Author: Mirja Calgaro

Got a Radical Idea at Work? Find a Partner

Posted on | by Mirja Calgaro

The story of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries underpinning the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19, holds lessons for others pursuing radical ideas. In their article in Harvard Business Review, Paola Bellis, Assistant Professor in Organizational Behavior and Leadership and Innovation, and Roberto Verganti, Professor in Leadership and Innovation, draw on their interview with Karikó and those of others with Weissman and her, to extrapolate lessons on why pairs can be more effective in pursuing seemingly wild ideas and how to find someone to take the journey with you.

 

Imagine you have an unorthodox idea — one that challenges the dominant assumptions in your organization and industry. How do you develop it? Moving forward alone is hard. On the other hand, you are unlikely to attract or be provided with a large team to pursue an idea that most see as crazy.

The research by Paola Bellis and Roberto Verganti suggests that such radical thinkers thrive in a unique organizational setting by finding one other individual to work with — by operating in pairs.

The article “Got a Radical Idea at Work? Find a Partner.” recently published in Harvard Business Review, explores why and how a couple can help develop unorthodox ideas.

In addition to the interpretation of the story of Katalin Karikò and Drew Weissman’s – based on an interview and other sources – the study is based on more than 30 interviews with couples around the world and on the analysis of more than 60 famous cases, such as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak for the development of the personal computer, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to name a few.

Among the success factors of innovative couples emerge relational and behavioral aspects, such as the fact that daring to share a crazy idea is easier in the intimate space of working as a couple. Couples are also more resistant than teams to the difficult moments typical of radical innovation.

To read the complete article:
Got a Radical Idea at Work? Find a Partner” – Harvard Business Review

 

 

MSCA Post Doctoral Fellowships – Masterclass Polimi

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Application deadline: 7 May 2023

 

Politecnico di Milano is launching the 6th edition of the MSCA PF masterclass for potential applicants to the MSCA European Postdoctoral Fellowships call 2023.

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 (13-14 June 2023) 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 2023, 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.

 

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

Economic Sciences

Tommaso Agasisti – Data analysis for educational equity and efficiency

Stefano Elia  –  A methodology to identify, deal and cope with resource scarcity and strategic dependencies of European Value Chains

Cristina Rossi –  Women’s and space: interdisciplinary perspective

Information Science and Engineering

Matthias Klumpp    – Human-centered Analysis and Process Design in Logistics Operations (HANDS)

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

Social Sciences and Humanities

Deborah Agostino      Artificial intelligence for inclusive and sustainable public services

Michela Arnaboldi     Not Anymore a Child Left Behind: Designing and Assessing Cultural Agendas For Corporate Responsibility

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

Full list of proposals

https://www.polimi.it/personale-docente/lavorare-al-politecnico/bando-msca-pf-master-class-polimi

How to apply

https://www.polimi.it/personale-docente/lavorare-al-politecnico/bando-msca-pf-master-class-polimi/how-to-apply

 

For more information please contact mscamasterclass@polimi.it.

 

 

 

 

Financial Times: Polimi Graduate School of Management continues to climb the rankings of best business schools in europe

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Politecnico di Milano’s Business School is second in Europe among the schools belonging to “technical” universities, says the Financial Times in its European Business School Ranking 2022.

 

Milan, 5 December 2022 – POLIMI Graduate School of Management further improves its position among the foremost business schools in Europe again this year. According to the Financial Times European Business Schools Ranking 2022, published today, Politecnico di Milano’s Business School has confirmed its second place in Europe among the best business schools belonging to a technical university (Politecnico di Milano) behind only Imperial College Business School (UK). The excellent quality of the programmes offered at POLIMI Graduate School of Management is additionally reflected in its progress within the general ranking, where the Milan-based business school is now 31st out of the 95 classified, climbing 6 places from last year. In five years (from 2017), the School has gained 11 places, recording its best result since 2010, the year it entered the rankings, when 75 business schools were included in the classification.

“We are delighted about this new recognition included in such eminent league tables as those published every year by the Financial Times. This endorsement came at the end of 2022, a year full of changes for our School, including a new name and brand, and the inauguration of our new Navigli Campus in the heart of Milan”, said Vittorio Chiesa and Federico Frattini, President and Dean of POLIMI Graduate School of Management, respectively. “To cap this, our Master in Business Administration (MBA) – which was completely overhauled last year – and our Executive Education programmes have also improved their standings in the FT Rankings. Our success in Executive Education is the incentive to continue working closely at the side of companies, to respond to their needs in education and training with first-class programmes that are in line with the skills that today’s and tomorrow’s leaders must have in this period of transition and transformation.

A closer look at the rankings shows the position of individual programmes offered at the School. Our MBA (Master in Business Administration) is in 25th place, up by 9 places on 2021, and EMBA (Executive Master in Business Administration) reconfirms its 54th place. Taking the individual criteria that affect the School’s general position in the rankings, a point worth mentioning is the improvement in Salary Increase, which is the amount paid to managers three years after they complete their course and how this compares to their earnings beforehand. On average, the salary of POLIMI Graduate School of Management alumni rises by 59% post Executive MBA and by 94% post MBA.

Executive Education has also improved its position against last year.

In the Financial Times Ranking Top 10, limited to the business schools in the POLIMI GSoM “model”, in other words, those that are part of a technical university, Politecnico di Milano’s School of Business is placed ahead of Aalto University (Finland), TUM School of Management (Germany) and Institut Mines – Telecom Business School (France).

POLIMI Graduate School of Management has an educational portfolio of excellence, with about 40 Masters, including 7 MBAs and Executive MBAs, more than 200 open executive programmes and a series of training programmes customised for companies. Every year, the School works with 100+ companies, preparing 180+ customised educational programmes and delivering 4,000+ hours of teaching for 30,000+ company employees.

 

Made in Polimi – Storie di Ingegneria Gestionale

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‘Made in Polimi – Storie di Ingegneria Gestionale’ (Stories of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering) has just been inaugurated, the exhibition that tells of the creation and evolution of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, in a time perspective of over 50 years.

This adventure, which really kicked off with the start of the degree programme in ‘Engineering of Industrial Technologies with an Organizational Economic Track’ whose 40th anniversary is being celebrated this year, was made possible thanks to the many professors who strongly believed in the project and enthusiastically built educational and research programmes that were profoundly innovative for the times in which they were conceived. The exhibition traces the most significant phases in five multimedia panels: degree programme, department, observatories, graduate school. A physical and digital place where we can rediscover the full awareness of our ‘roots’ on a daily basis, which are behind the imagination and the construction of our future.

The inauguration ceremony was opened by Alessandro Perego, Head of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering and promoter of the project, together with the rector Ferruccio Resta and the newly elected rector Donatella Sciuto. Next Federico Bucci, Vice Rector and delegate for Cultural Policies, illustrated the project as a whole. Then the curators Umberto Bertelè, Armando Brandolese, Remigio Ruggeri, Emilio Bartezzaghi went into detail on the breakdown of the contents, the objectives and the method followed in the construction of the narrative, evoking some iconic episodes from the beginning. Before the ribbon cutting, Lola Ottolini the designer of the set-up concluded proceedings.

The exhibition is open to the public from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm, in Via Lambruschini 4/b – Building BL26/b.

To arrange a guided tour, write to comunicazione.dig@polimi.it

We will be glad to welcome you!

 

Milano, 22 November 2022
Credit photo: Lab Immagine, Dipartimento di Design, Politecnico di Milano
labimmagine-design@polimi.it

 

PhD Program: calls for scholarships starting in February 2023

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The Politecnico di Milano published new calls of  the PhD School for the XXXVIII cycle (Additional, Interdisciplinary, INAIL , PNRR calls) starting in February 2023:

https://www.dottorato.polimi.it/en/prospective-phd-candidates/calls-and-regulations/38-cycle/calls-starting-february-2023/additional-interdisciplinary-and-inail-calls

 

Applications must be sent before 16 December 2022 following the guidelines in the above mentioned page .

A complete list of the scholarships offered within the Phd Program in Management Engineering are also available at  Admissions and Scholarships.

 

 

SACE together with the School of Management to propose training aimed at businesses and young talents

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An agreement has been signed between SACE and the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano to develop a specialized and certified training course on the subject of exports, digitization and green transition.
 

Milano, 28 November 2022 –

New training opportunities for businesses and young people on the subject of exports, digitization and green transition thanks to the collaboration between SACE and the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano

SACE has signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, expanding and strengthening the activities of its SACE Academy, the branch of SACE Education dedicated to managerial, specialist and certified academic training, which combines the know-how of Export Credit Agency Italiana and the expertise of the most important universities and business schools in the country.

The objective of this collaboration is to create a training offer aimed at young talent and companies, in particular SMEs, who want to acquire technical-specialist skills suitable for facing the complexities and challenges of the current national and international economic context.

Executive courses, scholarships, research projects and joint information-related events: these are some of the activities that SACE Education and SoM will carry out in the coming months, starting with the first edition of the Executive Course in Digital Transformation which will start in November with the aim of investigating all themes related to digital innovation and its effects on the business and the supply chain.

‘This agreement with the Politecnico di Milano strengthens the training offer launched by SACE Education within our Academy’, – declared Alessandra Ricci, Chief Executive Officer of SACE. Collaboration with the academic world is of fundamental importance for us at SACE, to attract new talent, help train our companies in exporting, digitize and green transition and accompany the new generations into the world of work as part of our commitment to support the transition of our country in a digital, green and sustainable way’’.

‘We are very pleased to have entered into this partnership – comments Alessandro Perego, Head of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano – which has among its main objectives that of promoting the internationalization and digital and sustainable transformation of our businesses, our economic system and Made in Italy, leveraging the training of managers capable of triggering and managing growth abroad and the green-tech transition, but also encouraging the use of Industry 4.0 and new business models and urging the institutions to develop policies aimed at accelerating these processes, in line with the strategic objectives of the country and the NRRP’.

‘The signing of this memorandum of understanding has a dual significance for our School – adds Federico Frattini, Dean of POLIMI Graduate School of Management. On the one hand, it confirms the close contacts we have with the business world, for which and with which we create our training courses. On the other hand, we are happy to make our know-how available to SACE Academy to create a path dedicated to those SMEs and young people who want to acquire the managerial and technical-specialist skills necessary to face the challenges that the current economic context – both nationally and internationally – puts in front of us, such as digitization and the green and sustainable transition”.

Sace Education is the training hub that has recently been strengthened also in response to the needs related to the new operations of SACE – in addition to the traditional activity of national Export Credit Agency (ECA) – by virtue of the mandate conferred on it by the Government with the Simplification Decree for the management of guarantees in support of the Green New Deal and with the Liquidity Decree for anti-crisis measures such as the Garanzia Italia. With the reinforcement of its training offer, SACE confirms its mission to support the growth of the country system, offering 360° support aimed not just at the world of businesses and professionals, but also at future generations who are called to meet current challenges and design a new way of doing business relying on financial and insurance tools and solutions.

A world of futures: now online the new issue SOMe Magazine

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In a rapidly changing world, the opportunity to look ahead and scan the horizon to investigate what possible futures are ahead is paramount to anticipate the challenges our society will face, to be aware, possibly prepared, and eventually move towards the most desirable ones.

This is the cover story of the new issue #10 of SOMe, with a presentation by Cristiana Bolchini and Silvia Gadola on the activities of the Center for Technology Foresight of Politecnico di Milano.

Sergio Terzi, Arianna Seghezzi and Lucio Lamberti then present possible future scenarios in manufacturing, logistics and in the metaverse.

In the “Stories” we present research projects in the legal, energy and social fields with a new funding from EURATOM for a project that analyzes citizens’ opinions and perceptions of risk related to the use of current and future nuclear technologies.

To read SOMe #10 click here.

If you wish to receive it by email, please register here.

Previous issues:

  • #9 “Talents and the challenges for education”
  • #8 “The challenge of pursuing impact in research”
  • #7 “From data science to data culture: the emergence of analytics-powered managers”
  • #6 “Innovation with a human touch”
  • #5 “Inclusion: shaping a better society for all”
  • #4 “Multidisciplinarity: a new discipline”
  • #3 “New connections in the post-covid era”
  • #2 “Being entrepreneurial in a high-tech world”
  • Special Issue Covid-19 – “Global transformation, ubiquitous responses”
  • # 1 “Sustainability – Beyond good deeds, a good deal?”

 

 

ECOSENS: what role is there for nuclear power in the decarbonisation process?

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The Politecnico di Milano with the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, is a partner of the project funded by HORIZON-EURATOM

 

The Politecnico di Milano is a partner in the ECOSENS (Economic and Social Considerations for the Future of Nuclear Energy in Society) project funded under the research and training programme of the European Community HORIZON-EURATOM.

The project aims to analyse citizens’ opinions and perceptions of risk, the benefits and potential related to the use of nuclear technologies (current and future) in relation to the main social challenges: climate crisis, sustainable energy policies and energy security.

In order to identify the possible role of nuclear energy within the decarbonisation objectives set for 2050, the sustainability of current technologies and the integration of new generation reactors (III + and IV) will be assessed with reference to the future energy market and social developments taking place.

The Department of Management Engineering will be supported by that of Energy in the development of an economic model based on the “system of provision approach” to create and calculate indicators relevant to the evaluation of nuclear systems, including the “social discount rate” (reflecting uncertainties about the socio-environmental costs and benefits of the project) and the impact on sustainability.

The research work will lead to the drafting of guidelines for the evaluation of new nuclear infrastructures with a view to improving their sustainability.

The research group of the Politecnico is coordinated by Professor Giorgio Locatelli of the Department of Management Engineering.

Green Deal @polimi

 

Innovation in last-mile delivery for B2C e-commerce

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To face the logistics challenges opened by the advent of e-commerce, players operating online should leverage on innovation. Innovation is the enabler for efficient and effective solutions in a fast-changing and challenging sector, which is expected to become increasingly significant in the everyday life of all of us.

 

Arianna Seghezzi, Assistant Professor in Management of Logistics and Production Systems

 

Business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce is gaining increasing importance in many countries – in both mature and emerging markets – and online initiatives are proliferating across different industries. Globally, B2C e-commerce is a rapid pace growing phenomenon, and the online market of products in 2021 has been worth more than € 800B worldwide (B2C e-Commerce observatory, Politecnico di Milano). If compared to the offline market, B2C e-commerce opens new logistics challenges for companies, and the intangibility of online transactions must not lead to underestimate them. In particular, the most critical logistic process is the last-mile delivery, i.e., the “last stretch” of the order fulfilment, aimed at delivering the products ordered online to the final consumer.

Traditionally, last-mile deliveries are conducted by means of diesel vans performing delivery tours with a high number of customers to be reached, which entails criticalities according to different dimensions. Considering effectiveness, last-mile delivery is the interface between the merchant and the customers, who directly perceive the associated performances. Considering efficiency, it is the most expensive part of the delivery process, mainly due to the small dimension of orders to be delivered to multiple – potentially dispersed – points of destination. Finally, considering environmental sustainability, a high number of diesel vans may generate CO2 emissions and contribute to traffic congestion.

These being the premises, the academic, managerial, and policy-making communities are striving to find alternative solutions to address such challenges. In this context, innovation emerges as a promising option: the answer is developing last-mile delivery solutions that introduce novel elements, to help companies overcoming the limits of traditional deliveries (such as the inability to saturate the transport mean or the high probability of failed deliveries). These solutions may imply the use of transport means different from traditional vans, innovative algorithms optimizing the scheduling of the deliveries, or even the implementation of new logics and the involvement of new players.

  • Crowdsourcing logistics is intended as the outsourcing of last-mile delivery activities to a network of “common” people (i.e., the crowd), which give their availability to carry a parcel from a point of origin to a point of destination. They often offer this service because they have to move on a similar route for personal or working reasons.
  • Parcel lockers are boxes managed by a retailer or a logistics service provider used by different customers, usually grouped into structures located in public places (e.g., supermarkets, post offices). The allocation of one specific locker to a specific customer is not fixed, but it dynamically varies according to the issued orders and to the availability. The customers can retrieve their parcel using a one-time password, barcode or QR code.
  • In-trunk deliveries allow parcels to be delivered directly in the trunk of the customer’s car. Couriers unlock the trunk using a one-time-use digital key associated to the specific order. The real-time information about the car location is provided by a GPS system installed inside the vehicle.
  • Drones consist of unmanned aerial vehicles in which parcels are loaded, which can travel from a point of origin to a point of destination relying on the on-board GPS. Once the destination is reached, the container is dropped off. Drones then have to come back to the warehouse or to a truck that, in the meanwhile, has moved to a new destination. Here the driver changes the battery and loads the new container.
  • Robots are small-dimension self-driving road vehicles that, moving on determined and controlled paths, reach the customers, who unload the vehicle retrieving their parcels.

The solutions presented above are just a selection of multiple available options, and are very different from each other. Their characteristics and peculiarities make some alternatives more suitable for specific contexts, depending on many contextual factors (e.g., the road and viability conditions, the dimension and obsolescence of the delivered products, as well as the urgency and the required delivery speed). Nonetheless, all of them have one element in common: innovation.

E-commerce logistics is completely different from traditional logistics, and traditional solutions are not the right answer to solve novel and disruptive problems. As a result, in order to pursue sustainability (intended in its threefold configuration, i.e., economic, environmental and social) goals, e-commerce players should leverage on innovation, that is the enabler for efficient and effective solutions in a fast-changing and challenging sector, which is expected to become increasingly significant in the everyday life of all of us.

A world of futures to nurture the future

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Center for Technology Foresight, Politecnico di Milano

Cristiana Bolchini, Professor in Computer Engineering and Chair of the Scientific Board of the Technology Foresight Center, Politecnico di Milano
Silvia Gadola, Research Fellow, School of Management, Politecnico di Milano

 

In a rapidly changing world, the opportunity to look ahead and scan the horizon to investigate what possible futures are ahead is paramount to anticipate the challenges our society will face, to be aware, possibly prepared, and eventually move towards the most desirable ones. To this end, in 2020 Politecnico di Milano established its Technology Foresight Center with the aim to explore and identify future technology perspectives and provide useful indications for strategic planning for both public and private institutions. The goal is to identify (and possibly anticipate) the drivers of change, understand and explore the potential of technologies with respect to their impact on society and the environment, and adopt a critical and forward-thinking approach to the technological progress and innovation.

The Technology Foresight Center exploits the strong competencies of its faculty and researchers in the Design, Architecture, and Engineering fields, as well as the rich network of national and international experts from the academy, the industry, and the public sector. Such heterogeneity provides the opportunity to comprehend the implications of the complex future ecosystems, highlighting the opportunities to seize and the risks to avoid, to be prepared for the challenges of the future. The reference horizon is a long-term one – usually 15 years from now, going beyond the typical forward-looking window of everyday research to try to explore with a broader perspective what possible futures are ahead, which are the preferable ones and how to move toward them. While it is true that the future cannot be predicted, it is mandatory to foster a future-thinking approach in researchers and society as a whole; spreading a mindset of understanding how today’s innovations, economic and political choices, climate and societal changes are shaping the world ahead is a pillar for the Foresight Center.

The first activity conducted by the Technology Foresight Center involved the entire Politecnico’s research community and aimed at understanding the expected impact in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of a selected set of 50 technologies and innovations identified as disruptive by previous prominent foresight studies. The technologies covered a wide range of areas of adoption to ensure an exhaustive mapping of future impacts. The outcome highlighted the technologies that are expected to have the greatest impact, among which Energy Harvesting and Car-Free cities, as well as others that will possibly have diverging effects on different SDGs, such as Blockchain or Flying Cars, negatively impacting some of them.

Driving from these outcomes, in 2021 the Technology Foresight Center developed the project entitled “The future of sustainable mobility – How will we move in 2035?”. Commuting takes a great share of our daily lives, and the way we move will have a significant impact on the quality of our lives and cities. Thinking today about new transportation needs, emerging technologies, and the associated opportunities and risks is a crucial step toward creating the mobility of the future.
2035 marks a significant milestone. Following the European Committee calendar, this date is, for many, the moment when mobility as we know it will come to an end: new technological perspectives and new habits suggest a significant change of pace that is making smart mobility a turning point for the future and sustainability of our cities. Among the various findings, technologies related to mobility showed divergent tendencies requiring a more in-depth investigation. Scenario analysis and technology road mapping have made it possible to identify mobility needs in 2035 and highlighted supporting evidence for drivers of change guiding the transition towards a more sustainable future. Within this context, a set of enabling technologies and innovations emerged in association with the relevant policies and strategic actions to be put in place to address the most desirable scenarios. The following five takeaway messages are set forth to summarize the many elements that resulted from the foresight study.

  1. To work towards more sustainable mobility in 2035, the technologies and strategic actions identified by the study move in two main directions: transitioning from private cars to services and making public transportation smarter and multimodal.
  2. The speed of the transition towards more sustainable mobility strongly depends on different combinations of political and strategic choices that need to be supported by the development of technologies and actions integrated into the existing, consolidated urban reality.
  3. The prerequisites for sustainable mobility in 2035 are already visible today where travel habits are gradually changing: owning a car is no longer a status symbol, walking or cycling is considered not as a necessity but for its health benefits. The choice of the means of transport is also determined by the growing awareness of the contribution to the environmental impact.
  4. Greater attention is required to adopt means of transport and policies capable of meeting, on the one hand, the growing demand for mobility of an aging society and, on the other, the travel needs of citizens who will be living on the outskirts of urban centres due to an expected increase in migration flows.
  5. The future of mobility is strongly affected by the evolution of choices related to the energy domain and the consequent infrastructural renewal and upgrade. Its implementation could be longer than the time horizon considered. Therefore, we expect 2035 to be an intermediate transition phase, with the coexistence of several technological alternatives regarding the type of energy vector for means of transport and autonomous driving.
The future of sustainable urban mobility