• fr
  • en

Peak performance for mountain student

A graduate from a Perth-based centre has won a prestigious award for her thesis.

Elena Ferrario, a 33 year old who studied at the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College UHI, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, was awarded the Alpine Convention’s Young Scientist Award for her research into population trends in the Alps. She was presented with the award and a prize of €1000 at the Convention’s Spring Festival in Italy last week. Elena has also presented her research during the opening of the European Mountain Convention in Chambery.

Elena, who grew up in a small village in the Italian Alps, says “mountains have always been my passion.” She decided to return to study after ten years of work so she could expand her knowledge of mountain areas. She took up a Master’s degree in sustainable mountain development with the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Centre for Mountain Studies so she could study online on a part-time basis and retain her job in France where she works on an EU-funded territorial co-operation programme.

Elena’s thesis, entitled “Comelico staying or leaving – reasons to return to an Alpine valley”, investigated the factors which influence young mountain people to return to their valleys of origin after they left to complete higher education studies. The research also looked into policies and instruments which may attract residents to mountain areas. Elena found that job opportunities, quality of life and sense of belonging are the main reasons young people decide to return the mountains. It is hoped the results will help to inform policy in the Alpine region and could be relevant to similar regions across Europe.

Speaking about her award, Elena said: “The role of young generations and the importance of the presence of qualified human capital are high on the agenda of the institutions and think-tanks for mountain development in Europe. This award is an important recognition showing that there is interest to explore and to gain a deeper knowledge of brain-drain and brain-gain in mountains areas, which should lead to a clearer definition of adequate policies to address these phenomena.”

Director of the Centre for Mountain Studies, Professor Martin Price, vice-president of Euromontana, said: “I am very proud that one of our students has gained this prestigious award. There is already great interest in Elena’s research among the people living in the area she studied and I believe that the results of her research will be very valuable across the Alps. This is an excellent example of the value of studying part-time and online for someone who is working full-time and could not undertake a Master’s degree in any other way.”

Regula Imhof, vice secretary general of the Alpine Convention, added: “Young scientists often have fresh views on issues that are relevant for the implementation of the Alpine Convention. The theme of Elena’s thesis is highly topical for the current activities of the Convention on demographic change in the Alps.”

Share
13 March 2013

Euromontana sur Facebook

5 days ago

Euromontana
Today, members of the Rural Pact Coordination Group (RPCG) meet online to discuss: • The forthcoming RPCG Declaration on the future of EU rural policy, which addresses the open questions in the @European Commission’s ‘key achievements and ways forward’ report;• RPCG members’ position papers on the future of Europe’s rural areas;• RPCG members’ role in the Rural Pact Conference of April 2025;• Members’ actions to date & the Rural Pact Support Office 2025 work programme.More information at: bit.ly/4fwtjnS#RuralPact #RuralVisionEU ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

6 days ago

Euromontana
📢 #CallForProposals: you can now submit proposals for the #InternationalMountainConference!The international conference dedicated to #MountainResearch is taking place from 14-18 September 2025 in #Innsbruck. It is being organised by the Research Area “Mountain Regions” at the Universität Innsbruck ⛰️🇦🇹📝 The #IMC is currently looking for proposals focusing on scientific research in #MountainRegions around the world. There are six formats to choose from, including plenary sessions and workshops - find out more and submit your proposal by 28 November: loom.ly/ntncy_M ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

2 weeks ago

Euromontana
We're at the #Gismart project Kick Off meeting in Paris today to share guidelines on communication, dissemination and exploitation of results 💡For the next two days, we will discuss the following steps to assess the sustainability of geographical indications all over Europe, including in the mountains ⛰️🌱🚜👩‍🌾 How to transition to more sustainable diet systems ? 🌱 How to implement the Farm to Fork Strategy?🥩🧀 how to develop a methodology to assess economic, social, environnemental dimensions of GIs sustainability?Pleased to be working on this key topic with INRAE and to continue collaboration with AREPO! More info on GI-SMART 🔗 www.euromontana.org/gi-smart/ ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Euromontana
🌄 A week ago, we were opening the #MountainConvention2024 in the stunning Catalan Pyrenees! 🏔️✨ 250 mountain stakeholders came together in Puigcerdà to shape the #MountainEconomies of tomorrow! 💬 In the face of socio-economic, environmental, and demographic transitions, our economies must become 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 than ever! 💪🌱From fair remuneration of farmers & ecosystem services, to funding for the transition of mountain resorts, circular economy development for wool and wood products, support for entrepreneurship and interesting public procurement or taxes systems ... all a huge thank you to everyone for your energy and ideas! 🙌 These will be captured in the 𝐏𝐮𝐢𝐠𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚̀ 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, which will be presented on 11 December on International Mountain Day 📜🏔️🔜 Presentations and materials will soon be available! A special thank you to our co-organisers Territori. Generalitat de Catalunya. and CREAF, as well as our supporters Ajuntament de Puigcerdà , #NEMOR Network for European Mountain Research, European Rural Pact 🙏 ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

Euromontana sur Twitter