2025: Year in Review

It’s the end of the year again, but this one feels different. I’m not in my hometown with my family. Instead, I’m in the city where I currently live, because of one of the problems that shaped much of my 2025. This was not the best year of my life. Together with my partner, we had to face several personal challenges, and I also had to deal with a health issue that forced me to slow down and take time off. Still, despite everything, we made it to the end of the year, and we’re finally getting close to what I’d call a normal life again.

Some reflections on 2025 #

Looking back, I can roughly split 2025 into three parts.

The first one was short but intense: from January to FOSDEM 2025. During those weeks I worked extremely hard to finish two papers and submit one to FAccT 2025. That paper was later accepted, and I consider it one of the biggest achievements of this year—and of my PhD as a whole.

The second part, from February to October, was by far the hardest. We were dealing with multiple personal problems, and at the same time my back issues started to get worse. I had to stay at home, see a surgeon, and wait for a call for surgery. Despite everything, during this period I still managed to complete several projects, submit them to different conferences, and finally submit my PhD thesis. Some of those works were accepted, some were not, but we’re still working on them.

The last part of the year, from October to December, was the recovery. I had the surgery and started the rehabilitation process. It wasn’t easy, but I’m now slowly starting to feel better.

My feelings about 2025 are mixed. On one side, I’m genuinely happy about some major achievements, including the defense of my PhD. On the other, I feel a sense of sadness for the time lost to health issues and personal struggles.

Defending my PhD also marked the end of my journey at the University of Pisa. It closed a long chapter of my life that began in 2014, when I moved to Pisa to start my Bachelor’s degree. Over more than a decade, that city gave me experiences, friendships, and memories that I’ll always remember. Eventually, though, I felt it was time to move on and start a new adventure.

Right now, the future is still uncertain. I’m looking for new opportunities and asking myself many questions. Do I want to continue as a researcher? Do I want to move to industry? I don’t have clear answers yet, but I’m sure the new year will bring some clarity.

Some photos from 2025 #

There are a few highlights from 2025 that I really want to remember:

1. January, the submission to FAccT 2025 of a paper, which was then accepted.

   

2. February – FOSDEM 2025. FOSDEM means meeting friends, having fun in Brussels, eating fries, and drinking beer. I won’t be there this year, and I’ll miss it a lot.

3. London! We went there for the Flower Summit 2025. I had the chance to present a poster and to finally visit the city. I’ll never forget this, especially because when I came back home my problems at my back worsened a lot.

4. FAccT 2025 in Greece!

5. The defense of my PhD thesis.

6. The surgery and the beginning of the recovery.

I don’t have many plans or goals for 2026. I just want to fully recover from my surgery, find a job that makes me happy, and, one year from now, look back with gratitude for what 2026 brought, while staying close to the people I love the most.