Academia Program · Cognitive Logic · Bologna 2026
Research Infrastructure for Ethical AI
Cognitive Logic opens its QEN framework, scoring datasets and agent architecture to universities, PhD candidates and independent researchers. Formal collaborations, open data tracks, joint publication pathways.
Research Domains
What you can study with QEN
The QEN framework produces structured, multi-dimensional ethical scores anchored to verifiable regulatory obligations. Four primary research domains.
Ethical AI Measurement & Scoring
Quantitative methodologies for encoding social, environmental and territorial values into machine-readable scores. Weighting models, uncertainty propagation, multi-stakeholder aggregation.
CSRD & Non-Financial Disclosure
Operationalising CSRD sustainability reporting for SMEs and micro-operators. Green Claims Directive compliance, double materiality assessment, automated evidence extraction from unstructured documents.
Territorial Intelligence & Local Economics
Proximity supply chains, Km0 sourcing networks, place-based economic rootedness indicators. Intersection of territorial data with regulatory compliance in the HoReCa and coastal tourism sectors.
Autonomous Agent Governance
Multi-agent orchestration patterns for regulatory compliance workflows. LLM-based auditing agents, escalation logic, human-in-the-loop design under EU AI Act high-risk system constraints.
QEN Framework
The scoring formula
QEN (Quantification of Ethical Naturalness) quantifies enterprise ethical performance across three orthogonal dimensions. The formula is fully open for academic inspection and critique.
Labour conditions, worker welfare, community impact, gender equity, supply chain human rights.
Carbon footprint, waste management, energy sourcing, biodiversity impact, CSRD materiality.
Local sourcing (Km0), territorial rootedness, cultural heritage, place-based economic contribution.
All three dimensions are scored 0–100. The output QEN score is likewise 0–100. Full variable definitions, sub-indicator lists and weighting justification are documented in the Methodology v1.0.
Collaboration Tracks
How we work together
Three structured pathways for academic engagement. All tracks are formalized via a brief research protocol submission.
Track A
Thesis & Dissertation
Bachelor, Master and PhD theses directly using QEN data or methodology. Cognitive Logic provides dataset access, methodology documentation, and technical support sessions.
- Dataset access (anonymized, structured)
- Methodology consultation (3 sessions)
- Co-authorship on outputs negotiable
- Certificate of collaboration issued
- Duration: semester to academic year
Track B
Joint Research & Publication
Collaborative research projects aimed at peer-reviewed publication. Focus areas: ethical AI measurement, CSRD operationalisation, territorial economics, autonomous agent governance.
- Full dataset access (non-anonymized on NDA)
- Roberto Malini co-authorship
- Shared attribution on methodological IP
- Target: conference papers + journal submissions
- Duration: 6–18 months
Track C
Research Consultancy
External advisory role for research groups needing applied compliance expertise. Regulatory interpretation, framework validation, field data access via Cognitive Logic operator network.
- Advisory sessions (4–8 per project)
- Access to live operator data (NDA required)
- EU funding proposal support (Horizon, EIC)
- No co-authorship required
- Compensation: negotiable / pro-bono for PhD candidates
Data Access
Available datasets
Structured datasets produced through the Cognitive Logic pilot program. Covering Bologna HoReCa operators, coastal concessions and food supply chains.
| Dataset | Vertical | Records | Variables | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QEN-RIST-BO-2026 Bologna restaurants — pilot cohort |
Ristorazione | 5 operators | 38 variables | On request |
| QEN-BALNEARI-2026 Coastal concessions — Bolkestein compliance |
Balneare | Expanding | 42 variables | On request |
| QEN-HORECA-SYNTHETIC Synthetic benchmark dataset for methodology testing |
HoReCa | 100 synthetic | 40 variables | Open |
| COMPLIANCE-VECTORS-EU Regulatory text embeddings — EU AI Act, CSRD, GDPR |
Regulatory | Structured corpus | NLP vectors | Open |
| QEN-ALBERGHIERO-2026 Hotel & accommodation — seasonal operators |
Alberghiero | Planned Q4 2026 | ~44 variables | Q4 2026 |
All datasets requiring access are gated by a brief research protocol form and NDA where applicable. Anonymized versions of pilot data are available immediately upon track enrollment.
Publications & Working Papers
Research outputs
Working papers, methodology documents and forthcoming submissions from the Cognitive Logic research program.
Start a collaboration
Send a two-paragraph research protocol: your institution and role, the research question you want to address, which dataset or framework component you need. We respond within 5 working days. PhD candidates and under-resourced institutions: pro-bono access available.