THREE NEW PHD STUDENTS, ANDREA PUGNANA, DAVIDE LUZZATI AND JACOPO CRICCHIO, JOIN EMBEDS
As part of its educational mission, EMbeDS supports PhD scholarships in three programs; Economics, Management and Data Science. Three doctoral students joned us in the 2020/21 academic cycle.
Davide Luzzati joined the Economics PhD program at the Sant'Anna School, after receiving a MSc in Statistics at the ETH of Zurich and a BSc in Economics and Mathematics at the University of Leeds. For his master thesis, conduced at the Chair of Ecoonophysics and Complex Systems in Paris, he worked on a modification of a set of DSGE models which could lead to endogenous crises. He also spent 5 months at the Weizman Institute of Science at the Department of Physics of Complex Systems. His interests are within the area of complexity, agent-based models and empirical validation.
What are Davide's plans for his doctoral research, in connection with the objectives of EMbeDS? “I am interested in understanding how standard frameworks for macroeconomics policy-making, such as DSGE models, compare with agent-based models in terms of their predictive abilities. I am also interested in finding novel ways to incorporate real-world data in order to provide better tools for policy-making".
Andrea Pugnana joined the Data Science PhD Program (a consortium of Scuola Normale Superiore, the University of Pisa, Scuola Sant'Anna, the IMT of Lucca and CNR). He graduated with honors in Economics at Bocconi University in 2018. After his graduation, he worked for two years as a data scientist at Booster Box, a scientific marketing agency located in Pietrasanta (LU), focusing on causal impacts, data analysis and bidding algorithms. In 2020 he also obtained a master in Big Data Analytics & Social mining at University of Pisa.
What are Andrea's plans for his doctoral research, in connection with the objectives of EMbeDS? "My main research interest is causal inference, as I am currently focusing on the potential application of causal reasoning in fairness-aware machine learning. I am particularly interested in studying how to deal with Artificial Intelligence feedback loops from a causal perspective."
Jacopo Cricchio joined the Management Ph.D. Program at the Sant'Anna School, after receiving a bachelor's degree in Asian Languages, Markets and Cultures from the University of Bologna, a Master's degree in International Science from the University of Turin, and a first-level Master in China Studies from Zhejiang University, China. He has continuously deepened China's knowledge from a linguistic, cultural, economic, and geopolitical perspective. Jacopo's master thesis, conducted jointly with the University of Turin and Zhejiang University, dealt with the evolution of the Chinese Intellectual Property Rights system. The thesis specifically addressed key economic and legal issues, looking at China's compliance with the WTO's agreements. His research interest in the field of innovation brought him to the Sant'Anna Ph.D. program, where he is currently investigating the evolution of the Chinese Artificial Intelligence innovation ecosystem. Jacopo's research focuses on understanding the dynamics and the main actors involved in developing such an ecosystem.
What are Jacopo's plans for his doctoral research in connection with the objectives of EMbeDS? "I will investigate how the Chinese AI ecosystem is evolving. Many different actors are involved in the process, both from the private and public sectors, such as SMEs, State-Owned Enterprises, MNCs, research institutes, local governments, and universities. Field research will allow me to conduct interviews with the crucial actors and hopefully compare the ecosystem across different regions. China is issuing many national and local policies related to innovation in general and AI in particular, with the goal of becoming the world leader in this field. Will this be the case? Regardless, its role in the international innovation arena cannot be ignored".
Cover: Photo by Tumisu da Pixabay
