Milan, July 2025 – What happens when universities, research centers, and companies come together to innovate in an ethical, sustainable, and strategic way? The answer emerged clearly during “The FAIR Ecosystem: AI between Research and Industry”, the first of two events designed to foster dialogue between research and business. This first meeting focused on the Northern spokes, while a second event is scheduled in Bari for the Southern ones.
The event highlighted the projects, people, and vision behind the FAIR Foundation’s ecosystem. It took place on Monday, July 14, 2025, at the Politecnico di Milano – Bovisa Campus, with strong and active participation from researchers, companies, and institutions. The goal: to demonstrate how artificial intelligence, developed through collaboration between public research and industry and supported by PNRR funding, is already a concrete reality generating value.
An ecosystem that works
The day opened with remarks from Giuseppe De Pietro, President of the FAIR Foundation, who emphasized that AI must be “trustworthy, controllable, and an ally to humanity,” and that collaboration between academia and industry can generate meaningful and sustainable innovation. During the morning session, Marta Rapallini, FAIR Program Manager, presented key figures reflecting the growth and consolidation of the project over the past two and a half years: today, FAIR brings together 136 entities across Italy, including universities, research centers, and companies in 16 regions, with a total of 416 researchers recruited—89% of whom are under 40. The Foundation is supported by 25 founding partners and an expanding network of 53 universities and research institutions and 83 companies.
The featured projects
Among the highlights of the day was the presentation of four projects funded through FAIR Cascade Calls, jointly developed by universities and companies, showcasing concrete applications of AI across different sectors. Companies took the stage alongside researchers from the spokes, illustrating the strong synergy between public and private expertise.
The first project, developed by Playnook in collaboration with the Fondazione Bruno Kessler, focuses on the automatic generation of interactive narratives through AI. It was presented by Gabriele Antonelli (Playnook) and Sara Tonelli, Head of Unit Digital Humanities at FBK. The second project, a collaboration between ENI and the Politecnico di Milano, aims to improve question-answering systems through advanced language models, presented by Debora Parisi (ENI) and Nicola Gatti (Politecnico di Milano).
The third project, developed by Reply together with the Politecnico di Torino, focuses on enhancing AI reliability in multi-agent environments. It was presented by Elena Facco and Riccardo Zuppetti (Reply), along with Francesca Pistilli (Politecnico di Torino).
The fourth project, presented by OPTIT and the University of Bologna, with Claudio Caremi (OPTIT) as speaker, explores the use of hybrid models to optimize decision-making in environmental logistics.
The AI Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano was also presented by Camilla Sorrentino, an initiative that analyzes the evolution, adoption, and impact of AI within the Italian industrial landscape, providing data, trends, and use cases to support strategic decision-making for companies, institutions, and policymakers. The morning session concluded with remarks from Fabrizio Cobis (Ministry of University and Research), who reflected on the role of the PNRR in shaping the future of AI research in Italy, with a forward-looking perspective on future investments and growth opportunities.
The ANSA talk show: a look ahead
In the afternoon, the event expanded to an online audience through a talk show streamed live on ANSA.it and hosted by Alessio Jacona. The session offered a rich exchange of perspectives, featuring leading figures from the Italian AI ecosystem, including Barbara Caputo, Paolo Traverso, Carlo Sansone, Marco Varone, Sonia Colombo Serra, and Barbara Alicino. The discussion focused on the strategic role of public research, global competitiveness challenges, market outlook, and the urgency of developing AI in a sustainable and human-centered way.
Relive the event in video
The key moments of the day are now available online. It is possible to watch the full morning plenary session, including institutional speeches, project presentations, and the introduction of the AI Observatory. The ANSA talk show is also available in full, along with a recap video featuring interviews with Giuseppe De Pietro and Marta Rapallini, summarizing the meaning and impact of the event.
Watch the morning plenary session.
Watch again the ANSA talk show “AI between research and industry”.
Discover the event recap video with interviews.
Learn more on our channels
During the light lunch, 15 companies funded through FAIR calls showcased their AI applications in sectors such as healthcare, logistics, sustainability, manufacturing, and education. Interviews with some of these companies will be published in the coming days on the Foundation’s social media channels.
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