Internship Opportunity: Architectural Refactoring and Optimization of a Unity Serious Game

Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) is a leading research and innovation organization based in Trento, Italy. With over 450 researchers across 12 Research Centers, FBK operates in diverse scientific and technological fields, organized into two main clusters: Technology & Innovation and Humanities & Social Sciences. More information: https://www.fbk.eu/en/about-us/.

The MoDiS (Motivational Digital Systems) Research Unit, part of the Digital Society center, focuses on advanced techniques and methodologies to support motivation, engagement, and behavior change in users. MoDiS develops personalized digital systems using game-based and persuasive strategies, which are applied across domains such as education, sustainability, and well-being. More information: https://modis.fbk.eu/.

The Digital Society center aims to address the key challenges of our digital future by conducting interdisciplinary research on integrative AI, intelligence at the edge, and socio-technical systems. The center actively collaborates with public institutions, companies, and universities to develop practical and impactful digital solutions.


Planned Activities:
The intern will drive the architectural modernization of an existing serious game developed in Unity:
  • Analyze the codebase to identify bottlenecks, tight coupling, maintainability issues, and anti-patterns within the game system.
  • Implement clean code architecture standards (e.g., ScriptableObject-driven architecture, event-driven decoupling, custom manager patterns) to improve modularity and extensibility.
  • Conduct performance profiling (framerate, memory management, garbage collection optimization) to ensure seamless deployment across target devices.
  • Produce clear technical documentation for future scalability and contribute to the authorship of scientific papers.

Requirements
  • At least a Bachelor's degree (or near completion) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Game Development, HCI, or related fields.
  • Strong expertise in Software Engineering, Game Development, or Software Development.
  • Proficiency with Unity Engine and C# object-oriented programming / design patterns.
  • Interest in serious games, game architecture, and maintainable software design.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in a research setting.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English (minimum B2 level).

Internship Information
  • Type: Curricular internship (no allowance).
  • Duration: 3 to 6 months, depending on the candidate's needs and experience.
  • Location: Remote, hybrid, or in-person at Povo (Trento, Italy).
  • Other benefits:
    • Access to the internal canteen (except for UniTN students);
    • Opportunity to work on co-authored scientific publications;
    • Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and other FBK research units;
    • Support for the search for accommodation at the affiliated structures (no allowance).

Additional Opportunities: This internship may be extended into a full research thesis for interested candidates.


How to Apply
Interested candidates should fill out the online form in the "Internship Opportunities" section at https://jobs.fbk.eu/, attaching the following documents in PDF format:
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Motivation letter

For any information, contact Simone Bassanelli (sbassanelli@fbk.eu), and Federico Bonetti (fbonetti@fbk.eu).