Opening of the Joint Research Center for Digital Humanities and Future Cities in Venice, the result of a collaboration project between two prestigious institutions, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, linking computer science and the humanities, and in collaboration with Telecom Italia which will make its technological and service know-how available for specific research and development projects.

The advanced Research Center is located in the heart of Venice in the convent of San Salvador at the Telecom Italia Future Centre and will comprise advanced training activities, specialist laboratories and interdisciplinary project teams.

The cutting edge technological know-how of the Swiss school links up with the Venetian expertise in humanities combined with information technology: a significant opportunity for study and development of innovative projects for young researchers from all over the world, an advanced training and research incubator in Venice - a pioneering study location - and an extraordinary chance to create an innovative international study environment. With the collaboration and technological know-how of Telecom Italia, its main industrial partner, the Center will benefit from the most advanced innovation technology to explore the past and present of Venice.

The first challenge of Digital Humanities Venice (DHV, name which will identify the research center) will be to reconstruct the past of the lagoon city and transform its present to project it towards the future, identifying in this process a prototype for studies of the future city and conservation of its cultural and environmental heritage.

Some potential fields of research have been identified for implementation of the first projects:

• Content engineering via new interfaces;
• Virtual Continuum and its applicability to Cultural Heritage;
• City Monitoring and Ambient Intelligence;
• Environmental economics and statistical mechanics;
• The city as a complex adaptive system.

For more information see the Telecom Italia news article.

You can also see the video of the news piece.