SPECIAL SESSION #11

Francesco Bonavolontà

University of Naples Federico II, DIETI, Italy

• francesco.bonavolonta@unina.it

Annalisa Liccardo

University of Naples Federico II, DIETI, Italy

• aliccard@unina.it

Francesco Lamonaca

University of Calabria, DIMES, Italy

• f.lamonaca@dimes.unical.it

Mauro D’Angelo

Perlatecnica ETS, Naples, Italy

• mauro.dangelo@perlatecnica.it

Technical and scientific education is undergoing a profound transformation: technologies such as AI, IoT, digital twins, virtual and augmented reality, XR environments, and the metaverse are reshaping educational methods, spaces, and tools. New learning ecosystems are increasingly interactive, immersive, personalized, and data-driven, requiring approaches capable of reflecting the complexity of contemporary digital systems.

In this evolution, training is the key element that completes technological transfer: it is the point at which innovation becomes operational skill, critical capacity, and professional culture. In this process, metrology plays an enabling role by ensuring data quality, traceability, and awareness in the use of technologies — essential requirements for digital tools to become truly educational.

The Special Session METRO4SMARTEDU explores how educational methods are changing thanks to emerging technologies, and how new learning environments can integrate intelligent tools, advanced simulations, immersive realities, and cyber-physical platforms. Experiences from university Academies, ITS institutions, and industrial collaborations illustrate a training model that increasingly mirrors modern production systems, based on digital competences, laboratory-based project work, and connected practices.

The session fits into a broader European vision aimed at developing advanced STEM and digital skills, promoting training mobility, and building innovative, interoperable, and inclusive educational environments.

The Special Session invites contributions on subjects including, but not limited to, the following topics:

1. Emerging technologies for technical and scientific education
• AI, intelligent agents and machine learning for learning;
• Virtual reality, augmented reality, XR and metaverse for immersive experiences;
• Digital twins and cyber-physical laboratories for hands-on teaching;
• IoT and smart sensing for connected learning environments.
2. Evolution of teaching methods in Education 4.0
• Interactive, adaptive, and data-driven approaches;
• Immersive teaching, advanced simulations, digitalized industrial scenarios;
• Gamification, problem solving, project-based learning;
• Cloud platforms and intelligent tools for experiential learning.
3. Training as a key component of technology transfer
• Models for transforming advanced technologies into operational skills;
• University Academies, ITS institutions, and industrial partnerships as model ecosystems;
• Integration of education, applied research, and innovation;
• Digital professional profiles for Industry 4.0 and advanced services.
4. Data quality and digital awareness
• Traceability, interpretation, and reliability in learning environments;
• Learning analytics, competence assessment, and data-driven feedback;
• Security, ethics, and governance of educational technologies;
• Quality metrics for immersive tools and interactive platforms.
5. European and international vision of advanced education
• Digital skills, STEM competencies, and interoperability of educational systems;
• Training mobility, exchanges, and global models of connected learning ecosystems;
• Partnerships among universities, ITS institutions, industry, and research centers;
• European initiatives and strategies for educational and digital innovation.

Francesco Bonavolontà is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Electronic Measurements at the University of Naples Federico II. After completing his PhD in Electrical Engineering, he developed an extensive research activity on advanced measurement systems, IoT sensor networks, and solutions for Industry 4.0, Precision Livestock Farming, and agri-food sustainability. He is the author of more than 100 international publications and serves as Associate Editor for journals such as Scientific Reports (Nature) and Measurement: Sensors (Elsevier). He has coordinated major projects within PNRR, PRIN, and industrial frameworks, collaborating with national and international research institutions and industrial partners. He is also co-inventor of the patent System and Method for Capturing Wild Boars (2023).

Annalisa Liccardo (Member, IEEE) received the M.S. (cum laude) and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, in 2003 and 2006, respectively.,She was a Tenure-Track Researcher with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples Federico II, from 2013 to 2016, where she has been an Associate Professor since 2016. She is currently the Head of the Laboratory “Measurement for Smart Grid,” Centre for Advance Metrological Services (CESMA), University of Naples Federico II. She is the Founder of the spin-off ARCADIA, Naples, for the realization of AR environments for remote control of measurement instruments. Her main current research interests involve advanced measurements for monitoring and protecting electrical power systems, IoT sensors for electrical measurements, distributed measurement systems, and AR-based remote laboratories.

Francesco Lamonaca (Senior Member, IEEE) received the M.S. degree in computer science engineering and the Ph.D. degree in computer and system science from the University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy, in 2005 and 2010, respectively, and the doctorate degree equivalences in science and engineering science from the Université Libre de Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor of Electronic Measurements with the University of Calabria. His current research interests include measurements, signal processing for structural health monitoring, non-invasive monitoring and testing, IoT-based monitoring systems, synchronization of networking measurement instruments and sensor measurements for medical use, and measurements and systems for the elaboration of measurement information based on artificial intelligence. Prof. Lamonaca is a member of the TC-10—Waveform Generation, Measurement and Analysis, the TC-25 Medical Measurement, and the TC-37—Measurements and Networking of the IEEE Society on Instrumentation and Measurement (IM), IEEE, IM, GMEE, IAHR, and International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO). He was the Special Session Chair of MeMeA 2016 and organized several special sessions in the field of metrology for living environment and health. He is the Vice-Officer of Commission A—Electromagnetic Metrology of the Union Radio Scientifique Internationale (International Union of Radio Sciences)—Italian National Committee. He won competitions as first classified: the University of Calabria, Young Researchers 2010 and 2012; GMEE, Mobility Research Grants 2011; TE-RE-RD, several Best Paper Awards, the IEEE Vehicular Technology/Communication Society Joint Chapter Italy Section Concerning with Innovative Ideas Against Corona Virus, 2020, and several outstanding reviewer awards. He is the Editor in Chief of Acta IMEKO and Associate Editor of Sensors MDPI. He is the General Chair of the IEEE Workshop on Metrology for Living Environment 2022-2025, and of the IEEE conference on Metrology for Archaeology in 2022.

Mauro D’Angelo is the Founder and President of Perlatecnica ETS, a non-profit organization established in 2014 and dedicated to promoting digital literacy, robotics education, and STEM competences.
For over a decade, he has designed and coordinated international technological and educational projects, collaborating with schools, universities, and European institutions.
His work focuses on developing innovative learning environments based on smart cities, robotics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, combining technology with creativity, ethics, and experiential learning.
He has strong expertise in managing funded and complex projects and in leading multidisciplinary teams, with a consistent focus on the social impact of technology and on empowering younger generations.
Alongside his non-profit activities, he works at STMicroelectronics in the field of software quality for the automotive sector.