Francesco Romagnoli - President Elect - Italy

Education
2012 – B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy, University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
2013-2014 – Rehabilitation Hand Surgery, Lund University, Sweden

Certification
2019 – Italian Certified Hand Therapist

Work Experience
Francesco started working full time in a Hand Therapy clinic in Parma for 3 years, then divided his working week between Switzerland and Parma for two years. In 2017 he came back to his hometown of Borgo Val di Taro in the Italian Appennini Mountains, starting his private practice which was followed by the opening of his private practice also in Parma in 2019. He worked for three years as a contract researcher in the field of work-related upper limb injuries at the University of Brescia. Now he works as a full time clinician in Borgotaro, Parma, Fidenza and Pontetaro. His caseload consists mainly of orthopaedic injuries, but also neurological injuries and paediatric pathologies. He also has a very large case history of musicians and athletes from all over Europe.

Professional Activities

– President Elect of IFSHT 2025 – ….
– Chair of the Bylaws Committee of IFSHT 2024 – 2025
– Past President of European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (EFSHT) 2023- ongoing (till June 2025)
– President of European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (EFSHT) 2021-2023
– President Elect of European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (EFSHT) 2019-2021
– Italian Delegate for International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT) 2016-ongoing
– Italian Delegate for European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (EFSHT) 2016-2019
– Chair of the Scientific Committee of Italian Hand Therapy Association (AIRM) 2019-2022
– Member of the Scientific Committee of Italian Hand Therapy Association (AIRM) 2016-2019
– Board member of the Italian Hand Therapy Association (AIRM) 2016-2022
– Member of the regional board of Italian Association of Occupational Therapists 2012-2014
– Member of the Italian Scientific Society of Occupational Therapy 2012-2015

International experience

In addition to his activities in the hand therapy  federations, he has carried out other projects:

Promoter and co- founder of the first degree course in Occupational Therapy in the Middle East at Al Manara University in Latakia (Syria), a project of the United Nations (UNDP) and the Italian NGO Armadilla. Since the academic year 2023-2024, the project has also been replicated at the State University of Damascus with Francesco undertaking the role of Professor in Hand Therapy, making splints with raw materials in both universities.

He is the creator and co-founder of the first course to teach Occupational Therapy techniques to rehabilitation professionals at the Halibet hospital in Asmara, Eritrea, where he teaches Hand Rehabilitation techniques and coordinates the European teachers who go there. The project is the result of a collaboration between the Italian NGO ANLADI and the European Union.

Francesco co-founded and is a member of the Hands-up AFproject which deals with applying hand therapy to countries in difficulty, teaching clinjcisns the basics of hand therapy so that they can apply them.
Countries where the Hands-up AFproject operates:

– Ethiopia (orphanages with disabled children, small rural villages)
– Eritrea (house-to-house therapy)
– Syria (rural countries, war outcomes)
– Lebanon (refugee camps and rural villages)

Presentations
Speaker, chair and organizer of many sessions, courses, conferences in the field of Hand therapy in Italy and Europe.

Teaching

Hi is a contract professor at the OT Bachelor Degree at the Modena and Reggio Emilia University since 2016, holder of the teaching of Upper Limb Biomechanics; hand, wrist and elbow pathologies; rehabilitative treatment of the aforementioned pathologies; design and creation of splints for the upper limb.
He has taught in many other universities across Italy and Europe.