The Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (DIISM) was established in July 2011 following the merger of the former Departments of Mechanics, Energetics, and Mathematical Sciences.
As of late 2025, DIISM consists of 60 faculty members, approximately 150 researchers (PhD students and research fellows), and 27 technical and administrative staff members.
The Department coordinates the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs in Mechanical Engineering, as well as the Inter-University programs (with the University of Urbino): the Bachelor’s in Sustainable Industrial Engineering and the Master’s in Green Industrial Engineering (taught in English). Furthermore, it participates in the coordination of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs in Management Engineering. The Department also hosts the PhD program in Industrial Engineering, featuring three curricula: Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Engineering.
DIISM promotes and conducts research, education, and third mission activities across most sectors of interest to Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.
The Department is led by the Head of Department, assisted by a Deputy Head. The management of the Department is based on an inclusive and transparent approach; since November 2020, various Working Groups (WGs) have been organized to support the management team. these groups focus on key departmental organizational themes and are responsible for planning actions in constant consultation with the Department Council, the institutional governing body. The Head and Deputy Head coordinate all Working Groups. Each group is composed of faculty members and researchers and, in some cases, is completed by technical and administrative staff.
The Working Groups (or Committees) are:
Research Enhancement: Aimed at defining strategies to improve the quality of departmental research and evaluating its results.
Teaching and Education: Focused on teaching organization and improvement processes (student orientation, internships, etc.) to be submitted to the Faculty.
Third Mission: Aimed at improving the Department’s outreach capabilities (spin-offs, patents, public engagement, Agenda 2030).
European Planning: Focused on disseminating best practices for successful European projects and fostering the creation of networks and initiatives to increase the number of proposals involving DIISM.
Laboratory Organization: Responsible for managing laboratories by organizing activities, safety, personnel, and equipment, in coordination with the Safety Liaison.
Internationalization and Departmental Communication: Focused on implementing strategies to improve external communication and structuring/supporting initiatives involving the business world and civil society.
Human Resources Valorization: Aimed at establishing and managing criteria for the professional growth of all staff roles (faculty, technical, and administrative), in line with the Department’s strategic objectives and available resources.
DIISM plays an active role in all four experimental collaborative research platforms within the fields of smart specialization funded by the Marche Region: MARLIC (innovative materials), I-Labs Smart Environments (smart cities and energy efficiency), I-Labs Industry (robotics and IoT), and Fermo Tech (AI, Extended Reality, and Eco-sustainability).
One of DIISM’s strengths is its ability to attract resources from competitive calls. DIISM faculty collaborate with numerous research institutions and Networks of Excellence worldwide, coordinating and participating in various national and international research projects. Specifically, over the last five years, DIISM has been involved as a lead partner or member in 42 European Projects, 4 National Technological Cluster projects, 10 PRIN projects, 2 POC projects, 2 PNRR projects, 19 Ministerial projects, and 3 POR MARCHE projects. The total amount of funding allocated to active research projects over the five-year period was approximately €20 million. Furthermore, collaborations with the industrial and institutional sectors for applied research and technology transfer generated approximately €8 million in revenue for UNIVPM over the same period.
