Author: Marta Re Ferrè

STAPLES: strengthening resilience of cereal value chains

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè
The project focuses on Middle East and North Africa regions

 

Countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions are particularly exposed to shocks in international food markets, and especially cereals, due to their low internal food production capacity and their high reliance on imports.

To address this challenge and increase the resilience of MENA food systems, the STAPLES project, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, Department of Management Economics and Industrial Engineering, has kicked off.

The project, funded under the PRIMA programme and supported by Horizon Europe, brings together a consortium of nine partners from Italy, Spain, Egypt, and Morocco including universities, think tanks and research organisations, cooperatives and a multi country business network gathering several Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean region.

Over a timespan of three years, STAPLES aims at co-creating and disseminating new knowledge about the external stressors and shocks that are linked with global cereal value chains, along with potential solutions that local supply chain actors and policymakers can adopt to mitigate and manage effectively those destabilizing factors. Leveraging digital tools, new insights and data from available platforms will be integrated into a dashboard and a decision support system that will guide stakeholders in adopting evidence-based recommendations and actionable solutions identified by the project.

The POLIMI team is led by Prof. Federico Caniato and is composed of researchers from the Departments of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering (DIG) and Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB).

Altogether, they will be responsible for assessing the resilience of MENA’s cereal value chain, elaborating procurement recommendations for public and private storage, and developing digital tools informing private and public actors.

The project also sees the involvement of Fondazione Politecnico Milano who will support in project management and communication and dissemination activities.

The School of Management will host the 20th NeuroPsychoEconomics Conference

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

 

On June 6th and 7th, 2024, the School of Management at Politecnico di Milano will host the twentieth edition of the NeuroPsychoEconomics Conference, the conference of the Association for NeuroPsychoEconomics (ANPE), the premier scholarly organization for researchers working at the interface of neuroscience, psychology, and economics and a strategic partner of the American Psychological Association (APA).

The theme of this year’s conference is “Connecting the Dots: The Intersection of Management, Economics, Neuroscience, and Psychology“. This theme highlights the interdisciplinary approach of the event, which will explore the intersection of behavioural, economic and neuroscientific theories in the analysis of decision-making behaviour, as well as the use of neuroscientific and behavioural tools to improve management practice.

The conference will feature two prominent keynote speeches: the first by Thomas Zoëga Ramsøy, CEO and founder of Neurons Inc, who will analyse the practical applications of neuroscience in the consumer space, and the second by Benjamin Scheibehenne, Full Professor of Cognition and Consumer Behaviour at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who will explore the cognitive processes that influence economic decisions.

The event will also feature a symposium on neurofinance and six thematic tracks covering areas such as consumer neuroscience, finance, methodological perspectives, decision-making processes, neuroeconomics and service marketing.

For further details on the program and conference content, please visit the website: https://www.neuropsychoeconomics.org/conference/

For any additional information, please refer to Marco Mandolfo, President of the Executive Committee of the Association for NeuroPsychoEconomics: marco.mandolfo@polimi.it

A transition towards sustainable agricultural and forestry practices: the goal of the PRUDENT project

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè
A new European project with the aim of revolutionizing current practices and accelerating the transition towards environmentally friendly systems.

 

PRUDENT aims to change the way agricultural and forestry systems currently operate to accelerate the transition towards sustainable agricultural and forestry practices and intelligent agricultural technologies.

A four-year research project that makes innovation its cornerstone, studying the effectiveness of “green nudges” – a term that can be translated as gently pushing towards action – in promoting sustainable practices and technologies in the agricultural and forestry sectors and the development of social innovation and business models, along with policies supporting the future Common Agricultural Policy.

Four different systems representing the main agricultural and forestry systems will be studied to account for the heterogeneity of systems and agricultural/forestry contexts in various regions of Europe: arable land, perennial crops, livestock, and forests.

The concept of “Green nudges” plays a central role and focuses on positive and gentle interventions aimed at encouraging individuals or organizations to adopt sustainable behaviors, innovative nudging tools, and transformative pathways to incentivize the transition towards fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly systems.

Leveraging extensive experience in sustainability-oriented innovation for the agri-food sector and behavioral economics, the team from the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano is led by Raffaella Cagliano and Massimo Tavoni.

During a time span of four years, their multi-disciplinary team of researchers will work in close collaboration with Jacopo Bonan, from the affiliated entity CMCC (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici), to design nudging experiments and test the impact of nudges to promote sustained behavioural change towards sustainable agriculture and forestry.

The project leader is the Agricultural University of Athens (Greece). The partners include, in addition to the Polytechnic University of Milan, the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Belgium), the University of Trento (Italy), Green & Digital Idiotiki Kefalaiouchiki Etaireia (Greece), Balkan Eco-Innovations (Serbia), Athens University Of Economics And Business – Research Center (Greece), European Forest Institute (Finland), Q-plan International Advisors PC (Greece), Boerenbond (Belgium), AgriFood Lithuania DIH (Lithuania), Associazione Nazionale Condifesa Italia (Italy), Jrc -Joint Research Centre- European Commission (Belgium).

QS Online MBA Ranking 2024: POLIMI Graduate School of Management ranks first in the world for quality of faculty and teaching

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè
In the overall ranking, the Business School, an integral part of the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, ranks fifth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and eighth worldwide.

 

The QS Online MBA Ranking 2024, the periodic ranking by Quacquarelli Symonds on the quality of business schools at an international level, confirms the excellence of the teaching provided by POLIMI Graduate School of Management, part of the School of Management – Politecnico di Milano. Thanks to its International Flex MBA (Master in Business Administration) delivered in digital learning, the business school of the Milanese university ranks fifth in the Europe / Middle East / Africa area out of 34 schools evaluated. Globally, however, it ranks eighth out of 102 programmes. The recognition obtained follows by a few weeks the equally significant one obtained by the Financial Times for the same Master.

From the analysis of the individual parameters on which the QS ranking is based, for the second year in a row, POLIMI GSoM emerges as the absolute world and regional (Europe/Middle East/Africa) leader in the Faculty & Teaching criterion, which includes Academic Reputation (quality of lecturers and teaching measured annually by surveys on more than 95,000 academic profiles worldwide), Faculty / Student Ratio (ratio of lecturers to students) and Completion Rate (percentage of students completing the Master’s degree). In these last two indicators, POLIMI GSoM obtained a score of 100/100, thus ranking first again this year and confirming its best result ever since it has been in the ranking.

In addition to the primacy for the quality of Faculty and teaching, QS recognises the quality of the International Flex MBA also for the parameters Class Experience (value and effectiveness of learning) and Employability (graduates’ return to employment) for which it ranks third and sixth respectively in the regional reference area attributed by QS to the School.

“Once again this year, our International Flex MBA is confirmed as one of the best in the world, strengthening our School as a global reference point in higher management education and digital learning,” commented Vittorio Chiesa and Federico Frattini, President and Dean respectively of POLIMI Graduate School of Management. ‘The recognition of the quality of our lecturers and teaching, in which we are first in the world according to the opinion of 95,000 international academic profiles, drives us to continue to innovate our teaching offer. Indeed, our aim is to help train a new type of manager who is not only competent from a technical point of view, but also has an understanding of the human and social dynamics that develop in a company. The awards obtained in recent months motivate us to continue along the path we have taken, reinforcing our conviction that the role of our business school is to train new generations of leaders who, through their work, will be able to contribute to building a fairer, more inclusive and responsible society”.

POLIMI Graduate School of Management has been in the QS Online MBA Ranking since 2018, when it entered it directly in 20th place worldwide. Since then, it has always remained in the rankings, ranking in the world’s top 10 already the following year and remaining there in the following years.

Based on one of the most advanced digital learning platforms in the world, POLIMI Graduate School of Management’s International Flex MBA is designed to prepare qualified and motivated managers to lead companies in a market characterised by disruptive and fast-changing technologies. The duration of the Master varies from 15 to 32 months and is accessible to managers with at least 3 years of work experience, also facilitating students with a flexible approach that is perfectly balanced with work commitments.

The POLIMI Graduate School of Management’s training offer of excellence includes around 40 Master’s degrees each year, including 7 MBAs and Executive MBAs, 300 management training programmes, and various tailor-made projects for companies.

Metaverse Marketing Lab: kick-off of the 2nd edition

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

 

The kick-off event of the second edition of the Metaverse Marketing Lab, the research lab of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano on the study of applications in markeitng of immersive experiences and the 3D web, was held on March 21.

 

Following the emergence of the Metaverse, which not only led to Facebook’s rebranding as Meta but also saw significant investment by big tech in promoting the imminent arrival of a new form of virtual reality experience, the past few months have been marked by a general perception of dampened excitement surrounding this significant technological evolution.

As often happens, however, this marks the start of pilot projects, experiments, and the consolidation of new initiatives such as experiences and activations on gaming platforms like Roblox or Fortnite, which are becoming increasingly common. This is also due to the numbers and characteristics of these platforms: there are an estimated 600 million gamers globally, with a significant presence of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

These two generations, born between 1996 and 2010 and from 2010 onwards, use mainstream media content and social platforms less than their predecessors. They have a completely different approach to stores and the brand distributed there, resulting in quite unique and somehow disorienting levels of awareness and perception of positioning. That’s why numerous brands in fashion, luxury, automotive, but also retailing, charity and the media/entertainment world have begun to systematically use these and other marketing tools that leverage the 3D web. In the most successful cases, they have observed significantly higher user engagement levels and quicker response times compared to marketing initiatives on other channels. However, in less successful cases, the numbers haven’t matched the significant investments made in developing presence and content.

In this ever-evolving and uncertain scenario, some elements such as the launch of new headset models by companies like Apple, Meta, Samsung, and Lenovo, or the experiments and projects undertaken by eyewear industry players like Essilor Luxottica in collaboration with some big tech companies to integrate headset functionalities into prescription or sunglasses, suggest a growth of the phenomenon, promising a wider adoption of access technologies.

The increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence, especially generative AI, is emerging as a means to improve efficiency in coding development, resulting in reduced costs for experience development. Furthermore, the use of Virtual Reality, already well-established in B2B contexts (in research and development, rendering, process engineering, training, etc.), not only represents an interesting market phenomenon in itself but could also represent the same impactful change that the development of the computer market brought to office computing in the 1980s.

During the event, the Metaverse Marketing Lab of the School of Management engaged with an audience of over 50 industry managers, bridging the perspectives of brands with those of technology and marketing/communication companies. This discussion was informed by an analysis of over 800 international cases of metaverse marketing.

The novelty of this edition also lies in the launch of the cross-enabler project, which involves groups of companies and technicians engaged in extended reality platforms to collaborate in identifying use cases and developing proofs of concept (POCs). It is a practical, hands-on approach that allows them to become familiar with the platforms, their functionalities, distinctive features, and reflect on ways to apply them to their own business. Throughout the year, the working groups will develop solutions and present them to the companies participating in the activities of the Metaverse Marketing Lab, with the aim of building a knowledge base and experiences in approaching the challenge of virtuality applied to business.

 

For more details: metaversemarketinglab-dig@polimi.it

The fourth edition of the European Union Week is ready to go

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

Demonstrating our commitment to Europe: the fourth edition of European Union Week returns from 19 April to 3 May 2024

 

Preparations resume for the long-awaited European Union Week 2024, an event which, following the success of the previous edition in 2023, is preparing to celebrate the European Union through an informative and engaging experience. Now in its fourth edition, the event is an unmissable opportunity for students, alumni and the general public to delve deeper into the complexity and importance of the European Union, as well as to seize the many opportunities it has to offer.

 

Growth and collaboration: the heart of the European Union Week

Initiated in 2021 by the TUM School of Management (Germany) and HEC Paris (France), and with the entry in the following years of Kozminski University (Poland) and then of our business school, the European Union Week has constantly expanded its horizons, becoming an increasingly important reference point on the international educational agenda. This year, the event enthusiastically welcomes four more institutions: Vlerick Business School (Belgium), Bucharest Business School (Romania), Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (The Netherlands) and Estonian Business School (Estonia). This expansion reflects the commitment of the institutions involved to international cooperation and interculturality.

A new development for the event: the participation of the School of Management 

Within the context of growth and the advancement of the European Union Week, the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano will be organising the events for this edition. The participation of our ecosystem represents an important opportunity for the community, providing greater awareness of the value and importance of the European Union, an objective that remains central to our commitment every year.

 

A programme full of opportunities and knowledge

During the two weeks of the occasion, each hosting institution will offer a series of high-value seminars, speeches and events, which are accessible free of charge to all interested parties.

Register now and get ready to be part of this extraordinary journey: it is possible to participate for free in all the events organized by all the European partners.

In particular, these are the events organized by our school:

  • 19 april | 6.00 – 7.00 PM (CEST)
    Nicola Monti, Chief Executive Officer of Edison
    Evento in Italian; Online
    Please click here to register.

 

  • 23 april | 5.00 – 6.00 PM (CEST)
    The EU: Internal and External Dimensions (including a Q & A)
    Claudia Colla    , Head of the European Commission’s Regional Office in Milan
    Live at POLIMI Graduate School of Management (classroom 0.4)
    Evento in English
    Per registrarsi all’evento cliccare qui.
    Claudia Colla, Representative of the European Commission for Northern Italy and Director of the Milan Office; she has worked for the European institutions for almost 20 years and is an expert in European policies, such as international trade, competition and the internal market. 

LinkedIn: The New Channel of the School of Management

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

A new channel dedicated exclusively to providing valuable content, information, and networking opportunities for professors, professionals, and management enthusiasts worldwide.

 

The School of Management (SOM) at Politecnico di Milano is thrilled to announce the launch of its new LinkedIn page today.

The page will be an essential channel to showcase the activities of the School of Management, complementing and integrating what is being shared by the new pages of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering and POLIMI Graduate School of Management on their respective areas of interest.

We will share innovative academic research, insights, trend analyses shaping an ever-evolving future; promote conferences, seminars, and other events providing exceptional chances for networking and learning; and inform about new training opportunities in the field of management.

Through the new channel, we aim to create a dynamic dialogue that enriches our community and promotes the exchange of innovative ideas.

 

To stay updated and interact with the activities of the School of Management, follow us here: POLIMI School of Management

MSCA Post Doctoral Fellowships – Masterclass Polimi 2024

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

Application deadline: 7 May 2024

 

Politecnico di Milano is launching the 7th edition of the MSCA PF masterclass for potential applicants to the MSCA European Postdoctoral Fellowships call 2024.

The aim of the MSCA PF masterclass is to attract and train young and talented researchers to successfully applying to the European call with Politecnico di Milano as Host Institution.

Promising candidates to MSCA PF masterclass will be invited to attend a full online course on the proposal writing (12-13 June 2024) and to make use of full support in the application writing process by POLIMI advisors.


MSCA PF SEAL OF EXCELLENCE @POLIMI

As additional opportunity, the best 5 MSCA European postdoctoral fellows hosted by Politecnico di Milano, not funded by the European Commission but awarded with the SEAL OF EXCELLENCE in 2024, will be offered a postdoc position for 2 years with 40.000€/year (gross amount) as salary and 20.000€ for startup fund for research activities, training and networking. If the postdoctoral researcher has or acquires family obligations during the contract duration, a family allowance (4.800€/year) will be added.

 

 

“Supervisors’ project proposals” by the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering

 

Economic Sciences

Tristano Sainati – Governance Structures for Project Financing and PPPs

 

Information Science and Engineering

Matthias Klumpp – The Industry 5.0 Paradigm Enacted – Biosensor Research to Support Human-centric Manufacturing and Logistics Process Design in Practice

Giorgio Locatelli – The Dark side of Projects and Temporary organizations

Federico Caniato – Human centric supply chain processes, for a resilient and sustainable purpose, thanks to the adoption of digital technologies

 

Social Sciences and Humanities

Raffaella Cagliano – Human-centric organizational models – organizational implications of Industry 5.0 paradigm

Michela Arnaboldi – Digitally preserving companies’ history and cultural heritage for the future

Deborah Agostino – Artificial intelligence for inclusive and sustainable public services

Cristina Masella – Co-assessment in healthcare setting: insights from Italy and UK 

 

Full list of proposals
https://www.polimi.it/en/faculty/working-at-the-politecnico/call-for-msca-pf-master-class-polimi

How to apply
https://www.polimi.it/en/faculty/working-at-the-politecnico/call-for-msca-pf-master-class-polimi/how-to-apply

Fintech Awards 2024: Laura Grassi wins the Woman of the Year award

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

The second edition of the Fintech Awards, organized by Financecommunity.it in collaboration with ItaliaFintech, took place on March 14, 2024.

 

The initiative, promoted by LC Publishing Group, aims to stimulate competition and growth in the Fintech world by recognizing companies and professionals who have distinguished themselves for their activities in 2023.

The winners were nominated by a  Jury of experts from the corporate world in the Fintech sector, representatives of Financecommunity.it, and representatives of professional Associations.

The criteria considered for the allocation to the best “Individual Professionals” finalists included technical and negotiation skills, knowledge of business dynamics related to the industry, commitment and ability to relate to clients, and professional reputation among colleagues.

Laura Grassi, awarded as “Woman of the Year,” is Professor of Investment Banking and Fintech Lab at the  Politecnico di Milano,  and head of the Fintech and Insurtech Observatory , where she actively engages in innovative research exploring the dynamic landscape of actors and startups, with a specific focus on Europe and international markets.

“It is an honor to be recognized for promoting innovation in financial services. For years, together with my team at Politecnico di Milano, we have dedicated to this mission with passion and determination. We firmly believe that innovation is not just a trend but a necessity that leads to superior performance in the long run and to more useful services for citizens and companies.

Through in-depth research and targeted initiatives, including work within the Fintech and Insurtech Observatory, we lead high-impact projects in the Italian context. From promoting financial identity solutions to supporting startups by providing crucial data for investment decisions and improvement, to facilitating partnerships and open finance projects for both large financial institutions and startups. Our research spans cutting-edge areas such as Generative AI, Banking-as-a-service, and embedded finance, just to name a few.

I am often involved in international projects, including those funded by the European Commission through PNRR and Horizon Europe, for new initiatives that excite us. The two most recent ones focus on supporting startups facing legal, governance, and growth challenges, and on innovating insurance methods to address climate change.

This award is an encouragement to continue on our path, driven by the belief that innovation is the key to a more sustainable financial future, and also a more stimulating one.”

 

The event was organized in partnership with CMS, EY, and PedersoliGattai.

For more information: https://www.italiafintech.org/2024/03/18/i-vincitori-dei-fintech-awards-2024/

BSIS Impact Assessment: the School is awarded the prestigious recognition for having generated an impact of academic and social excellence

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè

The School of Management of Politecnico di Milano has successfully completed the BSIS (Business School Impact System) assessment process, confirming its important role at an international level in the academic and social arena.

BSIS is a tool promoted by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) − one of the three most important accreditation bodies in the world − which assesses the impact of business schools on their geographical areas and society as a whole. Through this process, the School has seen its commitment to contributing positively to society through academic, research and collaboration activities with local businesses and institutions certified and measured

 

BSIS: the essential meaning and value of the process

The BSIS assessment is a crucial tool for assessing the impact of business schools on the surrounding environment and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the contribution of academic institutions to their socio-economic context.

The impact of business schools is analysed in seven main areas: financial, including both the school’s direct budget and the indirect financial flow generated in the region; educational, reflecting the influence of programmes on the local management community; business development, including the creation of new businesses and support for existing services; intellectual, through the output of the teaching staff and the contribution to local cultural life; within the regional ecosystem, involving the teaching staff and participants in public life and integration with other institutions; social, relating to CSR policies and sustainable development integrated into teaching and management; and image, assessing the school’s local, national and international reputation and its effect on the impact zone.

 

The evidence which emerged from the report for our institution

The BSIS assessment recognised the School’s strong capabilities in all the areas considered.

Starting from its product portfolio aligned with the country’s areas of excellence, the School has proven to uniquely integrate management, technology and humanities, thus creating an innovative and stimulating learning environment.

The assessment also highlighted the importance of key projects launched by the School to promote social innovation and address global challenges. Prominent among these projects are “Leave Your Mark”, which gives non-profit organisations the opportunity to benefit from the pro bono work of faculty, alumni and students, and the “Innova Europe” and “SoM Prize for SDGs” challenges, which respectively recognise SDG-based start-ups founded by students and alumni from top European business schools, and the work of our alumni to solve contemporary social challenges.

In addition, the School is actively committed to supporting the fight against climate change and promoting environmental sustainability. Through initiatives such as the financing of projects in countries such as India, Madagascar and Ecuador, and the financial support received from the Italian Ministry of University and Research for the HumanTech − Humans and Technology project, the School is positioned as a reference point in the field of sustainability and innovation.

 

“At the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, societal impact is a pivotal principle of our vision and mission. Besides being fully aware of our role in society, we already had a comprehensive approach to assessing the impact of our research activities; nevertheless, thanks to the BSIS framework, we realised that there were more dimensions to consider in order to enhance our overall effectiveness in our impact zone.

In this perspective, the recommendations that have emerged from the assessment are very valuable to support our School in implementing new measurement methodologies and activities to reach the ambitious goals we have set in our strategic plan. In this respect, the assessment challenges us to utilise impact measurement to support − and emphasise − our commitment and achievements, thus providing even more consistency to our mission.”

Raffaella Cagliano, Academic Director, School of Management del Politecnico di Milano

 

Per maggiori informazioni: https://blog.efmdglobal.org/2024/03/20/polimi-school-of-management-awarded-bsis-label/