Internship opportunity at MoST research unit - Uncertainty Analysis & Surrogate Modelling in Complex Urban Simulations

FBK is opening a new internship opportunity in the Modeling and Simulation of Techno-Social Systems (MoST) research unit of Digital Society (DigiS) research center.
The DigiS center conducts interdisciplinary research and develops digital technologies to address challenges in areas such as integrative AI, intelligence at the edge, and socio-technical systems. The center fosters collaborations with public administrations, industry partners, and academic institutions to support the digital and green transition and to build a more sustainable society. More information: https://digis.fbk.eu/

The MoST unit researches models and simulations of complex socio-technical systems to support public data-informed decision-making and civic participation. Combining AI and data-based methods, the MoST unit faces major societal challenges in key areas like urban planning, socio-economic inequality, climate neutrality, and public administration. More information: https://most.fbk.eu/ .
Planned activities
MoST is offering an internship opportunity focused on Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis in complex systems, specifically applied to models of social and urban phenomena. The internship will address key research challenges critical for policy and intervention design —including uncertainty propagation, risk assessment, and global sensitivity analysis— in systems characterized by non-linear behavior and data sparsity.

The internship is framed within the ongoing development of the Civic Digital Twins framework, which enables the definition and execution of modular digital twin models in simulated
environments under varying contextual conditions. The candidate will leverage real-world settings and use cases from MoST projects, such as the Bologna Digital Twin.

In this context, the intern will contribute to:

• Design and integrate Sensitivity and Risk Analysis methods tailored for modular, multi-component models (e.g., quantifying how uncertainty propagates across linked sub-models).

• Design and integrate surrogate models (e.g., Gaussian processes, neural surrogates) to accelerate computationally expensive simulation runs.

• Develop approaches to represent uncertainty and model sensitivity for spatio-temporal and multidimensional simulation outputs.

This internship provides the chance to work in a multidisciplinary team and to actively participate in applied research that combines behavioural analytics with user-centered approaches.

Requirements

• Academic background in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or related technical field
• Good data analysis skills and interest in geospatial tools and analysis
• Experience with Python
• Fluency in written and spoken English (minimum B2 level)
• Ability to work collaboratively in a research setting

Internship Information

• Type: Curricular internship (no allowance)
• Duration: 3 to 6 months, depending on the candidate’s needs and experience
• Location: In-person at the Science and Technology Cluster of FBK in Povo (Trento, Italy)
• Other benefits:
  • Opportunity to work on co-authored scientific publications
  • Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and other FBK research units
  • Possibility to use the internal canteen service
  • 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 about the internship activity, contact Marco Pistore at: pistore@fbk.eu
For any further information, please contact People Innovation for Research at: jobs@fbk.eu