Three out of three for the Politecnico: the university team, comprising the Alumni Gabriele Roggi, Salvatore Meraglia, Mattia Giurato, and professors Marco Lovera and Matteo Matteucci, has triumphed again at the third edition of the “Leonardo Drone Contest, An Open Innovation Challenge”, a competition organised by Leonardo. The team from the Politecnico competed with autonomous navigation, trajectory planning, collision avoidance and landing systems for the drone ROG-3, which was developed together with the spin off ANT-X.
The competition, the third and last edition of this cycle, involved teams from six Italian universities which competed over three rounds. The six drones flew completely autonomously in a competition area featuring buildings, take-off and landing pads and the presence of known and unknown objects.
Notably, the third edition added a new element of complexity, introducing “skyscrapers” to the competition area in positions that were not known to the teams, with the aim of testing the “collision detection and avoidance” capabilities of the drones, which were also tasked with pursuing an intruder and inspecting the walls of the buildings.
Credits: https://www.leonardo.com/
The first cycle of the Leonardo Drone Contest has now come to an end: next year a new three-year programme will begin with the addition of other universities. The same formula will be used but the bar will be raised further yet and the challenge will become even more difficult with an interesting interaction between flying drones and land-based robots.
DRONES IN THE FUTURE
In future, drones like these may reach industrial production, with applications in many fields, as Franco Ongaro, Alumnus e Chief Technology and Innovation Officer di Leonardo, remarked onRai:
“Even today, smart assistants are used in operations carried out by surgeons, in transport, security, and the cyber security of smart cities, so they have the ability to monitor traffic, utilities, electricity and intelligently manage a city on the basis of data.”
In all of the world’s top universities, the idea of exploiting data and its analysis (data analytics) to try to grasp complex phenomena even within one’s own community is increasingly developing with the aim to put measures in place in the attempt to improve the process.
At the Politecnico a research group coordinated by Anna Maria Paganoni, professor of statistics and rector’s delegate for data analyticsis dealing with that. One of the group’s activities regards learning analytics, namely the analysis of data concerning students’ academic careers:
"One of the main objectives we have been focusing on in recent years is understanding what factors influence the likelihood of a student dropping out of their undergraduate degree: social variables, gender, ISEE level, background, as well as, very importantly, the number of credits acquired in the first semester".
This information helps to identify students at risk of dropping out within the first year and develop measures to combat this phenomenon.
"I, for example, have a third-year module with 200-plus students" Paganoni comments, explaining that, with these numbers, it is impossible to identify in time which students need to be encouraged before they drop out.‘Analytics compensate for the teacher’s inability to act on a student-by-student basis: those who find themselves in difficulty now receive an ad hoc communication informing them of the possibility of tutoring. Peer tutorings the most popular, where more mature students take charge of their younger peers. Then, students can take tutoring courses on core subjects (e.g. chemistry, physics, analysis, statistics...) independently of the degree programme they're enrolled in. What is important to pass on is not only the domain, but also the studying method. It serves both to develop and to overcome the mentality with which one studies at high school. We succeeded in gauging that this type of intervention increases the number of credits that the student acquires, and consequently decreases the estimated likelihood of dropping out’.
Obviously a dropout quota is inevitable, and Poli Alumni often tell of how they feel like “survivors” after having repeated Analysis II or Construction Science a large number of times. The idea of making it on one’s own strength is deeply rooted in the community. Today, as in the past, Poli professors do not "make concessions" on teaching, as is shown by the preparation of our graduates. But, with the aim of keeping the best talents, the data analytics group works to ensure that even students who have some difficulties at the beginning can have a chance to prove themselves.
“Talent is not necessarily found in the most obvious places: someone who had some initial difficulties may still turn out to be an excellent student or an excellent researcher. Talent is something that embraces the person as a whole , a global attitude that cannot always be measured by a simple mark".
You can find this and many other news items in the next issue of MAP. support the project.
12 October, Politecnico di Milano – Daniele Rocchi, direttore della scuola di dottorato e delegato del rettore per i rapporti con le imprese, apre la seconda edizione del JRP Annual Meeting, l’incontro annuale che dà conto dei risultati raggiunti grazie agli accordi siglati dal Politecnico di Milano e dalle aziende partner dell’Ateneo.
Rocchi spoke to an audience made up of the decision makers of Italian industry, illustrating in detail "what companies can do together with the Politecnico": research, innovation, training, placement. The speech particularly focused on the first 3, expressed in the 190 framework agreements between the Poli and companies active in 2022. "There is great value here", he said, referring to the network of research partnerships involving the Politecnico, "a network whose potential has yet to be explored". Rocchi’s is an invitation towards collaboration and sharing:
"We are living in times of great transformation in which innovation and technological development will play a very important role and will have a strong impact on society and on all of our lives. Certain challenges can only be faced together, trying to anticipate the lines for development in order to prepare ourselves adequately in terms of innovation, research and human capital".
Of the 190 businesses that work with the Poli, 67 of them have signed special agreements to establish joint research centres. How do they work? "Normally," Rocchi explains, "the companies come to the university with a technological problem. Our departments find the solution and it all ends there.
If instead the company is open to dialogue, we try to propose sharing a long-term project. La formula dei JRP aiuta a systematise the strategic objectives of the companies with those of the Politecnico: training of specialised personnel, basic research as well as industrial research and innovative projects that have short-term application, with a considerable economic impact for the companies. Ad oggi, gli accordi JRP generano un portfolio di circa 200 milioni di euro , which fund research groups on topics of interest for both the Politecnico and its partners.
ADDRESSING THE COUNTRY’S CHALLENGES FROM A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE
The ‘hottest’ topics for the partner companies include the energy transition, mobility and smart manufacturing technologies, high performance computing and telecommunications, the New Space era and cyber security. The agreements provide for investments in infrastructure (such as laboratories and equipment), comprehensive research and training. In the last three years, for example, 170 patents have been filed in co-ownership with partner companies and master’s degrees and training courses have been launched at the Poli for R&D personnel to transfer new skills and ideas to the companies.
"But above all," Rocchi highlights, "having this active and effective network for many years means that we are ready to seize the opportunities offered by the PNNRWhen the Ministry of University and Research started announcing calls for funds linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), it found here a network of stakeholders ready and organised to make the best use of resources, accustomed to supply chain collaboration, with objectives already shared and already in line with those established by the European Commission".
A NETWORK OF PARTNERSHIPS THAT HELPS US SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES
One example is the enhancement of the PhD programme, a strong element of technology transfer in which the Politecnico believes strongly. For several years now, the university has been experimenting with co-financing PhDs in industry to carry out high-level applied research and create human resources that match the areas important to companies that want to innovate.
"Over the last 5 years, we have increasingly invested in young researchers, bringing in around 500 new PhD students to the university each year. Our established practices and strategic projects of research with our partners have enabled us to access PNRR funds to take on 211 additional researchers".
Il Rettore Ferruccio resta
Mission 4 of the PNRR aims to boost the development of a knowledge-intensive, competitive and resilient economystarting by identifying the critical issues in our education, training and research system. The industrial vocation of the Politecnico, which has always enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the Italian industrial sector, has been instrumental in accessing and implementing successfully these resources. Read about it in MAP 11, coming out in December.
In the 2020-2022 three-year period, the Politecnico has received received more than 10 million euros in donations from individuals and companies. “We’ve hit the target which we set at the beginning of the three years, as community of donors”, commented professor Enrico Zio, President of the Alumni Politecnico di Milano and also delegate of the rector for individual fundraising. “The Association is a community dedicated to the development of the Politecnico, which it supports financially with both donations form its individual members and the involvement of their professional organisations in fundraising projects”.
THE PROJECTS YOU CAN SUPPORT IN THE 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR INNOVATIVE TEACHING
P92, THE FLYING CLASSROOM: it is a basic Tecnam P92 Echo ultralight aircraft with a Rotax 912 UL engine, operated by the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER) for over ten years and then grounded following a mechanical failure. In collaboration with Aero Club Milano, the Politecnico has decided to restore it to flying condition which involves some important repair work. help support them:
NECST CAMP: The years spent at university are a crucial moment in everyone’s development, not only professional but also personal. In this context, the aim of NECSTCamp is to help students recognise their own abilities, including through sport. To support this project:
FORMULA 1 FOR STUDENTSStudying does not only take place in the classroom, but also in the garage, with a soldering iron in one hand and an algorithm (metaphorically) in the other. The DynamiΣ PRC team is made up of students who design race cars for the Formula SAE championship, one of the biggest competitions for open-wheel cars, which has more than 15 global events and in which students from more than 600 universities worldwide take part. If you would like to support the team:
TWO WHEELS AND A BEATING HEART IN THE ENGINE: Polimi Motorcycle Factory is a sports team at the Politecnico di Milano created in 2015 in order to take part in the international MotoStudent competition, which is held every two years at the international MotorLand Aragón circuit in Spain. The teams are tasked with designing, building, managing and racing an endothermic or electric motorbike. If you would like to support the team: click here
The students from Skyward Experimental Rocketry – the Politecnico di Milano association created with the aim of delivering and building sounding rockets – took home a historic victory: in October 2022, they triumphed in the international “European Rocketry Challenge – EuRoC 2022”, the most important European university rocket launch competition, organized by the Portuguese Space Agency.
The team from the Politecnico had already finished second last year with the Lynx, but this year the Pyxis carried them to the top of the podium, winning two technical awards.
The technology used allowed – as stated by the jury's motivation – enabled the team to excel "across the board in all aspects of the competition, honouring an exceptional and well-balanced overall effort without diminishing any of the aspects of the competition, whether it be technical documentation, project implementation, teamwork, or flight performance, thus demonstrating a truly remarkable effort and result.”
Lamberto Duò, Rector's Delegate for Teaching and Orientation and reference person for international competitions, states:
“International competitions are challenges that allow students to apply the knowledge acquired during their academic career directly in the field. They are a unique opportunity to develop the ability to design in a group, to practice problem solving and to interact with colleagues from other departments but also from other universities. I am delighted that all the passion shown in recent years has allowed Skyward students to achieve this very important result at international level.”
We will talk about Skyward in the next issue of MAP, the Politecnico di Milano Alumni Magazine. Become a member to receive it.
In the 2020-2022 three-year period, the Politecnico has received received more than 10 million euros in donations from individuals and companies. “We’ve hit the target which we set at the beginning of the three years, as community of donors”, commented professor Enrico Zio, President of the Alumni Politecnico di Milano and also delegate of the rector for individual fundraising. “The Association is a community dedicated to the development of the Politecnico, which it supports financially with both donations form its individual members and the involvement of their professional organisations in fundraising projects”.
THE PROJECTS YOU CAN SUPPORT IN THE 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS
By making a free donationfree donation you will help one or more students, chosen based on need and merit criteria, taking into account exam results achieved in the first semester of the academic year; or you will contribute towards a maintenance grant for a PhD student. There is also the chance to enter into the Circle of Donors: the Politecnico di Milano’s special programme dedicated to the best Laurea Magistrale (Master of Science) students. With 2,000 euros a year donors can directly finance scholarships combined with personal mentoring support. Selected students receive 10,000 euros a year for the two years of their Laurea Magistrale (Master of Science) programme.
Thursday 20 October 2022 - the Politecnico di Milano hosted the Circle of Donors, a group of alumni donors that, since 2016, has been committed to supporting the best students at the university financially and through mentoring pathways.
“The Circle was created to answer a question: what can be done to be make us more attractive to our best students? Those that receive offers of opportunities and prestigious scholarships from the best universities in the world? What be done to stop them leaving? To keep this wealth of talent in Italy and at the Politecnico di Milano?”
Thus the meeting was opened by professor Enrico Zio, the President of Alumni Politecnico di Milano and Rector’s Delegate for Alumni and Individual Fundraising: two positions that combine effectively with the Circle.
Indeed, around the table there is an elite group of very high-profile alumni; alumni that volunteer as mentors to track the development of some of the best students at the Politecnico. No less important is the support of a financial nature: each Circle student has received (or is receiving, in the case of the latest arrivals) a scholarship of 20,000 euros which is disbursed over the course of the two years of the Laurea Magistrale (equivalent to Master of Science); a subsidy capable of competing with those offered by the best international universities.
CIRCLE PROJECT: THE FIGURES
7 years since the launch of the of the programme, the Circle has collected almost 400,000 euros courtesy of 37 alumni donors who have supported 20 students. Some of these young people have graduated and are already young professionals, both in business and the world of research, and all have had great success in industries that have a significant impact on the future of innovation and society: renewable energies, automation, autonomous vehicles and energy transition.
“Had it not been for the Circle scholarship, I would not have been able to study at the Politecnico,” remarked Daniele, who, after a degree in electrical electronic engineering, works as a designer for a Korean company that develops memory chips in Italy. “But, aside from the financial side of things, I realised the true value of the Circle when I began to have doubts and questions about my future and what I was going to do once I graduated. The Circle mentors have so much experience and through them I found not the answers to my questions, as I thought, but new questions and a guide to finding the answers myself.”
Giulia, meanwhile, studied energy engineering: her dream is to work with renewable energies and to have an impact on the world in which she lives. “After my Laurea (equivalent to Bachelor of Science), I was sure I would leave Italy to do my Magistrale (equivalent to Master of Science) abroad. The Circle convinced me to stay in Italy and at the Politecnico: as they had chosen me for a prestigious scholarship and were asking me to stay, I told myself that perhaps they had seen something that I had not, that perhaps it was worth reconsidering.” Giulia went abroad all the same, rightly, on an Erasmus placement. Today, her career means she travels a lot and is building an international profile, but she says, “I have decided that Italy is where I want to live and contribute to the growth of the country.”
“There is a very close relationship between students and Alumni; Alumni that dedicate time and effort to their university with great generosity. Their support represents one of the pillars of the Politecnico di Milano,”
observed rector Ferruccio Resta, reflecting on the words of Giulia and Daniele. “Their messages give us pause for thought. On one side there is the “diritto allo studio” (right to study), on the other there is the topic of mobility. I wish to point out that from 2017 to 2021, the budget for the “diritto allo studio” grew by 50%. Today it amounts to over 24,000,000 euros, supporting almost 5,000 students. In terms of student mobility, which should be encouraged in every possible way, as we have done by entering into agreements with universities across the world, the Circle project is part of a journey of development that has seen our country become a destination and not just a launch pad. It is an element of attraction in the face of the brain drain of young talent.”
The Circle project is the tip of the iceberg of a close partnership between the Politecnico di Milano and its community of alumni, which, in the last three years, has helped to collect more than 10,000,0000 euros in donations to support the university’s projects: approximately 500,000 euros have funded almost 500 scholarships and doctorates; approximately 1,800,000 euros have contributed to the modernisation of the Politecnico’s laboratories, equipment, infrastructure and campuses; approximately 550,000 euros have funded innovative teaching projects; and more than 2,200,000 euros have been devoted to social impact research. The Alumni project has been funded thanks to almost 300,000 euros in donations.
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