Computer Science and Systems Engineering

Scientific Writing, Dissemination and Evaluation (long seminar without exam)

In order to ensure their widest possible dissemination, research results need to be presented in academic publications and in talks. The first goal of this course is to introduce students to basic principles of academic writing and on basic techniques to plan and deliver good academic talks. In addition, the course discusses the key principles of peer review, which is what makes science reliable knowledge. In particular, the course focuses on how to write a professional referee report.

Management of Complex Systems: Approaches to Problem Solving

Methods and approach to problem solving. Problem analysis; analysis of complex systems (related to cultural heritage, such as a city of art organization, promotion, etc.). The course will include practical simulations. The course will be linked to a seminar on specific case studies.

Introduction to Networks

The course will provide an introduction to the mathematical basis of Complex Networks and to their use to describe, analyze and model a variety of physical and economic situations.

LIST OF LECTURES

Lecture 1 Graph Theory Introduction:
Basic Definitions, Statistical Distributions, Universality, Fractals, Self-Organised Criticality

Lecture 2 Properties of Complex Networks:
Scale-Invariance of Degree Distribution, Small-World Effect, Clustering

Lecture 3 Applications:

Introduction to Cognitive and Social Psyschology

This course will provide an introduction to general themes in Cognitive and Social Psychology. In the first part of the course, we will review seminal findings that had a major impact on our knowledge of cognitive processes and social interactions, as well as more recent studies that took advantage of neuroimaging, electrophysiology and brain stimulation methods to shed new light on decision-making and social behaviors.

Funding and Management of Research and Intellectual Property (long seminar without exam)

The long seminar aims at providing an overview on the management of intellectual property rights (copyright transfer agreements, open access, patents, etc.). Funding opportunities for PhD students, post-docs, and researchers are also presented (scholarships by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; initiatives by the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst; scholarships offered by the Royal Society in UK; bilateral Italy-France exchange programmes; Fulbright scholarships; Marie Curie actions; grants for researchers provided by the European Research Council).

Strategies and Business Behavior

Teaching contents:

1. Market and strategy
2. Business and behavioral strategy
3. A new dimension for space and time in organization and strategy
4. Optimization and decision modeling on strategic decision making
5. Skills, competence and a new role of the human being
6. Business behavior as managerial evidence
7. Business plan: the role and function
8. Big data & decision-making process
9. Big data, machine learning for Management science
10. A multidisciplinary approach to business behavior

Stochastic Processes and Stochastic Calculus

This course aims at introducing some important stochastic processes and Ito stochastic calculus. Some proofs are sketched or omitted in order to have more time for examples, applications and exercises.
In particular, the course deals with the following topics:

- Markov chains (definitions and basic properties, classification of states, invariant measure, stationary distribution, some convergence results and applications, passage problems, random walks, urn models, introduction to the Markov chain Monte Carlo method),

Software Verification

Software verification is the process by which a computer program is analysed in order to prove its correctness or to discover bugs. This course will introduce students to this topic with an overview of several techniques based on both testing and static verification, such as abstract interpretation, model checking, and satisfiability modulo theories. Students will be exposed to both theory and practice of software verification by means of practical sessions with state-of-the-art software tools.