Career Update

In the past year (2023), after coming back from Munich, where I completed an incredible exchange semester through the Erasmus+ program, I decided, also thanks to this experience, to pursue a PhD. Consequently, I applied to Politecnico di Milano, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and the Italian National PhD in AI (based at the University of Pisa).

To my surprise, I was accepted by all three institutions.

In October 2023, I graduated from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia with a degree in Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering, achieving a score of 110 with laude. Despite this success, I felt disoriented. My experience at TUM in Munich left me with the impression that the most interesting opportunities were abroad, making me doubt if Italy was the right place for me. As a result, I decided to decline the positions in Italy and apply for some PhD abroad. I was rejected without even getting an interview from the ETH-AI Center, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Munich Center for Machine Learning, Cyber Valley, ELLIS, EPFL, BMW, and relAI. Moreover, I was rejected from the University of Delft, for which, at least, I got an interview. Nevertheless, I won a PhD position at Eindhoven University and at the KIT lab, but I refused both offers, I was not so excited.

Mostly in February, when most evaluations came in, I felt quite low. It’s not always easy to brush off disappointments, and I felt a bit adrift.

Fortunately, since November, I have been working with Stefano Mariani and Franco Zambonelli, who welcomed me warmly into their research group. Together, we are exploring the intersection and the integration of model-free and model-based approaches, particularly focusing on reinforcement learning and causality.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that while your environment undoubtedly influences you, the people you work with have an even greater impact. With this understanding, I am excited to collaborate with them.

Additionally, I was given the opportunity to attend in-person the OxML “Representation Learning and Generative AI” program at the University of Oxford.

Regarding my efforts to secure a PhD abroad, I was unsuccessful. However, this experience made me much stronger and more convinced of my goals. I realized that a rejection does not define a person’s abilities, and there are SIGNIFICANT factors influencing such decisions.

I think I have found my way and I am meeting incredible people. They are the ones who feed my hunger for knowledge.

Now, I am delighted to have been accepted into the National PhD program in AI, ranking first among all participants. Starting in November, I will be a PhD student and will continue working with Stefano Mariani and Franco Zambonelli. Additionally, I am seeking an engaging visiting research period during my PhD journey… (oh no, here we go again).