We are interested in participating in a consortium on both topics. Our research group (the BIG, Business Intelligence Group of the University of Bologna) has more than twenty years of experience in information systems and decision support systems, data and metadata modeling, data analysis, and big data systems (including streaming IoT data and NoSQL databases), with over 160 research papers published. The BIG has extensive experience and knowledge in the design and development of data platforms supporting data-intensive collection, storage, computation, and analysis via data mining and machine learning algorithms, with specific expertise in precision agriculture applications (including the collection and analysis of geo-referenced data from on-the-field sensors and satellite images). We have deployed data platforms in diverse applications, including the application of integrated pest management strategies against the spread of stink bugs, and the support to crop monitoring and management; in particular, we have patented a system to monitor soil moisture levels via machine-learning-assisted grids of sensors, enabling the provision of timely irrigation recommendation. We believe that our expertise (consolidated through multiple European and national research projects on these topics) can be fruitfully employed to put together a prominent consortium and define a strong and highly innovative proposal.

The University of Bologna is known as the oldest university in the Western world, one of the most important institutions of higher education across Europe, and the second-largest university in Italy. It remains one of the most important institutions of higher education across Europe with 11 Schools, 32 Departments, and about 85.000 students. The University of Bologna is involved in a very large number of projects, such as H2020, LIFE, and Interreg, plus many national projects funded directly or indirectly by the European Union. The funded projects create networks with over 3.000 partners, 1.600 of which are private. Cooperation between universities and Industry plays an important part of the activity, including patent developments.

We are part of the Computer Science and Engineering department (DISI), which conducts foundational, technology-driven, and experimental research over several research areas including AI, Information Systems, Big Data, Software Engineering. We have a consolidated history of collaboration with the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), which led to multiple publications in distinguished international journals and a patent on techniques and methods for soil moisture monitoring. Our group owns an on-premises big data infrastructure enabling the storage and processing of very large quantities of data, composed of 20+ machines and built on a Docker Swarm architecture to support both mature and innovative open-source big data tools; this is used on a daily basis to carry out research activities on big data approaches and algorithms. We also have experience in the deployment and usage of data platforms and big data tools on the main cloud providers.