Three Bocconi Researchers Awarded MSCA European Grants
From gender equality in European institutions to physics-inspired artificial intelligence and resistant cryptography to quantum computers, three young Bocconi researchers have been selected to receive prestigious European grants called Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) under the Horizon Europe program. Their projects will address some of the most crucial challenges for the future of society and technology.
This year’s winners are Sina Smid, Jérôme Garnier-Brun and Valerio Cini, who will pursue their research at Bocconi's Dondena and BIDSA centers.
GAPP: Gender equality and trust in institutions.
The GAPP - Gender Dynamics and Quotas: Unlocking the Potential of Political and Economic Empowerment project, coordinated by Sina Smid at the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, analyzes the effectiveness of gender equality policies in Europe. Combining innovative quantitative methods with textual analysis, the study will focus on two main topics: the impact of gender quotas in the 2024 European elections and the role of parental leave policies in Denmark. The project aims to understand how gender equality policies can strengthen public trust and improve governance.
SPIRAL: Physics-inspired artificial intelligence for more sustainable models
In the field of artificial intelligence, Jérôme Garnier-Brun's SPIRAL - Structured Physics-Inspired Representations and dAta models for efficient Learning - project aims to develop more interpretable, efficient and sustainable machine learning models. Hosted at the Bocconi Institute for Data Science and Analytics (BIDSA), SPIRAL combines insights from statistical physics with deep learning techniques to improve the use of structures in data and reduce model complexity, offering an alternative to the simple computational scalability of large language models.
ACryL: Cryptographic security in the quantum age
Finally, the project ACryL - Advanced Cryptography from Lattices, led by Valerio Cini, also at BIDSA, explores advanced cryptographic solutions based on mathematical lattices, considered among the most promising to resist quantum computer attacks. The project aims to integrate tools such as Attribute-Based Encryption and succinct proof systems, with the goal of building efficient, verifiable and secure cryptographic systems for cloud computing and digital infrastructures of the future.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are among the flagship initiatives of the Horizon Europe program, with the goal of fostering mobility, innovation and research excellence training. The successes of GAPP, SPIRAL and ACryL represent not only a personal achievement for the researchers involved, but also an investment in ideas capable of generating real impact in society.