On 6 September, the presentation event of the 27 scholarships relating to innovative PhD with industrial relevance took place.
Watch the recording and browse the presentation slides.

• ABB
  Methods for analysis of electrical consumption data and their implementation in multiplatform architectures
  The research project focuses on analyzing data collected from electrical consumer circuits, both those of civil and commercial buildings and those of industrial types. The processing of the measured electrical quantities of interest will provide insight into the most reliable methods for assessing the energy performance of buildings, facilities, and individual loads or groups of loads. In addition to the theoretical analysis of methods, the research will consider the implementation aspects that will allow them to be used in daily practice, including on a large number of plants of a heterogeneous nature. Particular attention will be paid to creating systems based on different processing and storage platforms so that meaningful information can be transferred from one platform to another and processed.
   

• Acciaitubi
  Development of "intelligent" manufacturing systems for automation of control/measurement and real-time correction of production parameters
  Acciai Tubi is a manufacturer of a wide range of high quality, made-in-Italy steel tubes. Within the production process, downstream quality control of production lines ensures product conformity to market standards and can be carried out manually, automatically or combined at regular intervals or in real time. The objective of the project is to develop and implement solutions to automate downstream control measurements and correct production parameters in real time, based on the measurements taken. Possible applications will be painting lines or the pipe welding process on profiling lines.
   
• Aisent
  Engineering and validation of machine learning-based systems for causal inference
  The research and development topic will cover the engineering and validation of Machine Learning-based systems for causal inference. The project aims to study machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques in general to determine causal links between observed input data. In addition, the PhD will study how quality factors such as robustness can be improved with techniques ranging from classical data augmentation to more advanced incremental learning techniques. Special attention will be given to presenting results obtained from machine learning algorithms.  
   
• AKinformatica
  Market mechanisms in the Metaverse
  AK informatica is an IT company with the intention of developing new business models, products and services for the Metaverse. From a theoretical standpoint the emergence and rise of the metaverse poses urgent theoretical challenges to overcome being the metaverse an alternative yet coexisting market structure which stands side-by-side with traditional markets but that can, to some extent, replace traditional market mechanisms. The aim of this project is to understand the market mechanisms underlying the metaverse and how they influence how actors interact with brands, as well as the nature of the brand itself and the experiences it is assumed to generate. A particular focus will be dedicated to Blockchain - in particular, NFTs and micro-contracts - that allow new business model in the metaverse.
   
• CMS
  Numerical modeling of the dynamic behavior of a machine tool
  CMS is a leading global company specializing in the production of machine centers and systems for machining various materials. The aim of the project is to create the Digital Twin of a machine tool to test its behaviors and recreate possible defects in the mechanics. Thus, the doctoral project involves the creation of a parametric numerical model of the dynamic behavior of a machine tool, capable of reproducing the elastic behavior of mechanical parts, the kinematic and dynamic behavior of the main working axes, and the overall thermal behavior, and in this way constitute a model able to generate synthetic defects of mechanical drifts to be used to train "anomaly detection" models developed with artificial intelligence techniques.
   
• COES
  Intelligent welding systems
  Coes is a manufacturer of a wide range of products for plumbing systems. The research project focuses on the welding process and the analysis of optimization algorithms, not excluding the possibility of developing new ones, in order to evaluate and optimize welding paths and systems. Automated measurement and control technologies, devices, and techniques will be introduced in this area, allowing the collection of data and information necessary for process evaluation and possibly information that may also be useful in different areas. An additional object of analysis concerns the sustainability of the developed system, both economically and environmentally.
   
• Confindustria Bergamo
  New technology transfer and Open Innovation model for the development of an innovation ecosystem in Bergamo
  The Bergamo innovation ecosystem is a virtuous model with a high entrepreneurial propensity for innovation and a strong strategic collaboration between different innovation and technology transfer stakeholders, such as universities, research centers, industrial associations and companies. However, there is room for improvement in the ecosystem's coordination model, especially in the effectiveness of the transfer between the main research directions and the real needs of enterprises. Thus, the objective of the PhD is to create a suitable and effective operational model to strengthen the alliance between academia and companies, further fostering the creation of best practices in an Open Innovation perspective through the evolution of existing collaborative research models.
   
• Cosberg
  Management and design criteria for assembly systems based on the paradigms of Industry 4.0 and 5.0
  The research project concerns the automatic management and the reconfiguration of assembly machinery based on the cornerstones of Industry 4.0 and 5.0. They are digitization, human-machine interaction and sustainability. The objective is to define criteria and methods for the design and management of machinery, such that the respective functions are carried out autonomously by the machinery itself, or at least in the presence of an operator with generic skills. The project aims to work at two levels, physical and IT. The latter one, for the definition of innovative criteria, is also based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) solutions capable of autonomously determining and solving suboptimal operating conditions of the machinery. Alternatively, AI algorithms could pass information to an autonomous system (e.g., evolved robotic/humanoid type) capable of replacing human operator action.
   
• DDX
  Technologies and methodologies for continuous improvement of CAD-CAMI software
  The research project will be concerned with the search for best practices for software development to be adapted specifically to CAD-CAM graphics software. Schemes for architectures and solutions unsuitable for solving recurring problems will be studied. Particular attention will be paid to using techniques for code refactoring to improve the internal quality of software, such as readability, adherence to conventions and standards, and maintainability. Finally, methodologies for fostering software testability will be investigated to be used in conjunction with practices for automated unit testing and the adoption of continuous integration practices.
   
• Delcon
  Robotic technologies for the production of blood components
  The research aims at innovating the production process for the collection and production of blood components. Delcon collaborates with several Blood Processing Centers both in the US and in Europe. Collaborative robotics and intelligent systems are particularly effective technologies for this sector, which requires both high precision and repeatability of processes and high safety for operators. The research is structured in three main activities: - The study of the state of the art in medical robotics and in related sectors to identify existing solutions and analyze their limitations - The identification of specific solutions for the production of blood components. - The development of reusable and configurable IT solutions able to cope with the evolution of application requirements.
   
• Ecolab
  New profiling tools and new paths for Talent Acquisition and Talent Development
  Ecolab is a world leader in water, sanitation and energy technologies and services. Within the Talent Acquisition and Talent Development paths, the project has two main objectives: a) to build an assessment tool useful to provide profiling with basic professional knowledge, STEM skills and future critical skills, such as digital attitudes, digital skills and soft skills; b) creation and evaluation of the effectiveness of a training path with the aim to have engaged and future leader within the company that will integrate technical path with transversal content aimed at young figures newly hired by the company related to the topics: digital development, sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being, possibly including psychophysical training activities with a focus on stress management. The program will include a rotation within role and business that will be measured in its effect on professional growth.
   
• Fonderie Ariotti
  Towards an innovative HRM: generative managerial practices to face unprecedented and emerging work
  and organizational scenarios
  The project explores the socio-material dimensions that characterize a peculiar context such as that of
  foundries, exposed to the challenge of feeding and developing ways of working and organizational
  sustainability, both within the company and in relation to the territory and the value that company can
  generate for the entire community at multiple levels
  Assuming a tension towards adhocratic models, professional hybridizations, adaptive working cultures, the
  project has the following objectives:
  1. Stimulate the development of managerial approaches oriented towards sustainability and social
  generativity in the management of human resources
  2. Promote critical / reflexive processing to overcome methods that are inadequate for the management of
  organizational processes
  3. Accompanying situated transformative experiments and the planning of new concrete managerial
  practices, with particular reference to the promotion of new forms of work identification and retention of
  talents.
  The Methodology provides for a qualitative approach centered on the accompaniment and observation of
  innovative managerial practices adopted by the company.
   
• Gildemeister Italiana
  Development of digital tools for machine configuration and machining process optimization
  Gildemeister Italia is a leading company in the machine tool sector and, as part of its growth strategy, aims to develop products based on modular platforms for defining the configuration of multiprocess machines. The goal of the project is to develop a tool to digitize, simulate and optimize the main aspects of a machining process and its application to different machines or configurations. Once the part to be machined, the operations and the technological sequence have been defined, the tool should automatically provide support in the distribution of the work cycle on the different operating units, allowing the optimization of the configuration and the balancing of the work cycle itself.
   
• Indeva
  Fault Diagnosis and Health Assessment with Application to Advanced Industrial Automation
  The research project aims to develop new hybrid methods for Prognostics and Health Monitoring (PHM) and diagnostics with increased robustness to uncertainty and disturbances, with automatic generation of adaptive alarm thresholds and robust estimation of remaining useful life. The idea is to define data-driven HI (Health Index) using features with physical meaning to make them interpretable for model-based diagnostics to increase their robustness. The methods will be validated for two different applications: Electronic Industrial Handlers and Automated Guided vehicles (AGVs). On the first type of device, the main problem is the HA (Health Assessment) of the steel rope: usually, additional inductive sensors are used that are difficult to place and often weak and noisy measurements. On the other hand, AGVs are quite robust vehicles, and the new methods will be used to design a complete system for PHM.
   
• Intellimech
  Digital Twin and Metaverse
  Intellimech is a private consortium of companies aimed at interdisciplinary research in the field of mechatronics. The project focuses on the concept of metaverse, which is the digital environment where users can have virtual experiences in digital spaces populated by avatars. Beside simulating processes and activities, the development of a manufacturing plant metaverse will enable the creation of an environment where operators can interact. Starting with the definition of the enabling technologies and the identification of data and information flows, the goal of the project is the development and application to pilot cases of a digital twin solution capable of replicating the system's responses to different external inputs, evaluating its performance and adaptability, so as to enable "real" operator interaction within the digital model by ensuring support during training, use and maintenance.
   
• Itema
  Definition of an organizational information management process to support product development and innovation processes
  Itema is one of the world's leading manufacturers of weaving machines. The project covers the area of digital and sustainable transition and its impact on business processes and models and aims to define a structured process for generating, collecting, processing and communicating data and information, aimed at guiding product development processes, with the purpose of developing new products and defining lines of innovation on existing products. The project will contribute to the scientific and managerial literature with a case of a data-oriented innovaton process, in which the ways the organization reacts and adapts to the introduction of a formal, structured innovation management process will be studied.
   
• MEDIACLINICS
  Clinical decision support system
  The project aims to develop a service capable of supporting doctors in methodological and clinical decision-making, enabling them to define intervention models by distinguishing mutually exclusive, sequential, or concurrent procedural steps.
  The functionalities are to:
  - propose a support model for the physician according to the type of event expected or in progress;
  - make available an "orderly" flow of actions with "memory" of executed procedures and "suggestion" of subsequent actions;
  - make execution instructions available for each procedural step.
  The system will help the description of the decision pathway by suggesting sources in the literature and advice to support the decision.
   
• O.ME.FA (Fassi Gru)
  Innovative cranes with minimal carbon footprint
  The research project is part of the decarbonization of the transportation sector, which is still in its infancy and will develop in the coming years. The contribution to CO2 generation by goods handling vehicles makes it imperative to define new crane families suitable to be effectively integrated into electric vehicles to contribute to decarbonization. The project addresses this issue by considering all the pivotal elements of the system. The project's goal is the complete definition of these concepts for the mechanical configuration part, the drive part and the management and control part of the device. Among others, the energy consumption and reducing crane working time minimizing criteria will also be considered.
   
• Patronato San Vincenzo
  Augmented reality and use of the meta-verse in school-to-work alternation processes and insertion into productive organizations
  AFP's mission for the next few years is to disseminate an experiential and concrete approach to working safely, enabling the growth and spread of the culture of protecting people's health in the workplace. The goal of the project is to acquire knowledge on how the virtual (augmented reality and meta-verse) can integrate with the real in the teaching of IeFP, to foster the development of specific professional skills, expendable in work contexts, in total safety for learners and to monitor the fallout in terms of effectiveness for participants and impact for companies.
   
• Pinetti
  Methods and tools to support the digitalization of operations in SMEs 
  Pinetti is a SME manufacturer of luxury accessories and limited collections handcrafted from Italian leathers. The PhD research project focuses on the digitalization process of SMEs and, in particular, on the company's digitalization journey, with particular reference to operations management. The objective of the project is to define methodologies and tools to support production planning, execution, and control of small companies with a labor-intensive production process and a high level of product quality. It also includes the definition of data and the related analysis and visualization methods for the evaluation of the company's operational performance towards continuous improvement.
   
• Radici Yarn
  Business intelligence to support strategic decisions
  Worldwide leader in the production of a wide range of chemical intermediates, polyamide polymers, high-performance polymers and advanced textile solutions, the project aims to define the requirements for a business intelligence tool that gathers data and information from internal (e.g., information system) and external (e.g., balance sheet data, market trends) sources, related to market, competitors, customers and suppliers. The tool, through appropriate analysis and forecasting methods, should support decision makers to stimulate change, reduce inefficiencies and foster responsiveness.
   
• RSE
  Study of innovative electricity market configurations to support the integration of distributed resources and flexible demand into the electricity system
  The research activity will examine the state of the art of regulation in order to identify possible innovative configurations for the energy and ancillary services market to promote the integration of distributed generation and the active participation of demand, in accordance with EU Directives 2018/2001 - RED II and 2019/944 - EMI. Particular focus will be on:
  - decentralised configurations (e.g., local energy markets) and innovative contracting and market clearing methodologies (e.g., blockchain);
  - new roles of grid operators in managing the flexibility services provided by grid-connected resources and the impact on the electricity system of the different supply techniques adopted.
   
• SIAD Macchine e impianti
  Development and validation of a "digital twin" model of reciprocating compressors for studying the effect on pulsations of different design solutions. 
  The research project aims to develop and validate a prediction and sizing tool by creating a digital twin of reciprocating compressors. The results will:
  - drive carbon footprint reduction for the skid of an alternative compressor (with higher performance in terms of specific power to compress gas);
  - apply an innovative methodology to the design of hydrogen compression systems to make hydrogen fuel more reliable and more economical at refuelling;
  - create a digital tool that simplifies workflows to help meet the demands of an incredibly fast-paced market and unprecedented competition.
   
• SMI
  Quantitative decision-support methodologies for Product-Service System (PSS) 
  SMI is a producer of bottling and packaging machine and equipment. The PhD project grounds on the servitization research area and, in particular, on the industrial product-service systems (PSS), i.e., the bundles of products, services and supporting infrastructure. The aim of the project is to define a methodology for the definition, selection and design of product-service solutions, with a particular focus on data-driven services, and the related delivery processes (both at the tactical and operational levels) in terms of activities, actors involved, technologies (i.e., platform), and data required for decision support, including quantitative decision-support tools that take into account both economic and environmental sustainability aspects.
   
• SNAM Rete gas
  Materials for Hydrogen Service
  This project aims to study the interaction between buried pipeline steels and gaseous hydrogen at high pressure. All aspects related to hydrogen damage will be investigated, from an experimental evaluation of hydrogen solubility and diffusion within old or recently manufactured steels to techniques and models for calculating diffusion parameters. The interaction of hydrogen with the mechanical behaviour of such materials will also be studied through classical mechanics tests and linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Finally, correlations between the effects of hydrogen from the electrochemical reduction of hydrogen ions with those produced by contact with hydrogen gas will be determined. The expected results will enable the standard procedures for verification of materials compatibility and qualification, with significant spin-offs in scientific and industrial applications.
   
• Trix
  Information extraction using automated algorithms from patent documentation
  This doctoral project aims to study a new approach to automate algorithm-supported extraction from patent documentation of technical features helpful in identifying technology opportunities for internal and external technology transfer. One of the main objectives will be to define specific patterns, language rules and mixed strategies for identifying and extracting technological features such as component materials, control parameters, units, in/out component functions, problems and solutions in each patent.
   
• W&H Sterilization
  Easy method for certified medical software development
  The research project will be concerned with studying techniques and best practices for engineering complex systems realized by the connection of numerous medical devices. Several techniques, such as the use of digital twins, will be tested for designing such systems to ensure patient safety by simulating their digital twins. The PhD student will study the above issues by searching the literature and will try to identify the best methodologies to apply to a series of innovative enterprise projects.