Extended Partnerships
The results of the MUR’s call for Extended Partnerships, under the PNRR, awarded FBK, starring 5 proposals from those that passed the first selection, dedicated to 14 themes of national interest.The success is the result of the ever-growing reputation of the Foundation, combined with a well-focused strategy rooted in the “Rovereto Charter, a document outlining the strategy of the Trentino Research System led by the PAT.
Precisely against the backdrop of this strategy, FBK opted to focus on a few specific themes of the MUR call and on these it built the prerequisites for the excellent result that sees it as a “spoke” (entity involved in the implementation of the project and identified by the implementing party) in two extended partnerships dedicated to two topics of primary relevance and strategic importance: artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
The FAIR partnership, led by CNR, proposes a global interdisciplinary approach to integrative Artificial Intelligence, with integration along two directions. Integrative horizontal Artificial Intelligence deals with the combination of several high-level elements: modeling, reasoning, and deliberation in autonomous agents; interaction with the environment, including humans; and cooperation between multiple artificial and human agents.In contrast, Vertical Integrative Artificial Intelligence is geared toward combining techniques and different scientific methods, skills, and technologies in specific areas of AI.
The funding allocated to FBK for the peoposal amounts to € 5.2 million. Spoke 2 on Integrative AI involves only two scientific partners, FBK and the University of Trento.
Scientific contact
Marketing Strategy and Business Development
Director Paolo Traverso
[email protected]
NQSTI Scarl - National Quantum Science and Technology Institute
NQSTI (National Quantum Science and Technology Institute) HUB is the partnership led by the University of Camerino. FBK will have the role of leader of Spoke 7 “Complete Quantum System” (S7), and for this reason it can be the reference point for Italian companies that will be interested in learning more about and exploiting the results of the project. Spoke 7 will focus on developing complete quantum systems based on new ideas developed in collaboration with the other Spokes where researchers will simulate, design and test quantum devices and modules.
The aim is to facilitate integration and communication between different sectors: an extraordinary effort to develop new basic research that promotes industrial development. After an initial phase of development and integration of existing devices, the complete quantum systems will be tested in laboratory experiments aimed at demonstrating their potential for industrial use, taking into account the directions of partner companies, and will be mainly dedicated to application fields such as security, space, environment, biomedicine and energy.
The possible funding for FBK in this case is € 6.3 million.
Scientific contact
Secretary General
Andrea Simoni
[email protected]
The INF-ACT project will combine research excellence and application of its findings in real cases to i) fill gaps in knowledge of the biological characteristics of highly disseminated pathogens, ii) create a framework and infrastructure for centralized systematic monitoring of the evolution of multiple pathogens with epidemic potential circulating in humans, in animals and the environment, iii) study the circulation of pathogenic microorganisms at the human-animal interface and the risk of spill-over events, iv) define shared protocols for the implementation of monitoring and containment measures through the application of innovative tools, v) create a network and infrastructure for centralized systematic monitoring of clinical markers.
FBK, with its “Health Emergencies Center”, which provides support to the Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità with quantitative epidemiology, is co-leader of Spoke 4 on “Epidemiology, monitoring and modelling (EPI-MOD)” and also participates in Spoke 2 activities.
Led by the University of Pavia, the project was selected by the Ministry of University and Research and funded with 114.5 million euros, under Mission 4, “Education and Research” – Component 2, “From Research to Enterprise” of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – Investment Line 1.3, “Extended Partnerships,” funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Scientific contact
Director Stefano Merler
[email protected]
The participation of the Cybersecurity Center in the SERICS (Security and Rights in CyberSpace) foundation will enable FBK to take part in some national-level strategic actions and innovative research activities in the field of cybersecurity envisaged by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) in the context of the Extended Partnerships on Topic area “7: Cybersecurity, new technologies and rights protection”.The activities will be part of the partnership’s Spoke 4 (Operating Systems and Virtualization Security) and Spoke 5 (Cryptography and Distributed Systems Security).
In addition to producing innovative scientific results with significant impact both locally and nationally, participation in SERICS will guarantee FBK greater visibility to its work in Cybersecurity and expand its network to develop future collaborations.
Scientific contact
Director Silvio Ranise
[email protected]
NEST Foundation - Network for Energy Sustainable Transition
The participation in the NEST Extended Partnership (Network 4 Energy Sustainable Transition) of FBK’s Sustainable Energy Center represents a strategic positioning within the national community of Universities and Research Centers in the domain of energy technologies of the future.
In particular, the Sustainable Energy Center participates in the Spokes focusing on Hydrogen and Advanced Materials, namely “Clean hydrogen and final uses” (Spoke 4) and “Energy-sustainable materials advanced” (Spoke 9), with a synergistic work plan between the two specific activities.
Participation in these two spokes help position the Sustainable Energy Center in a greater dimension of research and to strengthen the output of scientific excellence of the two areas.
For the hydrogen area, this becomes a priority element at a time when the area has become stronger in recent years in relation to self-financing and participation in industrial projects.
For the materials area, with a greater research vocation, NEST represents the best opportunity to better position its expertise in a national network of collaborations and, in addition to developing new technological proposals, broaden the impact of the activities themselves.
Scientific contact
Director Luigi Crema
[email protected]
Space It Up
The Space It Up project, funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR), brings together Italian expertise in space science and engineering, placing Italy at the forefront of research on Earth observation and protection, extraterrestrial exploration, artificial satellites and remote sensing.
The ambitious partnership, whose work in the design phase was coordinated by the Politecnico di Torino, particularly Professor Erasmo Carrera, supported by University colleagues including Sabrina Corpino, Marco Petrolo, Alessandro Battaglia, Giovanni Ghione, Piero Boccardo and Alfonso Pagani, is composed of 33 members, including universities, research centers and companies, who will work together to promote collaboration and innovation in the space sector with an 80 million euro endowment.
Space It Up will employ hundreds of researchers in 9 lines of research (Spoke), representing a decisive step by Italy toward space excellence, uniting academic, research and industry expertise to promote research in cross-cutting disciplines in space activities and in particular planetary protection, space exploration and the science of extraterrestrial habitats (particularly Moon and Mars).
