University of Bologna and Unipol sign new partnership agreement
Rector Giovanni Molari and Unipol Gruppo S.p.A Chairman Carlo Cimbri have renewed the Framework Agreement to jointly carry out teaching and research activities for another three years, with projects focused on innovative themes that have an impact on the local area and society such as Artificial Intelligence, augmented reality, Big Data and sustainability.
The collaboration between Alma Mater and Unipol continues, confirming the ten-year agreement aimed at planning and developing innovative ideas and activities for the university and city community. The agreement has been renewed for the next three years by the Rector Giovanni Molari and the Chairman of Unipol Gruppo S.p.A Carlo Cimbri.
The aim of the agreement is to continue carrying out joint research projects that are strategic for both organisations, to take part in competitive tenders and finance young researchers, to organise placement activities and orientation events, to work together on technological and social innovation projects, sustainability and well-being for their respective communities.
Many initiatives have already been undertaken over the previous three years. The partnership between the Group and the University of Bologna resulted in two leading research and innovation initiatives hosted by the new Bologna Technopole: Unipol and the University are in fact partners of the National Centre for HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing (funded by the NRRP Recovery Plan) and collaborate in various projects developed within the IFAB (International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development) framework. In the context of the aforementioned Recovery Plan, the University and Unipol are also partners of the “National Centre for Sustainable Mobility – CNMS” and the Extended Partnership “Growing Resilient, INclusive and Sustainable – GRINS”, coordinated by the University of Bologna.
Large-scale research activities were also carried out, focusing on two areas in particular: research on atmospheric risks, which led to the creation of the European Extreme Events Climate Index, and research on flood risk for the definition of a national hydraulic risk map and its perfection with machine learning techniques. The two organisations also collaborated successfully in research on marketing, with a focus on new customer-company dynamics and digital tools, and on the theme of Corporate Universities. These topics were the subject of events aimed at sharing with businesses.
In terms of education, with the support of Leithà, the Unipol Group contributed to study courses in the medical field through initiatives on machine learning techniques applied to medicine.
In the near future, Unipol and the University of Bologna plan to further strengthen their partnership on both research and educational fronts.
On the research front, collaboration is expected in the context of competitive tenders and direct research projects on new topics such as AgriTech.
On the educational front, initiatives are envisaged for both students and Unipol employees in specific disciplinary areas pertaining to the ecosystems managed by the Group, also in line with the “Tech and People” directive of the current Strategic Plan. These initiatives will take the form of study courses, or will lead to the co-planning of new masters and advanced training courses in the insurance, economic-financial, engineering, IT, medical and welfare sectors.
Finally, there will be many events and opportunities for entering the world of work with opportunities also offered abroad.