Today we present the winning projects of the cascade calls (FAIR cascade funding calls) from Spoke 9, coordinated by the University of Calabria (with affiliates CNR and Deloitte).
What are cascade calls?
Within the “Call for the creation of Extended Partnerships among universities, research centers, and companies for the funding of basic research projects”, included among the research supply chain measures of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and published by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) in March 2022, Spokes within the Extended Partnerships are required to issue calls to grant funding to entities external to the Partnership for research activities and for the procurement of supplies, goods, and services necessary for implementation.
The first cascade calls issued by FAIR were reserved for research projects carried out by State Universities, non-State Universities legally recognized and accredited by MUR, and Public Research Bodies supervised by MUR, for a total budget of €18 million distributed across the ten spokes of the project. A second funding tranche, still open, is dedicated to cascade calls for micro, small, medium, and large enterprises.
Winners of the Spoke 9 call
Spoke 9 focuses its research on Green-aware AI: the goal is to define a new generation of artificial intelligence systems and algorithms in which – regardless of the specific application domain – the green dimension is embedded “by design”.
These are the winning projects of the call issued by Spoke 9, with a total funding of €2,269,752.95 across 13 research objectives:
Models and Algorithms relying on Knowledge Graphs for Sustainable Development Goals monitoring and Accomplishment – MAGDA
Project Coordinator: Prof. Simona Ester Rombo, University of Palermo
In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to global sustainability and its key challenges. This project contributes to both fundamental research on Knowledge Graphs and sustainability, and to applied issues related to specific SDGs. It leverages a multidisciplinary team with expertise ranging from algorithm design to big data integration, bioinformatics, IoT, and medicine.
Enhanced Network of Intelligent Agents for Building Livable Environments – ENABLE
Project Coordinator: Prof. Stefania Costantini, University of L’Aquila
The project aims to establish a new “Holistic City” paradigm, improving citizens’ quality of life while addressing environmental sustainability, resource efficiency, and ethical values. AI systems are envisioned as active agents supporting human well-being and urban sustainability.
Smart Knowledge-Driven Environmental and Territorial Monitoring – SKET-Monitor
Project Coordinator: Prof. Luca Pulina, University of Sassari
SKET-Monitor develops intelligent systems for environmental monitoring, combining knowledge representation and ICT tools to support risk prevention, urban management, and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage.
Green Deep Learning approaches to Clinical AI – NAEL
Project Coordinator: Prof. Francesco Carlo Morabito, University of Reggio Calabria
The project develops energy-efficient AI solutions for healthcare, focusing on sustainable machine learning techniques such as few-shot learning, edge computing, and explainability, aiming to reduce environmental impact while improving clinical performance.
Machine Learning for Bioinformatics – FAIR-BIOINFORMATICS
Project Coordinator: Prof. Mario Cannataro, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro
The project focuses on designing green-aware AI algorithms for bioinformatics and text mining, applied to biological networks and biomedical data analysis.
Existence, Complexity and Efficiency of Stable Solutions in Green-Oriented Games – EcoGames
Project Coordinator: Luca Moscardelli, University of Chieti-Pescara
EcoGames explores the integration of sustainability into game theory, studying energy-efficient equilibria in systems of self-interested agents.
Green-Aware MechanismS – GAMES
Project Coordinator: Prof. Vittorio Bilò, University of Salento
The project develops mechanisms to improve efficiency in strategic interactions by incorporating environmental awareness into agent behavior and system design.
Graph Algorithms and Mining for Green Agents – GAMING
Project Coordinator: Prof. Gianlorenzo D’Angelo, Gran Sasso Science Institute
GAMING designs energy-efficient graph algorithms and network planning tools to reduce energy consumption in complex systems and infrastructures.
Energy-efficient Computation of Graph Edit Distance – ECOGED
Project Coordinator: Prof. Pasquale De Meo, University of Messina
The project evaluates energy-efficient methods for computing graph similarity, combining heuristic and machine learning approaches to optimize performance and sustainability.
A Collaborative Ecosystem for Industry 5.0 – CE4I5.0
Project Coordinator: Prof. Domenico Ursino, Polytechnic University of Marche
CE4I5.0 aims to design a collaborative ecosystem for Industry 5.0, integrating AI, IoT, and automation to enable sustainable, human-centered industrial processes.
Argumentation for Informed Decisions with applications to Energy Consumption in Computing – AIDECC
Project Coordinator: Prof. Federico Cerutti, University of Brescia
The project integrates argumentation theory and causal modeling to improve energy efficiency in neural network training, contributing to more sustainable AI development.
Smart Knowledge: Enhancing Argumentation and Abstraction for Explanation and Analysis – SMARTK
Project Coordinator: Prof. Gianluca Amato, University of Chieti-Pescara
SMARTK advances methodologies for explainable AI through knowledge abstraction, argumentation, and automated reasoning.
Mechanism Design, Online Learning, Robust Optimization, and Sentiment Extraction Tools for Adjustable Green-Aware Agents – MORE-GREEN
Project Coordinator: Prof. Diodato Ferraioli, University of Salerno
MORE-GREEN develops tools to encourage sustainable behavior in agents through AI techniques such as sentiment analysis, network mining, and adaptive intervention strategies.