For the future, the vision is transforming the university into a multidimensional center of excellence, still focused on IT, but not just related to pure computer science, including possible synergistic domains of knowledge.

For us, excellence is the worldwide recognition of competence in the target research areas, the attractiveness of excellent students ready to invest their life and their wealth in the educational programs, and the high demand of research and consulting support from the industry.

1 The Goals

From the high-level vision, in order to make plans implementable, it is necessary to identify more concrete low-level goals. We identified the following:

  1. 1.

    Join the top 100 university in QS

  2. 2.

    Educate outstanding professionals

  3. 3.

    Aim at self-sufficiency

2 From Key Objectives to Overall Goals

To move toward the identified goals, we identified specific objectives. By achieving such objectives, we are convinced that we will make a significant move ahead.

  1. O.I:

    systematize and strengthen existing curricula at the BS, MS, and PhD level, considering possibilities for their expansions in two main dimensions:

    • new subject areas;

    • tailored teaching schema for excellent and entrepreneurship-oriented students.

  2. O.II:

    leverage already strong research competences to excel, also trying to build stronger relationships with local and international granting agencies and industrial partners.

  3. O.III:

    achieve a worldwide recognition.

  4. O.IV:

    hire excellent professorial staff, existing or potential worldwide leaders in the field, also using the mechanisms of visiting and adjunct professorships, a prerequisite for any expansion of the educational offer and further research endeavors.

  5. O.V:

    recruit nationally and internationally outstanding students at all levels, from BS to PostDoc.

The relationship between the key objectives and the overall goals is represented in Fig. 11.1.

Fig. 11.1
figure 1

From key objectives to overall goals

Full size image

3 Means to Achieve the Objectives

To achieve the long-term goals via the stated objectives, the faculty has identified the following means:

  1. M.1:

    organization of the operations in institutes and laboratories centered on:

    1. M.1.1:

      focused research subjects,

    2. M.1.2:

      core educational areas and programs,

    3. M.1.3:

      targeted consulting infrastructure

  2. M.2:

    suitable handling of the professorial profiles and careers,

  3. M.3:

    dean’s office,

  4. M.4:

    strong synergy with the international department and the student recruitment department,

  5. M.5:

    effective budgeting,

  6. M.6:

    advisory board,

  7. M.7:

    specific mechanisms to enact via the various bodies of the faculty.

The first means to achieve the objectives of the faculty is the organization of its operations, with particular attention to:

  • the research performed through institutes and laboratories,

  • the core educational areas and programs,

  • the consulting offering.

4 Faculty Operations

An effective management of the activities of the faculty is an essential ingredient for the overall success of the academia. Therefore, the faculty operations have been organized in three levels:

  • overall university academic council

  • faculty cabinet

  • dean’s office

5 Strong Synergy with the International Department and the Student Recruitment Department

Especially with reference with the objectives of achieving a worldwide recognition (11.2) and of recruiting nationally and internationally outstanding students at all levels, from BS to PostDoc (11.2), the activities of the faculty proceed hand in hand with two core departments of the university: the international department and the student recruitment department.

6 Effective Budgeting

The implementation of the plan depends on the resources that have been allocated to it; an effective allocation of resources is therefore a prerequisite for an efficient implementation.

In budgeting the resources, therefore, on the one side, direct responsibility is given to the institute directors and the lab heads, and, on the other, the distribution is tight to the level of contribution to the overall goals of the university.

7 Advisory Board

To provide a long-term guidance of the activity of the faculty, it would be useful to create a body of outstanding, worldwide researchers that could advice the faculty as a whole, the dean, and the vice-provost for education on a variety of issues, including the definition of the goals, the structure of the curricula, the recruitment of new research and professorial staff, and the career evolution of current staff.