The annual event of the Issnaf Foundation (Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation), which brings together thousands of Italian scientists, academics, and technologists working in laboratories, universities, and research and innovation centres in North America, opened today at the Italian Embassy in Washington. Kicking off the proceedings, the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Mariangela Zappia, recalled how the granting of the high patronage of the President of the Republic is confirmation at the highest level of the importance that Italian institutions attach to Issnaf's work.
In her video message, the Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, expressed her appreciation for the work of Issnaf, which 'constitutes an important bridge between Italy and the United States in the field of research, science, and technology,' which the Mur recognises and supports 'through direct funding to Issnaf, as a concrete sign of its commitment to supporting our scientific community in the United States. Recalling her visit to the US last April, the minister emphasised 'the government's commitment to promoting joint research projects, mobility, and institutional synergies between the two sides of the Atlantic'.
"I am delighted to be here in Washington," said the undersecretary for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Fausta Bergamotto, "for the annual event of Issnaf, which has chosen to focus this year on a topic - artificial intelligence - to which the Italian government is devoting particular attention. As the rotating presidency of the G7 and in the spirit of the Mattei Plan, we wanted to launch the Hub on Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development, to promote a new partnership with Africa, leveraging the private sector; a theme that we put at the centre of the G7 Ministerial on Industry and Technological Innovation organised by Mimit in Rome last month'.
In thanking Mr. Bernini for the funding received from Mur, President Zuffada summarised the main achievements in a year of work to strengthen the international dimension of higher education and research in Italy, creating a system that provides access to professional enrichment experiences for young people from Italy offered by Issnaf members belonging to universities and research laboratories throughout North America. "Thanks to our structured approach that leverages a membership qualified to host students and researchers from Italy," he explained, "we have begun to populate our system with hundreds of members interested in participating, in order to serve a growing number of partner universities in Italy and create a virtuous circle of enhancing higher education to enable more scientific collaborations.
The event provided an opportunity to deepen the ties between Italy and the United States in the field of scientific research and innovation. With particular reference to Artificial Intelligence, chosen as the theme of this year's Issnaf event, and a focus on the work of young researchers.
The discussion, which is part of the theme of the YI Embassy of Italy Award 2024 for fundamental contributions to research on all aspects of artificial intelligence, featured speeches by Vincenzo Del Monaco, Deputy Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy and co-chair of the G7 Digital and Technological Working Group, and Eva Spina, Head of the Department for Digital Connectivity and New Technologies of the Ministry for Enterprise and Made in Italy and co-chair of the G7 Digital and Technological Working Group. The panel discussion 'Promises and Risks of Generative Artificial Intelligence' explored recent advances and challenges, providing an in-depth look at how to combine innovation and ethical-professional responsibility. The discussion compared academic perspectives with implementation experiences in emerging and critical fields such as healthcare. Participants included Filippo Menczer, Professor of Computer Science, Indiana University, Pietro Perona, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computing and Neural Systems at the California Institute of Technology, Karen Perry, Chief Solution Architect at Intel Health and Life Sciences (Hls) and Giorgio Quer, Adjunct Professor of Digital Medicine, Scripps. Elisa Bertino, Professor of Computer Science, Purdue University, moderated the discussion.
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