Greetings from the Scientific Director to the IIT staff
Dear all,
As we are getting closer to the end of the year and we are excited by what 2025 will bring, we should not ignore the contemporary geopolitical tensions and social disparities. Helmut Schmidt(*) is thought to have said that “the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement”. Science is a major driver of improvement. We are proud that IIT contributes to this global effort with research and innovation.
Our individual actions have significant impact. Whether we are scientists, or supporting science, our daily activities create positive impact for the common good, be it economic, societal, or cultural. Economic impact is a by-product of discoveries which can lead to the development of new technologies, which, in turn, generate value. Societal impact is the improvement of wellbeing in various aspects of our life such as health, education, and cohesion. Our cultural impact is more subtle. It is the culture of scientific thinking, how we take decisions, informed by the understanding of complex phenomena. IIT has a huge cultural impact through its entire community, including many alumni who have pursued academic careers and those who work in various businesses and industries.
In line with this conviction, we set forth to maximize our impact in the three dimensions – economic, societal, cultural – by designing a Strategic Plan, launched on January 1st, 2024, to structure our research with the aim of taking care of our planet and our health.
Examples of 2024’s research advances include new microscopy to track molecules of biological interest in living cells, computational modeling of brain activity using reinforcement learning, new methods to calculate rare transitions in chemical compounds such as proteins, and the ability to remote-control robots, gather data that are subsequently used to train neural networks that render the robots autonomous. It is evident that most of these advances rely on computational methods. Artificial intelligence and data are certainly big accelerators of our research efforts.
These discoveries contribute to the improvement of technology to study biological processes that may lead to new treatments in neurological conditions or cancer, to the design of new materials that can simplify the energy transition, as well as to green materials that are intrinsically zero-waste, and to robots that will find applications in supporting productivity despite an aging population. To guarantee that our technology eventually reaches the intended users, we have launched various initiatives to increase entrepreneurship and expand networking with industries and healthcare stakeholders. The higher education office is a fundamental new component of the activities that help training a whole new generation of students and postdocs that can participate in science and technology beyond academia.
In 2024, IIT signed the first and only plant-level collective bargaining agreement (CCAL) for private research in Italy. Consequently, internal employee representatives were elected. We worked with them and Trade Unions to improve work organization with the introduction of agile work (starting in 2025). New initiatives will also be launched in 2025, beginning with health and safety themes and equal opportunity policies. Investments are planned for people’s wellbeing and infrastructure renovation, both fundamental for IIT’s success.
There is always room for improvement. Please share your needs and suggestions with the management to help us address them. Although not everything may be possible, your input will be considered in our plans. To conclude, as we work in- and for science, we can only hope for a more scientifically grounded approach to world governance.
I also take this opportunity to convey a Happy New Year message from the President of IIT, Gabriele Galateri, and the entire Executive Committee, who have always been extremely supportive of our ambitions in science, technology, and making IIT a special place.
Happy New Year IIT!,
Giorgio
* a German politician; no political viewpoint implied.
