1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and describe your research area?
I am a professor at DIEM, the Department of Information Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Mathematics. For many years, I have been conducting research in semantic technologies, fuzzy logic, clustering, and multi-agent systems. In recent years, my interests have expanded to include Artificial Intelligence for precision agriculture, deep learning, Knowledge Graphs, and, more recently, Large Language Models (LLMs), as well as issues related to prompt injection and the security of generative systems.
2. How did the contact with the partners involved in the collaboration begin? What role did NEOLAiA play in this process?
I was contacted last year by Prof. Sam from the University of Tours, thanks to a shared alignment of scientific interests. In his email, he highlighted that both of our institutions were part of the NEOLAiA Alliance and proposed a meeting to foster new academic collaborations. Following several introductory meetings on Teams, during which we shared our research interests, a scientific collaboration emerged and has progressively strengthened over time.
3. What initiative or project emerged from this collaboration?
We coordinated two important scientific initiatives:
- DCAI4IA Workshop (Data-Centric Artificial Intelligence for Intelligent Agents), held as part of the International Conference on Service-Oriented Computing (ICSOC 2025) in Shenzhen, China, in December 2025.
- FAAW’26 Workshop @ WWW 2026, originally planned in Dubai (UAE) and later held virtually on June 30, 2026.
4. What was the main added value of working with colleagues from other universities within the Alliance?
The main added value was the opportunity to engage with researchers working in different academic environments but with complementary scientific interests. This fostered the emergence of new research ideas, the integration of diverse expertise, and a broader perspective on the scientific challenges being addressed. Moreover, the collaboration represented an important opportunity for cultural and professional growth, allowing us to expand an international network of relationships beyond a single project.
5. What advice would you give to a researcher who has not yet taken advantage of the opportunities offered by NEOLAiA?
My experience shows that even a simple initial contact can turn into a concrete and productive collaboration. I would therefore encourage researchers to be proactive and to participate in Alliance events. NEOLAiA provides an ideal environment for building lasting and meaningful scientific relationships. Engaging with other researchers is always an important opportunity for professional growth; doing so with scholars from different educational and cultural backgrounds represents an especially valuable added benefit.
