THE PROGRAM
Talents in Residence (TiR) is a program promoted by Polifactory to support the development and prototyping of ideas developed by young designers and engineers at Politecnico di Milano. It is an opportunity offered free of charge to students of Master’s Degrees in Design, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Information Technology and Bioengineering, to support the development of their thesis projects.
The residency is based on an experimental and peer-to-peer learning model, which allows designers to test and concretise their ideas: from prototyping a product solution or some of its parts and components, to experimenting with IoT solutions through physical computing, to experimenting with technologies or processes for digital manufacturing.
Joining the Talents in Residence programme means having an experience that is characterised by the following aspects:
- getting to know and experience the practices of making and digital fabrication;
- learning the operating logic of places such as makerspaces with their operational, social and collaborative dynamics;
- to become part of an interdisciplinary community of innovators, to get to know and collaborate on an equal footing with other students and with teachers and researchers from different disciplines
- collaborate in the organisation of scientific, experimental and cultural activities.
HOW TO APPLY
Students of Master’s Degrees in Design, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Information Technology and Bioengineering can apply to the Talents in Residence programme by choosing one of the Research Lines proposed by Polifactory and illustrated below.
For those who are instead searching for a supervisor to develop a thesis not related to the topics addressed by Polifactory, we recommend consulting your school’s thesis notice board.
The application procedure for the Talents in Residence programme is simple and has no deadline. Are you interested in participating? Here’s what you need to do:
- Consult the list of Research Lines and identify the right one for you (below in this page).
- Download the Format for the proposal (link to Format).
- Fill in and send the Format, together with your CV and portfolio in free format, to talents@polifactory.it
- In case of selection, you will be invited for an interview to deepen the application and agree on the formal start of the residency period.
- After the interview, we will notify you of the acceptance/rejection of your application.
PROPOSAL SELECTION CRITERIA AND RESIDENCY CONDITIONS
Proposals received will be evaluated individually, based on the number of applications received in a given period and the availability of free residence places in makerspace. Considered eligible for the programme must:
- be submitted at least 6 months before the hypothetical graduation session chosen;
- involve the development of a research thesis and not a consolidation thesis
- address one of the Research Lines proposed by Polifactory;
- involve the development of a project that includes tangible/material components
- involve the development of a project that can be at least partially prototyped using the tools and technologies available at Polifactory
The period in Residence includes a minimum duration of 3 months and a maximum duration of 9 months.
During this period each Talent will have a maximum number of 15 hours of support from Polifactory staff members, and is required to be present in the laboratory for at least 3 days a week.
The starting date of the residency period will be established with the admitted candidates according to the progress of their project, and in any case not before the research phase of the project has a clear direction and/or is at an advanced stage.
CONTACTS AND INFO
If you have any doubts or need more information? You can send an email to talents@polifactory.it.
POLIFACTORY RESEARCH LINES
On an annual basis, Polifactory defines a set of Research Lines that can be implemented through research projects, experimental initiatives and cultural and/or training activities.
There are currently four Research Lines active in Polifactory. Those wishing to apply for the Talents in Residence program should check that their project is relevant to one of the Research Lines described below:
Line 1 | Urban transitions and more-than-human cities
This thematic area explores the transformation of urban metabolisms and urban regeneration processes according to the principles of circularity, sustainability and inclusion, and the role of nature in improving the health and well-being of all living beings. It places special emphasis on behavioural change by individuals and organisations as activators of social and environmental impact.
To respond to these design challenges, the expected thesis proposals within this line of research range from the design or re-design of objects according to the principles of circularity, to the design of tools to improve resilience or citizen participation, or the development of product-services that foster the human-nature relationship and a more-than-human urban regeneration.
Possible theses we would like to develop at Polifactory:
- Design and digital fabrication for zero waste: projects that explore the potential of digital fabrication both for the development of formal solutions aimed at reducing waste and scrap, and for the creation of bio-based or secondary raw materials derived from bio-fabrication processes or from the recovery of secondary supply chains and waste.
- Design for closing the loop: products-services related to open production models and urban manufacturing systems, to prevent, reduce or valorise waste by innovating waste management chains.
- Design for urban metabolisms: IoT product-services dedicated to tracking the flow of materials, products and energy in cities, to support the urban circular economy.
- Design for nature-based solutions: product-services dedicated to preserving or promoting biodiversity, coexistence, and the urban well-being of humans and non-humans towards a more-than-human urban regeneration;
Line 2 | Design and empowered fabrication
This thematic area explores the relationship between design, digital fabrication and the evolution of the world of materials in relation to digital transformation and the transition to a circular economy. This is an area in which design research is strongly focused on experimentation with digital fabrication materials, technologies and processes.
In order to meet these design challenges, the thesis proposals expected under this line of research range from product innovation, where materials are designed using digital technologies or become smart, to process innovation where materials, particularly bio-based materials, experiment with bio-manufacturing processes or are produced from waste and scrap.
Possible theses that we would like to develop in Polifactory:
- Design and digital fabrication for augmented users: product-services for body empowerment, developed by experimenting with digital design and fabrication processes and exploring the combination and integration of digital components (hardware and software) in the realisation of new smart artefacts.
- Design for growing materials: projects that explore the potential of growing materials (e.g. mycelium and kombucha growth) also by experimenting with digital fabrication processes, with the aim of increasing performance and application possibilities in the production field.
- Design for experimental additive manufacturing: projects that explore additive manufacturing in the use of functional materials (e.g. heat and/or UV-resistant, from recycled supply chains, etc.) and fluid-dense materials (e.g. technogel, extrusion pastes, etc.) in various application fields, up to the design and prototyping of production processes for new classes and types of artefacts.
- Parametric and generative design for DIY and Industrial production: projects that experiment with the use of parametric-generative modelling technologies to make design processes more adaptable to end users, reasoning on the high-tech evolution of Do-It-Yourself, and to realise innovative artefacts with shapes and structures that cannot be realised through ‘traditional’ industrial manufacturing processes.
Line 3 | Impactful healthcare and care systems
This thematic area explores the relationship between design and healthcare in a perspective of open and participatory innovation, which sees the involvement of patients, caregivers and social-health structures in co-design processes aimed at responding to needs and challenges related to the prevention, treatment or management of chronic pathologies or disabilities.
To respond to these design challenges, the thesis proposals expected under this line of research could consist of personalised product-services for the management of home care or disability; smart product-services for the prevention and monitoring of chronic diseases; solutions that foster collaboration between patients, caregivers and the healthcare system in both home and hospital settings; or tools aimed at fostering wellbeing, inclusion and the centrality of the individual from a social, relational and emotional point of view.
Possible theses we would like to develop in Polifactory:
- Participatory design for patient innovation: products-services conceived in collaboration with patients, associations, specialists and caregivers to increase the social inclusion of people with chronic and rare diseases.
- Design for self-care and prevention: product-services to support prevention, screening or self-monitoring of one’s own state of health, or to support rehabilitation.
- Design for a patient-centred culture: tools and methods that support caregivers, care centres, patient associations to design care models with a patient-centred approach.
Line 4 | Design for just food transitions
This thematic area explores the relationship between design and food systems with the aim of promoting a transition of cities towards more sustainable, healthy and fair food systems. Through participatory practices, open and distributed technologies, circular design and a systemic vision, it aims at the development of solutions able to contribute to the definition of new models of food production, processing, distribution, consumption and valorisation, addressing the challenges of current food systems and taking into account human and non-human needs and behaviours.
To meet these design challenges, the thesis proposals expected within this line of research range from solutions aimed at experimenting with new methods and tools useful for designing circular solutions on an urban scale for the production, distribution, processing, consumption and valorisation of food waste; product-services to protect biodiversity, combat climate change and food waste; to new models of food donation.
Possible theses we would like to develop in Polifactory:
- Design against food waste: solutions for the collection, recovery and valorisation of food waste and refuse, and intelligent food waste sorting processes.
- Design for just and inclusive food systems: solutions to support the inclusiveness of food systems, from the donation and redistribution of food to weak and disadvantaged users, to new forms of urban, conscious, inclusive and just production.
- Design for circular farming: solutions for precision farming, vertical farming and other emerging forms of indoor/outdoor cultivation in urban areas with a focus on the traceability of food resources, and the defence of agricultural production in relation to climate change.
- Design for smart food processing: solutions for food processing of alternative and emerging resources (e.g. plant-based food) through smart technologies and digital manufacturing processes.
- Design for circular food logistics: solutions for sustainable logistics and food distribution based on circular packaging.
