The International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste is one of the most prestigious institutions for research and higher education in Europe. The School offers PhD courses in the fields of Physics, Mathematics and Neuroscience and our scientists produce an impressive amount of quality and interdisciplinary research. Many of the scientific papers written by researchers at SISSA are published in internationally renowned journals with a high impact factor, such as Nature and Science. This high level of productivity is particularly impressive since it is carried out in a relatively small university, with a faculty of approximately 80 professors, 100 post-doctoral fellows and 300 PhD students. Students have described SISSA as “a place where scientific excellence in the various subfields and cultural diversity are not only in harmony with each other but also complement and support each other; a place where you learn progressive thinking in all aspects of life; a place where ideas are born, and then critically examined and evaluated; a place where you are encouraged to imagine that which does not yet exist.”