Great satisfaction of Rector Sabina Nuti and the entire faculty for the funding of both proposals submitted to the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) for the Departments of Excellence. The Sant'Anna School, in fact, sees the acceptance of both proposals submitted to the MUR for funding the second five-year cycle of the Departments of Excellence, those structures within state universities that stand out for the quality of their research.
Five years after the first funding cycle, the Sant'Anna School thus confirms its leadership in the field of research. With the second cycle, 2023 - 2027, the two Departments of Excellence will receive substantial financial support that, as was the case in the first cycle, will benefit across the board all research structures (Institutes, Centers and Interdisciplinary Centers) of the Sant'Anna School.
In total, the MUR has allocated more than 16 million euros to the School, divided between the Department of Excellence in the Social Sciences Class (Economics, Management, Law) and the Department of Excellence in the Experimental Sciences Class (Engineering and Computer Science, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Medical Sciences). The MUR funding will be supplemented by approximately 7.8 million euros of internal resources allocated by the Sant'Anna School to further support the Ministerial investment. Overall, this amount will be used to strengthen the research system by recruiting teaching, research and technical staff and building infrastructure. Positive spillover effects on teaching as well, with investments in innovative teaching offerings, high qualification and internationalization activities, and support for additional doctoral fellowships.
Building on the results of the first cycle, The Department of Excellence in the Social Sciences Class, whose proposal has been coordinated by Francesca Chiaromonte, Full Professor of Statistics, will promote data- and computation-intensive research in the social sciences - addressing its methodological and governance challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective that connects economic, managerial, legal, statistical and computer science skills.
By charting new paths in key areas of the European Union's data strategy and creating cutting-edge methodology, the Department will address issues such as climate change, digitization, sustainable development, global governance of artificial intelligence, transnational data sharing, evolving social and welfare systems, countering new forms of inequality and discrimination, new profiles of accountability. On the Staff front, over the five years, it is planned to recruit 1 full professor/ess, 4 "tenure track" researchers (who will have the possibility to become associate professors/essors in case of positive evaluation), 2 technicians, and the activation of 8 post-doctoral positions through research contracts. Investments of 1 million euros are planned in computational infrastructure and acquisition of databases and software. On the teaching front, 20 doctoral fellowships distributed across four different disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs will be activated.
The Department of Excellence in the Class of Experimental Sciences, whose proposal was coordinated by Carlo Alberto Avizzano, Associate Professor of Automatics, will encourage interdisciplinary research by defining and hinging new research and development themes focused on the Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the UN Agenda.
There are three priority areas of focus: migration to "Industry 5.0", more friendly and inclusive, integrating artificial intelligence systems, robotics, human-machine interfaces and protected cyber-physical systems; environmental protection, with a focus on safeguarding land, infrastructure and biodiversity; integration of research in the medical field using innovative technological tools. On the Staff front, over the five years, it is planned to recruit 2 professors/associates, 4 researchers (who will have the possibility of becoming associate professors/associates in case of positive evaluation), 3 technicians, and the activation i 3 post-doctoral positions through research contracts. Investments of more than 3 million euros are planned for infrastructure consolidation. On the teaching front, 15 doctoral fellowships will be activated.
The comment of Vice Rector and research Delegate Arianna Menciassi
"In this moment of strong investment in research thanks to NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) funds", comments Arianna Menciassi, "this double achievement of our University was all but taken for granted. The very possibility of candidacy is linked to the excellent results obtained both in the previous round of the Departments of Excellence and in the evaluation of research quality (VQR, FY 2015 - 2019). The two Departments of Excellence," Arianna Menciassi continues, "combine the scientific depth of the topics with a strong focus on highly topical issues, a key feature for attracting international talent, both as new faculty and as new students.
