A nationwide series of meetings between research and industry gets underway to take stock one year before the end of the PNRR (for agencies: AI, FAIR: 10 meetings across Italy connecting research and industry)
January 2025 – FAIR (Future AI Research), the largest artificial intelligence project in Italy funded by the PNRR, launches a series of 10 workshops across the country to review research results one year before the conclusion of the programme. The first stop will take place on January 30–31 in Trento at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler, where the FAIR team working on “Integrative AI” is based—an approach to artificial intelligence that integrates multimodal models (capable of processing and generating data such as video, text, and images), enabling interaction with the environment and cooperation between human and artificial agents.
The next event will be held on February 11–12 at the Politecnico di Milan, followed by Rome (La Sapienza University) on February 20–21; Naples (University Federico II) on March 6–7; Pisa (University of Pisa) on March 10–11; Turin (Politecnico) on March 20–21; Rende (Cosenza) (University of Calabria) on March 24–25; Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum) on March 26–27; Catania (University of Catania) on April 3–4; and finally Bari (University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) on April 7–8.
Across the ten meetings—hosted by leading universities and research institutions involved in artificial intelligence and forming the backbone of FAIR (the so-called “spokes”)—the entire ecosystem built around the project over the past two years will come together. Alongside its 25 partners, FAIR now includes 35 universities and research centers and 61 companies, engaged through the so-called “cascade calls”, funding schemes designed to strengthen collaboration between academia and industry in this strategic research domain. These meetings will provide an opportunity to assess progress, define next steps, and further reinforce dialogue among all stakeholders involved.
Each spoke coordinator will host a workshop, from Milan to Bologna, from Cosenza to Pisa, culminating in the final stop in Bari. At each stage, research projects developed within FAIR will be presented, alongside contributions from companies—both large and small—that have received funding and are actively working on high-impact innovation projects.
“Thanks to the work carried out over the past two years and the cascade calls, FAIR has significantly expanded its reach,” comments Giuseppe De Pietro, President of the FAIR Foundation. “A solid ecosystem has now taken shape around the project, combining research, technology transfer to industry, and education, also through the synergy with the National PhD Programme in AI. Our goal is not only to consolidate this network beyond the PNRR, but also to train highly skilled talent capable of driving innovation within Italian companies. These workshops will serve both to showcase these results and to outline future strategies for the Italian AI research ecosystem, building on the highly positive collaboration fostered by the PNRR.”
Workshop calendar
- January 30–31 – Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (Spoke 2)
- February 11–12 – Milan, Politecnico (Spoke 4)
- February 20–21 – Rome, La Sapienza University (Spoke 5)
- March 6–7 – Naples, University Federico II (Spoke 3)
- March 10–11 – Pisa, University of Pisa (Spoke 1)
- March 20–21 – Turin, Politecnico (Spoke 7)
- March 24–25 – Rende (Cosenza), University of Calabria (Spoke 9)
- March 26–27 – Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum (Spoke 8)
- April 3–4 – University of Catania (Spoke 10)
- April 7–8 – Bari, University of Bari “Aldo Moro” (Spoke 6)
For further information or media inquiries, please contact comunicazione@fondazione-fair.it.