Pursuing a PhD within a company means embarking on a path of advanced training and research in collaboration between academia and industry.
It offers a concrete opportunity to apply academic research to real-world challenges, contributing directly to business innovation.
Daniela Barbero has just completed her PhD journey and shares her experience:
“After completing my master’s degree, I aimed to continue working on air quality, approaching the topic not only from a research perspective but also by engaging with real-world cases and contributing to the development of operational tools.
Choosing to pursue an Executive PhD at Politecnico di Milano while working at ARIANET allowed me to combine my professional activities with advanced scientific training.
ARIANET has always been active in the field of air quality research, offering a highly specialized, dynamic, and stimulating professional environment where innovation is an integral part of everyday work.
The constant participation in national and European research projects, as well as in international networks of air quality experts such as FAIRMODE (Forum for Air Quality Modeling), along with collaborations with institutions like universities, CNR (National Research Council), and ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), contribute to creating an ideal setting for undertaking an Executive PhD. In this environment, the focus goes beyond operational management tasks, with constant encouragement towards both scientific advancement and practical innovation.
My PhD research project focused on developing a modelling system for high-resolution urban air quality estimation, integrating two complementary approaches: regional and urban scale modelling and microscale modelling, which can evaluate the impact of local sources while accounting for effects caused by the presence of buildings.
The research topic offered the opportunity to explore air quality from multiple perspectives, combining the theory with practical activities such as developing and using model code, while integrating both technical and applied aspects. Moreover, in a company that has always actively supported engagement with the scientific community, I had the chance to attend conferences and contribute to scientific production through writing articles and delivering presentations.
Alongside the scientific aspects, the Executive PhD at ARIANET also enabled me to develop essential soft skills: working in multidisciplinary teams, project management, client interaction, and both technical and scientific communication.
One of the most interesting aspects of this journey was the continuous engagement with real-world case studies, which allowed me to adapt and address the research toward concrete needs. At the same time, exposure to stimuli from research fields complementary to air quality, such as health and epidemiology, with which ARIANET regularly collaborates, contributed to the evolution and broadening of the initial objectives, leading to a more comprehensive and integrated vision of the topic.
Finally, working daily alongside colleagues at ARIANET—highly skilled and always open to dialogue—was fundamental not only in deepening my knowledge, but also in helping me develop a critical approach to research activities. Moreover, the collaboration with colleagues from Aria Technologies in France further enriched this experience by offering new insights for further investigation.
All these elements made this experience a meaningful opportunity for both professional and personal development, allowing me to conduct research within a highly qualified and intellectually stimulating environment, attentive to addressing future scientific challenges.”
At ARIANET, collaborating with the academic world has always been an opportunity to access advanced scientific expertise and introduce innovative approaches to problem-solving.
With Daniela as well, this investment in advanced training has led to a mutually enriching experience: working together on targeted projects has allowed us to address specific company needs, contributing to the innovation of our products, processes, and services.
