Riccardo Morandi
I'm Riccardo Morandi, a Ph.D. student in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), researching Real-Time Digital Twins.
My path here started out of curiosity more than a plan. Hands-on projects with embedded systems and IoT during my bachelor's and master's degrees in Software Engineering kept pulling me toward one question: how do you keep a digital representation of a physical system accurate the moment something changes? That question became my research focus — building Digital Twins where performance and determinism aren't optional, but a requirement.
Alongside my research, I collaborate on DigiWave, a startup I'm helping build with the goal of bringing digitalization and intelligence to any physical asset capable of producing data. It's where I get to take the ideas from my research and push them toward something people can actually use.
When I'm not working on Digital Twins, you'll find me gaming, at the gym, playing guitar, or watching F1 and football, around Mantova, where I'm originally from.
Education, Experience & Awards
From my first steps in engineering to my current research on Real-Time Digital Twins.
Education
- 2024 – PresentPh.D. in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)UNIMORE — Modena, ItalyPhD Program (Ministerial Decree 226/2021). Research area: design and implementation of Real-Time Digital Twins.
- 2021 – 2024Master's Degree in Software Engineering: Artificial IntelligenceUNIMORE — Modena, ItalyFinal grade: 110 cum Laude. Thesis: "Operator Digital Twins in Industry 5.0: Design Strategies & Experimental Evaluation".
- 2018 – 2021Bachelor's Degree in Software EngineeringUNIMORE — Mantova, ItalyFinal grade: 100. Thesis: "Design and implementation of dynamic processing pipelines in serverless architectures".
- 2013 – 2018Upper Secondary School DiplomaITIS Fermi — Mantova, ItalyField of study: Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Automation.
Experience
- 2025Computer Science TeacherW-Training — Emilia Romagna, ItalyTeaching activities for "Information Systems Innovation" and "System Integrator" courses.
- 2024Research Grant — Sustainable and Orchestrated Digital Twin Ecosystem for Human-Centric Industry 5.0UNIMORE — Reggio Emilia, ItalyResearch and development on the WLDT Java library for Digital Twin development.
- 2024Computer Science TeacherIFOA — Mantova, ItalyPython programming instructor for training courses.
- 2023 – 2024University Internship — Digital TwinUNIMORE — Mantova, ItalyResearch and development of an operator Digital Twin within an Industry 5.0 context; experimental assessment of feasibility and effectiveness.
- 2023Backend Developer for Vision SystemHIPERT — Modena, ItalyBackend communication for a vision system, using ThingsBoard for remote management and supervision.
- 2023University ScholarshipHIPERT — Modena, ItalyHigh-performance embedded systems research; data-driven methodologies for autonomous driving.
- 2022 – 2023MASA IoT System Architectural DesignerHIPERT — Modena, ItalyInfrastructure design for the MASA (Modena Automotive Smart Area) IoT project.
- 2022 – 2023Laboratory Activities — MASA IoT System Architectural DesignerUNIMORE — Mantova, ItalyInfrastructure design and technology research for the MASA (Modena Automotive Smart Area) IoT project.
- 2022HMI Designer and Developer — CEMP ProjectHIPERT — Modena, ItalyHMI system for the CEMP project with Dell'Orto S.p.A. and OCTO, showcased at EICMA 2022.
- 2021University Internship — Serverless ComputingUNIMORE — Mantova, ItalyResearch in serverless computing using Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenWhisk.
Awards
- 2025CREDEMHACK: Generate with AI — 3rd PlaceCredemGenerative AI hackathon; designed a system for classifying internal documents at Credem.
- 2021Hackathon H-ABLE — 1st PlaceMantua Hackathon on Disability in SportsDeveloped a running assistance system for the visually impaired on athletics tracks.