PhD Opportunities

Modeling and Simulation of Urban Digital Twins

Description

An Urban Digital Twin is a dynamic digital model of a city, fed by data collected from the city itself, and capable of faithfully reproducing the city behaviour through the use of advanced modelling, data science, and AI techniques. One of the key foreseen applications of Urban Digital Twins is to predict the evolution of the city, including the effects and impacts of external changes (eg, climate change) and internal processes (eg, urban transition policies and incentives).

A challenge for the development of Urban Digital Twins is that cities are systems-of-systems, with complex interactions between physical, organisational, and social dimensions, as well as between physical world and digital world. Novel modeling and simulation techniques are necessary to develop Urban Digital Twins able to manage this complexity and produce reliable predictions.

The candidate will be requested to contribute to this research area, and in particular to work on advanced modeling and simulation frameworks for Urban Digital Twins. The expected contribution of the candidate is twofold: first, developing a novel framework of new analytical methods for modeling and simulation in the Urban Digital Twin; second, assessing the validation of the proposed framework on real-world scenarios concerning the adoption of Digital Twin by Italian cities.

Additional requirements

Besides the requirements established by the rules of the IECS school, preferential characteristics for candidates for this scholarship are:

• Master degree in Computer/Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Communication Engineering, or equivalents;
• Knowledge in artificial intelligence, statistical and machine learning, complex systems, agent-based modeling and simulation.

Supervisor

Marco Pistore: pistore@fbk.eu

Programme & Application

This position is part of the IECS PhD Programme (Cycle 42) at the University of Trento.

Further information on the programme and application procedure:

• Call for applications: https://www.unitn.it/en/phd/information-engineering-and-computer-science
• FBK PhD program: https://phd.fbk.eu/calls/detail/modeling-and-simulation-of-urban-digital-twins-3/
• Reserved-topic scholarships: https://iecs.unitn.it/education/admission/reserved-topic-scholarships

Cognitive and Motivational Mechanisms for Active Citizen Engagement in Urban Digital Twins

Description

Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) are dynamic digital representations of cities that integrate heterogeneous data sources and advanced modeling techniques to simulate urban processes and support decision-making. While municipalities increasingly adopt UDTs, their use remains largely expert-driven, limiting their potential as truly participatory infrastructures.

A critical challenge lies in actively engaging citizens in urban decision processes through Digital Twins in ways that are informed, responsible, and cognitively meaningful. Meaningful participation goes beyond simple access to information; it requires mechanisms that foster deep understanding, sustained motivation, and progressive skill development across diverse populations with varying levels of expertise.

The successful candidate will investigate the cognitive and motivational mechanisms that enable effective citizen engagement through UDTs. The research will explore advanced methodologies—including gamification strategies, adaptive interfaces, explainable AI (XAI) techniques, and personalized interaction models—to support incremental learning, long-term engagement, and responsible participation in complex urban decision scenarios.

The expected contribution of this research is twofold:

• Advancing theoretical understanding: Examining how digital simulation environments influence cognition, motivation, and civic decision-making;
• Providing evidence-based design principles: Developing frameworks for participatory UDTs capable of fostering informed and active civic engagement.

Supervisors

Marco Pistore: pistore@fbk.eu

Annapaola Marconi: marconi@fbk.eu

Programme & Application

This position is part of the PhD programme in Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of Trento.

Further information on the programme and application procedure:

• Info on the specific call: : https://phd.unitn.it/drsc/en/182/topic-specific-scholarships
• FBK PhD program: https://phd.fbk.eu/calls/detail/cognitive-and-motivational-mechanisms-for-active-citizen-engagement-in-urban-digital-twins/
• Info on the school: https://www.unitn.it/en/phd/psychology-and-cognitive-science