Graduation Ceremony, Master in Medical Physics

The Master of Advanced Studies in Medical Physics (MMP) is a two-year advanced training programme run jointly by the ICTP and the University of Trieste, and co-funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Every year, some 20 students, most of whom come from developing countries, graduate from the programme with the advanced theoretical and clinical training needed to be recognised as clinical medical physicists in their home countries.

On Friday 12 December 2025 a cohort of new graduates will receive their degrees at a ceremony that will take place at ICTP and online. This year, 20 students who started their course of studies in 2024 will successfully complete their master’s. They come from 18 countries across Africa, Asia and South America.

The event will be attended by representatives of the programme’s main partners, including Donata Vianelli, rector of the University of Trieste, Mauro Carrara, Head of the Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics Section at the IAEA, and Massimo Pinto, Director of the Italian National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology (ENEA).

Almost 190 medical physicists have graduated so far from the programme, which was launched in 2014. They have come from more than 70 different countries, mainly in the Global South. About 90 of them have come from Africa, 44 from Asia, 41 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 14 from Europe and 1 from Oceania. Almost 40% of them are women.

The vast majority of MMP alumni have returned to their home countries, where they are now making valuable contributions to the healthcare system. The skills in radiation therapy, imaging, and dosimetry that they have acquired during their master’s have helped them to improve the quality of medical services for patients in underserved regions. The programme thus contributes to tackling the critical worldwide shortage of both clinical and academic professionals in medical physics, highlighted by several international organizations, including the IAEA.

The programme is supported by the International Organisation for Medical Physics (IOMP), the European Federation of Organizations in Medical Physics (EFOMP) and the Italian Association of Medical Physics (AIFM), in collaboration with Trieste hospital and a network of 26 hospitals across Italy, which host the student’s internships in their second year and have been key to the programme’s success. The programme has also been accredited by IOMP.

In January 2026, 26 new students will arrive at ICTP for the 2026-27 cycle. Four of them will attend a new specialization in radiation metrology, which is concerned with instrument calibration to ensure the safety and efficacy of radiation diagnostics and treatment.