alex Weissensteiner, will officially open the Academic Year 2025/26 in the Aula Magna of the unibz Bozen-Bolzano City Center campus.

The evening's guest of honour, Alec Ross will deliver the keynote address on the topic “The economic and technological forces reshaping the workplace and the world”.

The keynote speaker is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Bologna Business School and former official working for President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton. His books have been translated into twenty-four languages and been best-sellers on five continents.

Magistrate Benno Baumgartner, president of the Juvenile Court of Bolzano and for six years a volunteer member of the Ethics Commission of unibz, will be awarded the “Medal of Merit of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano”.