Today, IN THE ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ SERIES, WE’RE SPEAKING WITH TANGO Project coordinator, Associate Professor andrea passerini of University of trento. Andrea WILL BE TELLING US ABOUT the role of coordinator of the project. 

Thank you for speaking to us today. Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us where you are based?

 I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Trento, where I lead the Structured Machine Learning Group.

 How would you describe TANGO with three words only?

Human-machine learning and decision making by mutual understanding.

 What does your typical working day in the TANGO project involve?

 Supervising team members, brainstorming, evaluating research progress, thinking about ways to stimulate synergies and interchanges.

What is your main task in the TANGO project?

 I am the project coordinator.

 What do you like most about your role?

 The possibility to have a high-level view of the entire project development.

How do your professional interests match the objectives of TANGO?

 The TANGO project is perfectly aligned with my research interests, and it will help shaping my future research and professional activity way beyond the end of the project.

 What is unique about TANGO in your opinion?

 I believe TANGO has a unique combination of cognitive, computational, and applied research, with all these aspects being tightly connected thanks to the human-centric perspective of the project.

What makes your organization ideal for participating in the research/activities of TANGO?

 My organization has a solid track record in coordinating large European projects. Additionally, UNITN has renowned experts on many different aspects of the project, from machine learning, automated reasoning and human-machine interaction to cognitive science and applied AI.

Has anything surprised you in the first months of the project?

The commitment and proactivity of the members of the consortium are beyond what is typically seen in large projects.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for TANGO?

Going from cognitive to computational to applied science and back is a challenge for the project consortium.

What does TANGO have in common with other EU-funded research projects?

The need to go from basic research to measurable impact.

 What is one key thing you have learned from working on TANGO so far?

 That periodic brainstorming sessions are crucial to keep the research agenda aligned with objectives and the evolving context.

Could you describe the overall expected impact of the TANGO project in three words?

Driving AI research towards more human-aware technology and eventually higher impact on human decision making

What would be your advice to anyone interested in getting involved with a Horizon Europe project?

Have a clear specialization that people can recognize you for. Build an interdisciplinary network of connections.

Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, Andrea. We look forward to more updates from the team at UNITN. 

To keep up to date with the Behind the Scenes series and all TANGO updates, make sure to follow us on TANGO (@TANGO_horizon) / X (twitter.com) and TANGO LinkedIn