R&D labs

Research and Development (R&D) Labs are joint labs with Universities and Research Centers, whose objective is to join the forces to address key scientific challenges. Joint Research and Development Labs provide structured synergies about:

  • Joint Master Program
  • Joint PhD Programs
  • Co-funded Joint Positions with double affiliation

Current Joint R&D Labs are:

  • The MIT – FBK R&D Joint Lab on Data Science for Social Good
  • The TECNOPUC-FBK Joint Lab on research and innovation
  • The University of Trento DISI – FBK Joint Lab on Computer Vision
  • ITeCS Lab – ICT and Cognitive Science Lab
  • The  University of Genoa – FBK Joint Lab on Security and Trust
  • The University of Padova – FBK Joint Lab on Semantics and Data Science

The MIT-FBK R&D Joint Lab on Data Science for Social Good

As the world is embarking on the ambitious project to meet 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as no poverty, zero hunger, good health, clean water and energy, gender equality, sustainable cities, quality education, etc. by 2030, there is an urgent need to mobilize the data revolution for all people and the entire planet in order to foster sustainable development and to hold governments accountable. More diverse, timely and trustworthy information can lead to better decision-making and, in turn, it can enable individuals, public and private institutions, and companies to make choices that are good for them and for the world they live in. This is what the United Nations (UN) refers to as the data revolution, and resulted in international standardized monitoring requirements being built into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

MIT Connection Science Initiative and Fondazione Bruno Kessler have recently launched an alliance and a joint research program to contribute to a world where -with the help of the newly ubiquitous digital data that is becoming available about all aspects of human life- every person counts: their voices are heard, their needs are met, their potentials are realized and their rights are respected.

 

Relevant Projects:
      • Modernizing crime data analysis for crime control and prediction: The joint MIT-FBK lab, in partnership with Data-Pop Alliance and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, is leading a project on crime prediction in the six major cities of Colombia (e.g. Bogotá, Medellin, Cartagena, etc.), funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and with the support of the Colombia government
      • Measuring the unmeasured – developing metrics for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitoring: The joint MIT-FBK lab, in partnership with Data-Pop Alliance, is providing support to the United Nations in the SDGs measurement and achievement in different countries such as Maldives, Albania, Botswana, Pakistan, India, etc
      • Data for Refugees: The Data for Refugees (D4R) project has the goal to improve the conditions of more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey by providing a special database to scientific community for enabling research and actions on key issues, including safety and security, health, education, unemployment, social integration and segregation, mobility, and distribution of resources and infrastructure

The TECNOPUC-FBK Joint Lab on research and innovation

It is a collaborative model of innovation developed with TECNOPUC, the Science and Technology Park of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil. PUCRS is recognized as an entrepreneurial university towards the regional economic growth, recently recognized as the 1st medium level post-graduation program University in Brazil. TECNOPUC has more than 120 companies and 6000 people, working on creativity and innovation projects. TECNOPUC is a National and Latin-American reference, and was recently recognized as the best technology park in Brazil. The main activities are: development of strategic innovation projects; creation of opportunities between researchers and companies; and the support of the joint PhD program in Computer Science.

The FBK – University of Trento DISI Joint Lab on Computer Vision

The Vision and Learning joint Laboratory (VLL) is a collaborative effort between Fondazione Bruno Kessler and the Department of Computer Science of University of Trento. By bringing together senior scientists, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students from the two institutions, the VLL conducts cutting-edge research in the areas of computer vision, multimedia and machine learning. Current research activities involve developing novel deep learning models to address challenging problems related to human behaviour understanding, robotic perception and multimedia content analysis. The VLL also has the purpose of fostering the collaboration among researchers of the two institutions aimed at funding acquisition, as well as of stimulating the development of joint educational activities and training programs.

ITeCS Lab – ICT and Cognitive Science Lab

The ICT and Cognitive Science Lab  is a joint initiative of the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK – Center for  Information and Communication Technology) and the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science (DiPSCo) at the University of Trento. The main objective of the lab is to facilitate research on (1) how to apply cognitive psychology approaches and constructs to better design digital technologies, in particular for what concerns aspects related to human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence; and (2) the use of novel approaches in computer science, specifically those based on machine learning and big data, to innovate education, research and clinical practices in psychology.
The lab provides an open and multi-disciplinary context aimed at (a) fostering original research (b) promoting transfer of knowledge to industries, civil society, and education; and (c) training professionals in the fields of human-centric digital technologies.

The FBK – University of Padova Joint Lab on Semantics and Data Science

The Knowledge and Data Science R&D Joint Lab Between Fondazione Bruno Kessler and the University of Padua, has the main objective of create a common collaboration environment that facilitate the sharing of knowledge, formation, and research project opportunities in the area of knowledge representation and reasoning, Machine learning and Data mining, and all the cross contamination of them. The activities of the joint lab will be organized along three main streams: