Challenge@PoliTo_by Firms is an innovative teaching activity carried out at the Politecnico di Torino. It plays a vital role in the PoliTo's strategy to foster innovative education and entrepreneurial culture among students. These activities are organized in collaboration with external firms, which present real life business challenges. The primary objective of these activities is to provide support for early-stage ideas and equip students with the essential skills needed to develop their entrepreneurial ventures. During this experience, up to 30 master’s students are divided into multidisciplinary teams and work, compete, and develop their own solutions. The challenge take place in an experimental educational laboratory: the CLIK - Connection Lab & Innovation Kitchen, where students can experiment and practice what they have learned during their lectures in an informal and multidisciplinary environment which promotes the spirit of creativity and collaboration. Challenge@PoliTo by Firms – Hitachi Rail Generative AI for smart synchronization in hybrid railway software systems The Topic Hitachi Rail, a global leader in railway solutions, is exploring the integration of DevOps approaches, Generative AI and highly efficient Cloud environments for B2B business, with the aim of improving performance and competitiveness. However, the automation of public transport systems requires careful management of costs and rigorous procedures. These factors can often clash with the flexibility and speed offered by new technologies. The challenge for Hitachi Rail is to find the perfect balance: exploiting the innovative potential of these solutions, while ensuring the highest standards of safety and reliability required by the railway sector. The Challenge The goal of the challenge is to develop a Generative AI model applied to railway transport, capable of automatically comparing and analysing the contents of two or more hybrid systems, both cloud-based and on-premise. The model, which should be queryable in natural language, must not only identify discrepancies but also manage synchronization intelligently, following specific rules for different application contexts. In particular, it should: • Automate synchronization for development environments; • Manage updates in operational systems in a controlled manner; • Apply a structured strategy for test systems.

The main goal is to engage students in learning initiatives which can really bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge acquired in the university environment and the practical skills required by companies to work in a professional setting. Entrepreneurial Culture: Promote the Entrepreneurial culture/behavior on the PoliTo Students. Multidisciplinary Teams: Collaborate in a complex and multidisciplinary context. Information research: Retrieval, Data collection and Utilization of information to support teamwork activities. Hard Skills: Put into practice what they have learned during their lectures to solve a real problem from partner firms. Soft Skills: Teamwork under conditions close to a genuine business environment, self-assessment and work organization. By the end of this activity, students will be better equipped to work in a multidisciplinary team, a skill increasingly sought after, especially multinationals. Furthermore, they will be able to analyze industrial problems with a comprehensive approach, considering both technical and market aspects.

Challenges are open to master’s students of the Politecnico di Torino. Students are required to verify if this specific Challenge recognizes credits for their degree programme. No specific competencies are required to participate. To apply to this activity, the student must upload: ● Covering Letter in English: self-presentation and motivations of interest in the presented Challenge; ● Curriculum Vitae. The students' selection will be based on Cover Letter, CV and multidisciplinary required by the Challenge. The Challenges is entirely held in English.

The Challenges of the second didactic period last 14 weeks; they start in February 2026 and end in June 2026. During the Challenges, students must work in multidisciplinary teams supported by a group of tutors, coming from PoliTo and external partners, with complementary backgrounds and competencies, under the lead of Professor Andrea Bottino (DAUIN). Each team will have the flexibility to self-organize its own working time and methodology. However, they will be required to spend approximately 1 hour and half per week with mentors, either in the CLIK Lab, a similar space or remotely, in addition to the joint alignment meetings (specified subsequently).

The activity will take place at CLIK (Connection Lab and Innovation Kitchen), located in the central building of the Politecnico di Torino (Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24), in a similar space or remotely, with the following schedule: ● Kick-Off & Team Formation (2 consecutive days): the partner company, professor in charge of the activity and tutors will hold a session on the Challenge's issues. Team Building and team formation also take place in this phase to establish multidisciplinary teams. ● Problem Analysis and Idea Creation: teams will have two weeks to analyze the problem in detail. A team of mentors will provide support through weekly meetings. ● Idea Presentation – 1st Work Progress: each team will present the problem and their proposed solution through a pitch. This will be a half day joint alignment meeting. ● Prototyping and Development: teams will meet weekly at CLIK (or similar space or remotely) together with mentors who will support their project's development. This phase will extend over 11 weeks of teamwork. ● Two Mid-Check Presentations – 2nd and 3rd Work Progress: two half-day joint alignment meetings will be dedicated to discussing the work progress during the Prototyping and Development phase. ● Final Presentation: at the end of the 14 weeks, teams will present their projects through a pitch. This will be a half day joint alignment meeting. Every team will have the flexibility to self-organize its own working time and methodology. However, they will be required to spend approximately 1 hour and half per week with mentors, either in the CLIK Lab, a similar space or remotely. The Teams, during the Challenge, must hand in the following deliverables: • Three ppts Work Progress: Pitches to explain achieved outcomes and next steps of the project, during work progress meetings. • One monthly report: a monthly report to describe achieved outcomes and next steps. • One ppt Final Presentation: final pitch, during the final presentation, to present the whole work. • One final report: a comprehensive final report on the entire project will be submitted. A standard form will be provided for this purpose. Please note that the outlined structure serves as an example and may be subject to modifications throughout the course of the Challenge.

Modalità di esame: Accertamento (esame senza voto);

Exam: Check;

... Challenge is open to master’s students of the Politecnico di Torino. Credits will be awarded at the end of the Challenge only if the student successfully completes the course. The verification procedure is based on the following criteria: • Development of the project according to an evaluation grid. • Quality of the presentations during the joint meetings. • Reports (monthly and final). • Self-evaluation by team members. Please note that this activity does not have a grade; it is simply marked as passed or not passed.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.