A Center at the Leading Edge

BIDSA (the Bocconi Institute for Data Science and Analytics) is one of Bocconi's most recently established research centers. It operates in the field of Data Science, a discipline that is at the intersection of statistics, computer science and specific application domains, which has recently become a truly international phenomenon.

BIDSA was founded in 2016 with an interdisciplinary focus, with the involvement of seven Departments of the University. It promotes and conducts theoretical and applied research that addresses challenging issues arising from the analysis of large-scale datasets and the modeling of the underlying complex phenomena.

BIDSA also supports students and PhD candidates starting research projects in disciplinary areas where the use of advanced tools of statistics, applied mathematics and computer science is essential.

"One of our primary objectives," says Igor Pruenster, Full Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and Director of BIDSA, "is to train a new generation of data scientists who will work in academia and industry." The IGIER-BIDSA Visiting Students initiative is a part of this and Pruenster strongly believes in the project. "Every year we select 40-50 Master of Science students with a strong interest in research and each of them is supported by a mentor from the Centers with the task of guiding them in their academic and professional careers."

BIDSA currently has 73 Fellows and Affiliates. Four units have recently been set up: the Artificial Intelligence Lab (ArtLab); the Bayesian Learning Lab (BayesLab); Data and Marketing Insights (DMI); and the Blockchain Initiative. "With the creation of these units, our interdisciplinary community can aggregate into smaller groups around specific research topics by combining an effective vertical model with BIDSA's horizontal model," explains Pruenster. "This has benefits in terms of cutting-edge research and participation in targeted projects: for instance, BayesLab has joined an international research network with institutions such as Duke University, UCLA, UT Austin and the University of Washington."

The Center's high scientific profile is testified by the presence of numerous BIDSA Affiliates on the boards of leading journals in data science and prominent roles held in many scientific associations. Equally significant is the large number of grants obtained from leading international organizations. "In particular, through BIDSA, funding was obtained from the European Research Council (ERC) in the 'Physical Sciences and Engineering' sector, a first for Bocconi," says the Director.

Pruenster also points out another aspect that is a great resource for the entire Bocconi community: "BIDSA has purchased a high-performance server that is available to all its members, but also to unaffiliated faculty and students, for conducting computationally intensive research. It is clear that computational component will be increasingly central in all research fields and BIDSA is at the vanguard on this front."