In this paper, the authors represent the SSLMIT of the University of Trieste, Italy, an important driver of the renewal which occurred in interpreting research towards the end of the 1980s, with its emphasis on empirical, interdisciplinary studies, and one of the main producers of research so far. The authors describe the history of research in their institution, with its mix of academics and professional interpreters in the teaching staff, as well as the graduation thesis preparation process, highlighting the generally strong link between the supervisors’ line of research and the respective topics of their students. An analysis offered in this paper explains how institutional factors in the academic system in Italy, with its requirements for sustained research production from university instructors, generate and sustain motivation for research from the teaching staff.