Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Professor Carla Bagnoli of Unimore Receives the Prestigious Humboldt Research Award

Professor Carla Bagnoli, Professor of Theoretical Philosophy in the Department of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation—one of the most prestigious international honours recognising a scholar’s scientific career and granted to researchers of international standing for the excellence and impact of their entire academic output. The nomination was submitted by Professor Monika Betzler of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

The award includes a personal grant of €80,000 and an invitation to undertake research projects in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues at the host universities, in full continuity with the recipient’s scientific work. Within the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the research awards are one of its historic programmes, active since 1972, through which the German foundation supports international scholars from all disciplines and nationalities, bringing together a network that, in several cases, includes individuals who later received the Nobel Prize.

Receiving the Humboldt Research Award also places Carla Bagnoli within the international network of the “Humboldt family”, the community of scholars selected by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a historic German institution dedicated to promoting scientific excellence and international academic cooperation. “Exzellenz verbindet” — excellence unites — is the Foundation’s motto, encapsulating both a scientific and a diplomatic mission: that of maintaining a stable network of scientific relations by organising events and conferences where different generations of researchers from around the world share their knowledge, giving rise to a truly cosmopolitan and interdisciplinary culture.

Professor Bagnoli commented: “I am deeply grateful and honoured to receive the Humboldt Research Award. I welcome this recognition with a renewed outlook towards the future and with a firm commitment to continuing my contribution to studies in practical philosophy, strengthening collaboration with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where I serve as a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Ethics and Philosophy in Practice, and with the University of Leipzig, a key hub within an important international network in action theory. These collaborations are rooted in a shared theoretical heritage, inspired by post-Kantian philosophy developed at the universities of Harvard, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.

This honour allows me to reconsider, in perspective, certain decisive choices in my academic journey: the decision to leave the United States almost twenty years ago to join the ‘Rientro dei Cervelli’ programme was often deemed imprudent, and returning to Italy was not without its challenges. At a particularly critical moment, I looked to Europe with confidence, finding support and recognition at leading centres of practical philosophy such as Oslo and Oxford. I believe this story can bear witness to a European research landscape founded on solid, inclusive, and forward-thinking institutions. I am proud to be part of it and will continue to contribute to this mission with conviction and dedication.

Fully aware of the importance of the people who guide institutions, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, to my colleagues at DESU, and to the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei: none of this would have been possible without their personal and institutional support.”

Categorie: Notizie_eng, International - english