Four €2,500 prizes for master's and doctoral theses focused on patent information and the use of artificial intelligence in inventive and creative processes.

Area Science Park has launched the 21st edition of the Bernardo Nobile Award, an initiative dedicated to promoting studies on the use and analysis of information related to intellectual property. In this new edition, the award broadens its scope to include the use of artificial intelligence and its impact on inventive and creative processes.

The Award is dedicated to the memory of Bernardo Nobile, founder and first head of Area Science Park's Centro PatLib, and is organized with the involvement of the Italian Association of Patent Information Specialists (AIDB).

Eligibility

The call is open to graduates and PhD holders who obtained their degree or doctoral qualification from an Italian university no more than three years before the application deadline. Candidates must submit a thesis, written in either Italian or English, whose content and bibliography are consistent with the scope of one of the following categories:

• Categories 1 and 2, dedicated respectively to master's/specialist degree theses and doctoral dissertations exploring the opportunities and risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the search and processing of bibliographic and information sources aimed at defining the scientific and technological state of the art, with particular reference to data and information contained in patent documents.

• Category 3, open to master's/specialist degree and/or doctoral theses that analyze the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence to support the inventive process and the protection and management of inventions, assessing its benefits for inventors and/or intellectual property managers and examining its ethical, legal and/or moral implications.

• Category 4, dedicated to master's/specialist degree and/or doctoral theses exploring the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence to support the creative process behind human intellectual works, while examining the related ethical, legal and/or moral issues. Relevant fields include science, literature, music, visual arts, architecture, theatre, cinema, broadcasting, computer programs, and databases.

Submission of Applications

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (CEST) on 26 October 2026 via the candidate's certified email (PEC) to: protocollo@pec.areasciencepark.it

The full call and supporting documentation are available on the Award's dedicated webpage.

Awards

A €2,500 prize will be awarded to each winner in the respective categories.