The Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University System and Research (ANVUR) evaluated DII research products over the period 2015–2019, ranking it among the top 350 departments nationwide. These departments had the chance to apply for getting the seal of Excellence, which would have seen the top 180 departments as winners. DII then applied for Department of Excellence by submitting a project that was ranked sixth in the CUN 09 area (excluding phase 1 projects) with a score of 97/100 and getting funding for an amount of about 11 million euros over the period 2023–2027.

1 Before the Project for the Excellence

1.1 Some Numbers

DII has a strongly multidisciplinary composition, gathering contributions from faculty members belonging to numerous Scientific Disciplinary Sectors, mainly located in area 09, Industrial and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) engineering.

The amplitude of DII expertise is evidenced by the high number of research groups (28), and by a large scientific production, which in the last 3 years has resulted in about 1300 papers, of which about 60% are in international journals belonging to the first Scopus quartile. In VQR 2015–2019, the evaluation of DII in area 09 was overall in line with the national average (98%), with above-average peaks in some sub-areas (09/B, 09/C and 09/E).

In the decade, the activity of the professors and researchers has resulted in more than 100 research projects with a total economic value of more than 25 million euro, including:

\(\star \):

24 H2020 projects (about 9 MEur),

\(\star \):

22 MIUR PON projects (about 8 MEur),

\(\star \):

11 PRIN projects (more than 1 MEur),

\(\star \):

more than 5 MEur from regional calls.

To date, 39 projects are active, for a total amount of more than 11 MEur.

More than half of the obtained funding comes from projects related to energy transition and sustainable mobility, as well as the dissemination of green and digital skills: only in the last three years, 14 projects have been launched under

  • ESF (European Social Fund),

  • FISR (Fondo Integrativo Speciale per la Ricerca),

  • H2020,

  • MISE (Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico),

  • MITE (Ministero della Transizione Ecologica),

  • PON (Programma Operativo Nazionale),

  • PRIN (Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale),

  • PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza).

1.1.1 Laboratories

The previously cited activities are characterized by a marked experimental approach: both light and heavy laboratories are a great asset for DII.

Nevertheless, they are not always adequately equipped for a large-scale and synergistic experimentation of new technologies in the already mentioned sectors, and they are lacking from the point of view of integrating digital technologies, which, on the other hand, represent an opportunity to expand simulation and experimentation capabilities through the implementation of hybrid, hardware-in-the-loop type systems.

1.1.2 Educational Offerings

DII has a very wide and varied educational offering, with

  • 6 bachelor’s degree courses and

  • 7 master’s degree courses,

  • with a total of about 7000 enrolled students.

The educational offerings include two Ph.D. programs and an Erasmus Mundus Joint master’s degree on Sustainable Ship and Shipping (https://www.master-seas40.unina.it/about-seas-4-0/).

1.1.3 Internationalization

The internationalization became one of the cornerstones of the development plan, by increasing the number of international agreements (34), the Erasmus agreements (73) and activating a master’s degree completely in English on the topic of Autonomous Vehicles (Autonomous Vehicle Engineering); this represents a unique case on the national territory and with few equals even at an international level.

However, internationalization is still a weakness point for the department educational offerings. This critical issue is also confirmed in the Ph.D. courses incardinated in DII, where the percentage of doctoral students with degrees obtained abroad is only 6%.

It has to be highlighted that the DII is now a member of the T.I.M.E. Association (Top International Managers in Engineering): this will open to great opportunities for the exchanges of students, academic staff and officers as well as the design of joint academic initiatives https://timeassociation.org.

1.1.4 Public Administration

DII has a consolidated experience in relationships with companies and the Public Administration.

To date, DII has carried out more than 400 third-party services, almost 40% of which in the last three years, for a total amount of more than 12 million euro.

1.1.5 Spin-Offs and Patents

DII faculty members have been the promoters of 16 spin-offs, having as their object the design and implementation of high-tech hardware and software solutions for monitoring, diagnostics, and improvement of industrial processes in the naval, mechanical, aerospace and robotic sectors. It has to remarked also that some of the spin-offs are focused on themes of energy transition and sustainable mobility.

Finally, a total of 19 patents have been published and filed with at least one DII author from 2013 to date, including 7 in the last three years.

1.2 Points of Strength and Weakness

The starting point was to highlight the points of strength and weakness with a deep degree of self-evaluation.

Based on the scenario outlined, This lead to the following points of strength:

  • Strong multidisciplinary vocation and breadth, and contiguity of expertise on the topics of energy transition and sustainable mobility.

  • Solid links with the national and international industrial net.

  • Participation in numerous national and international competitive project calls.

  • Amplitude and completeness of the educational offerings

These are points of weakness:

  • Few broad interdisciplinary projects that promote collaborations between SSDs.

  • Weak international attractiveness of the educational offerings.

  • Lack of instrumental equipment that promotes synergies between different research groups and directs a more “digital” approach to experimentation.

DII has grown significantly from the point of view of research quality, but there was the need to introduce interdisciplinary initiatives, which, driven by the scientific excellence of the Department, ensure its overall development well centered on challenges of interdisciplinary interest with highest possible economic and social impacts.

Thus, it is natural to consider the topics of energy transition and sustainable mobility as strategic areas for the development of DII, in which it can benefit from a broad and well-established theoretical, numerical, and experimental skills base. As proof of this, it can be considered the consistent participation of DII research groups in projects funded on these topics under the PNRR, as well as its high ability to attract funding through competitive research projects.

These elements are defined in the three-years Development Plan 2021–2023, “Youth for a Future DII Excellence”,Footnote 1 in which DII has identified development opportunities in the themes of energy transition and sustainable mobility, with the aim of achieving excellence by focusing on young students, researchers, and professors to improve the quality of teaching, research, and third mission.

The Departments of Excellence program therefore represents a valuable opportunity for DII to strongly relaunch itself toward these challenges as summarized in the next section.

2 The Project for the Excellence

2.1 Main Points

DII intends to consolidate the following aspects of the Next Generation EU project: energy transition and sustainable mobility.

The development program aims at strengthening the excellence of DII, enhancing its multidisciplinary vocation in several areas:

  • increase qualitatively and quantitatively the scientific production;

  • increase the knowledge on strategically relevant research topics;

  • rank itself in the research laboratories network, in an equal position with other laboratories recognized as internationally excellent;

  • improve the internationalization of highly qualified teaching.

To reach the cited objectives, the following actions are scheduled:

A1:

Creation of a department task force that will see the involvement of professors and researchers already active at DII, supplemented by specially recruited personnel, with the aim of introducing specific skills complementary to the existing ones.

A2:

Realization of a new dedicated laboratory that would give a considerable support to increase the excellence level of the research activities, facilitating the participation in competitive calls and increasing the possible activities of technology know-how transmission and collaboration with companies.

A3:

Introduction of incentives for the involved staff, which will be recognized according to criteria shared with the department, rewarding their contribution to the improvement of DII performance.

A4:

Strengthening of learning activities of the Ph.D. program, by establishing an International Doctoral School, stimulating with incentives the participation of students from other national and abroad universities, encouraging the participation of highly qualified professors, foreign and/or from the corporate world, and financing the international mobility of doctoral students, incoming and outgoing.

A5:

Implementation of a recruitment plan aimed at integrating the numerous and qualified skills already available with others that are complementary and strategic in order to achieve the scientific goals of the development plan.

2.2 Future Research Infrastructures

Some new infrastructures will improve the execution of research activities with the aim to increase knowledge, promote products and innovative solutions in the following fields:

R1:

propulsion systems with low environmental impact in the automotive, aeronautical, naval, railway sectors, powered by hydrogen, bio-fuel and electricity.

R2:

the integration of the aforementioned propulsion systems into their relative users;

R3:

energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources, hydrogen and bio-fuels in the industry, the tertiary and the residential sectors.

The laboratory will thus enable the development and validation of new technologies for reducing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions, to support the energy transition and the sustainable mobility, through:

L1:

a test bench, which will enable the use of different types of green fuels and energy vectors (e.g., hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, NG) to power Fuel Cells (FC) and/or alternative engines (H2-MACI) equipped with electrical and thermal energy storage systems (for co-generation purposes);

L2:

a platform for virtual prototyping of complex models, interconnected to the previous one, capable not only to develop the corresponding “digital twin” of the system, but to control it interacting with the hardware.

2.3 Future Teaching Activities

The project includes the improvement of tertiary education to enhance the young talents emerging from these educational paths.

In detail, it is intended to achieve the goal of improving the attractiveness and internationalization of the Ph.D. program through specific actions, which concern both the training and mobility of students:

TA1:

Funding of an Intensive International Ph.D. School and teaching initiatives to be permanently included in the educational offer of doctoral programs incardinated therein.

TA2:

Funding of international mobility of doctoral students, incoming and outgoing, through co-tutoring agreements with foreign universities.

In line with the development program, teaching initiatives will focus on the topics of the energy transition and the sustainable mobility and their impacts on the society, with an inclusive and participatory approach.

Courses will be taught by DII professors and international experts, in business and academic fields, invited as Visiting, for periods consistent with the scheduled initiatives.

3 A Final Word

This concluding chapter has provided a brief overview of the project funded for the years 2023–2027. However, it is not just a plan for the immediate future; it lays the groundwork for the coming decade and represents a milestone for our community’s advancement on a global scale.

In wrapping up this book, it’s essential to consider the individuals involved. The achievements of the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale can be gauged through internationally recognized benchmarks and the number of projects secured. Nevertheless, these metrics only tell part of our story. Equally important are intangible factors like the enthusiasm of our young researchers, the experience of our senior professors, and the steadfast commitment of an expanding group of contributors. While these qualities cannot be easily quantified, they resonate in our day-to-day interactions.

One of the most profound lessons learned over the past decade is the realization that our most valuable assets are the people themselves. This truth transcends roles and ages.

Central to our success is the recognition and celebration of each individual’s unique qualities, as well as the encouragement of open exchange of ideas and knowledge among all members of our community.