MIT Residency Programme

Within the academic research activities of the Gianfranco Ferré Research Centre, the collaboration with the MIT International Science and Technology Program is developed in synergy with the Department of Design of Politecnico di Milano through the MIT Residency Programme.

Each summer, the programme welcomes MIT engineering students, engaging them in multidisciplinary and multi-departmental projects that integrate technical and scientific expertise with cultural and humanistic approaches applied to the study of the Ferré archive, contributing to the generation of new connections and shared visions.

Now in its third edition, the initiative has produced research pathways that include, on the one hand, collaboration with the Department of Mechanical Engineering on reverse-engineering activities applied to Gianfranco Ferré’s archival artefacts – garments and bijoux – aimed at creating digital replicas and their re-materialisation through additive manufacturing technologies; on the other hand, collaboration with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering focused on the use of artificial intelligence for the extraction, organisation, and ‘curation’ of data derived from artefacts and historical documentation, with the goal of developing interfaces and solutions for an augmented archive capable of learning from its own heritage.