The feedback from both participants and speakers has been overwhelmingly positive so far, and it’s clear that the meeting left a lasting impact on all who attended. So my name is Domenico Tricò, and I’m Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Pisa. As a clinical scientist with a keen interest in metabolic diseases, my primary research focus has been to evaluate the effects of nutritional factors on glucose homeostatic mechanisms and to dissect the pathogenetic role in the aetiology of type 2 diabetes and its main chronic complications. The Early Career Academy was established in 2022, and it is an initiative to support, train, mento,r and create opportunities for early career scientists and clinicians in the field of diabetes. Today the Academy Committee is made up of 13 people who are actively involved in the organisation of the EASD Annual Meeting, postgraduate courses, monthly webinars and journal clubs. And the Academy is also responsible for the mentorship programme and closely collaborates with the European national diabetes associations. I joined the Academy back in 2023, and in this role I’ve been responsible for coordinating webinars and journal clubs, joined the EASD Committee for Clinical Affairs as an observer, and more recently I served as the local organiser and scientific chair for our inaugural face-to-face event in Pisa. The inaugural EASD Early Career Academy Meeting was held in April 2025 at the Sant’Anna School of Pisa, Italy. This event brought together 60 emerging investigators in basic and clinical diabetes research from 30 countries across five continents along with 44 renowned speakers and moderators for three days of interactive lectures, hands-on workshops and open discussions. This landmark event provided a unique platform for young researchers to learn from leading experts, exchange ideas and build professional networks within the diabetes community. Pisa was chosen as a fitting backdrop for our inaugural meeting for several reasons. Not only the city has a rich history of scientific discovery, but also the very first EASD meeting was held close to this city exactly 60 years ago in April 1965. This multi-day event featured several key scientific lectures, including those from Stefano Del Prato and Ele Ferrannini, two former and still extremely active EASD presidents, as well as that from Amalia Gastaldelli, who is the current chair of both the MASLD and EGIR study groups. But the programme was designed to be as dynamic and interactive as possible, and therefore it also included first some get to know sessions, where participants introduced themselves, their research, and many were awarded and presented their abstracts which have now been included in a meeting booklet. We also had interactive sessions with small group workshops on AI, omics, translational approaches to project design. We had a mentor-mentee session underscoring the mutual benefits of a healthy mentor-mentee relationship. And finally, we had several career development sessions where speakers shared their valuable tips and tricks to help progress on the academic journey, including how to get research funding, how to establish and organise a research team, and how to translate groundbreaking scientific discoveries into novel treatments and practical technologies. The feedback from both participants and speakers has been overwhelmingly positive so far, and it’s clear that the meeting left a lasting impact on all who attended, mainly due to its engaging lectures and meaningful discussions. We are now continuing to gather perspectives, comments, and suggestions from everyone involved with the intention of publishing a comprehensive report on the EASD website. I believe this valuable feedback will guide us in refining future events and implementing actions that further our mission, that is again, to shape the future of diabetes research and care. Building on the success of the inaugural meeting in Pisa, the EASD Academy plans to establish a series of annual meetings for early career researchers and clinicians to be held in different cities across Europe. So, each event will be held approximately six months before the EASD general meeting. By rotating the location, the Academy will leverage the local expertise available in each city, enriching the programme with diverse perspectives and opportunities for networking and learning. So, this plan of course will be possible thanks to the generous and continuous support of the EASD Board, toward which I would like to express the deepest gratitude on behalf of the whole Academy.