The University of Milan, with the scientific cooperation of Carnegie Mellon University (USA), Örebro University (Sweden), the University of Ottawa (Canada), the University of Siena (Italy), and Warsaw University of Technology (Poland), established the Master's Degree program IMSCIA to disseminate a deeper and wider knowledge of adaptive and evolutionary technologies for advanced enterprise applications, to innovate design, planning, production, and the products themselves.

In many advanced applications, the conventional approaches based on algorithmic techniques are in fact not sufficient. In many cases it is in fact difficult to identify and completely describe the operations to be carried out in order to solve an application problem; in other application cases the algorithmic description is too much complex for being efficient. In other applications, the identification of the optimal solution is extremely complex because of the high number of dimensions of the solution space. In many cases it is useful to have solutions that can adapt themselves to evolving requirements, without demanding a complete redesign. In other cases we should be able to dynamically identify an optimal solution or at least we need to include some adaptability to face scenes that were not known in design phase.

In the literature it has been shown that, in many of these cases, the desired behavior can be described in a sufficiently complete way by means of examples, or it is possible to adopt fuzzy logic descriptions based on non conventional approaches, or it is possible to search for the solution by means of evolutionary exploration of the solution space.


TOPICS

Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science and engineering that studies and applies these unconventional approaches to solve complex problems with characteristics of high adaptability and evolvability. In particular, the soft computing techniques have been demonstrated effective and efficient in many practical problems for the industry. Specifically, the techniques considered by IMSCIA are neural networks, fuzzy systems, and evolutionary systems. The neural networks allow for capturing the desired behavior and for self-configuring the system by means of learning from examples. The fuzzy systems describe the information to process in a fuzzy way in order to capture the natural imprecision and the uncertainties both of description and manipulation. The evolutionary systems create and estimate a population of solutions, progressively modified as the natural evolution does in biological systems.

The use of these techniques allows for introducing adaptability and evolvability in the final products, in design, and in production, by enhancing the production processes and by allowing for effective adaptation.


OBJECTIVES

The objective of IMSCIA is to spread deep knowledge and practical skills concerning soft computing techniques and their use, in the perspective of their effective application to solve complex problems in industries and enterprises. The course is not directed to prepare theoretical investigators specialized in soft computing, but it wants to supply knowledge on soft computing for the applications in the industry to professionals and investigators in order to support the advancement of the industries and the development of the economy.

IMSCIA is directed toward promotion of the knowledge concerning soft computing to increase the job opportunities and to enhance the enterprise quality and competitiveness. For these reasons IMSCIA favor the attendance of professionals and professionals to be, not only nearby the university campus in which it is mainly managed, but also through the world and, especially, in the less economically favorite areas.


EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

IMSCIA is a one-year program and includes several educational activities that integrate theoretical aspects of soft computing with a strong preparation in their use for industrial and enterprise applications.

The courses present the theoretical concepts of soft computing, but they mainly focus on the theoretical aspects related to their use for prediction, identification, control, classification, signal processing, and image processing. The courses introduce some main specific applicative areas as examples of using the soft computing technologies, e.g. measure and monitoring systems, industrial automation and process control, system diagnosis, robotics, vision, medical applications, environmental monitoring and remote monitoring, web, and virtual reality.

To improve the practical knowledge and provide experiences about the use of soft computing technologies and methodologies, the master will include also their actual application in two simple real cases. Two 125-hour laboratories are in fact directed to give some initial hands-on experience.

Finally, theoretical and practical deepening of the acquired knowledge and the critical comparison with conventional techniques will be achieved during a 600-hour stage performed in the industry, or in an industrial research center, or in a university research center within an industrial project. During the stage the final dissertation will be produced on a real, innovative case.

The lecturers and the tutors are high-level experts coming from all over the world, with the highest specialization in their respective field of competence and considerable recognition in the international scientific and technological forum. This internationality and outstanding level will allow for advanced educational and future occupational opportunities to students.

IMSCIA will not only be offered in Italy, but also as a long-distance course all over the world. Most of the classes will be videotaped and distributed through the university web site for long-distance learning in order to reach as many professionals as possible, while they can continue most of their activities in their companies, and as many students as possible, especially in the less economically favorite areas. Similarly, the educational activities in the laboratories and the stage will be realized remotely, near the place of residence of the students, eventually by allowing the professionals to immediately apply the soft computing technologies in the applications on which they are working. This solutions decrease the cost of Master, without reducing its quality, thus allowing more people to attend fruitfully, including from less economically favored regions. Tutoring will also be available to support training.

Due to the above reasons, the English language will be used for lectures, tutoring activities, and the educational material.


PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AND ATTENDANCE

Due to the interdisciplinary usability of the soft computing technologies, IMSCIA is open to a very wide spectrum of students, ranging from engineers in informatics, control, electronics, telecommunications, bioengineering, chemistry, mechanics, electrotechnics, as well as to people coming from computer science, mathematics, physics, and biology.

IMSCIA is of interest for professionals in industry, applied research centers, and governmental agencies. The traditional educational activities with frontal lectures are not adequate and sufficient since they would impose the physical presence of students, forcing them to leave their working activities for a too long time.

The flexibility of the timetable and the possibility of attending classes remotely and not in real time become therefore important in order not only to allow for the participation of students who like to expand their technological education before entering in a job, but also of professionals who wish to know innovative computer science approaches and to realize an immediate technological transfer in the own working activities.

To allow for higher flexibility to professionals, the one-year educational program can be attended in two academic years without cost increase.

The interest and the innovation of IMSCIA are demonstrated also by the fact that several scientific and application associations have already stated their interest to support the dissemination of the information concerning the courses among their members and associates.

Occupational opportunities and sectors of the IMSCIA's students are very wide. They consist of many industries, theoretical and applied research agencies, and public agencies, wherever it is useful to introduce approaches characterized by adaptive flexibility and evolutionary ability in design and production processes, as well as in products and applications.

Many occupational opportunities are available - in particular - in companies developing advanced solutions for manufacturing, in the same manufacturing enterprises (especially in advanced technological areas and for consumer products), in electronics industry, in telecommunications, in chemical and druggist industry, in biomedical industry, in entertainment, in automotive and avionic fields, in environment and resource management.

The students will also be able to find occupation in basic and applied research centers, as well as in centers for technological transfer towards the small and medium enterprises, for the dissemination of technologies and methodologies, and for the realization of complex, adaptive and evolutionary systems. Further occupational opportunities are available in the public agencies, especially for environmental and resource monitoring.

These opportunities are available both at national and international level.

The theoretical, methodological, technological, and applicative knowledge provided by IMSCIA will allow the students to approach design and managerial positions, with theoretical and practical skills suited to face complex problems, which are not easy solvable with conventional algorithmic approaches, but suited for advanced solutions based on adaptive and evolutionary soft computing approaches.

This wide and deep knowledge will allow the students for remaining particularly advanced technologically and methodologically and, consequently, to improve the own occupational position, as well as to place and maintain enterprises, theoretical and applied research agencies, and public agencies in advanced and highly competitive positions on the globalized economic scenario.