~ FREE ONLINE WEBINAR ~
Webinar "Innovation in Water Utilities: Digitalization for a More Efficient Water Service" organised by the IAHR Italy YPN

Friday 25 September 2026

15:00 CEST (Italy) - Duration: approximately 60 minutes

Part of the series: “Online Meetings with Young Researchers and Their Professors from Italian Universities”

Register Here

 Session 5 - Technical University of Bari, Italy

Overview 

In this session, Prof. Orazio Giustolisi will deliver the opening and closing remarks, while Eng. Giusy Messa from the Technical University of Bari will present a specific aspect of her research, “Innovation in Water Utilities: Digitalization for a More Efficient Water Service”. 

Under Prof. Giustolisi’s supervision, her research is on “Digital transformation and change management for smart water utilities: advanced performance indicators and integrated decision-making framework for reliable and resilient water systems”. The keynote will focus on a specific aspect of her research, “Innovation in Water Utilities: Digitalization for a More Efficient Water Service”, with particular attention to how innovation and digitalization can be effectively integrated into water utility management, and how digital tools and innovative strategies can support technical decision-making throughout the entire water system management cycle - from investment planning and intervention design to the execution of works - with the aim of enhancing the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of water distribution networks. 

Speakers

Moderator

Programme

• Opening remarks (5 min) Prof. Orazio Giustolisi | Technical University of Bari, Italy

• Main presentation (20 min) Eng. Giusy Messa | Technical University of Bari, Italy

• Closing remarks (5 min) Prof. Orazio Giustolisi | Technical University of Bari, Italy

• Q&A Session (15 min) Moderated by Eng. Hossein Azizi Nadian | IAHR Italy YPN

Presentation Abstract

This keynote presents a specific part of the PhD research on Innovation in Water Utilities: Digitalization for a More Efficient Water Service, focusing on the integration of digital tools and the development of innovative strategies to support decision-making throughout the different stages of water system management. 

The proposed approach aims to combine advanced hydraulic modelling, digital water services, and data-driven tools within an integrated decision-support framework for water utilities. The focus is on how these tools and strategies can be effectively embedded into the planning and management processes, from the strategic planning of investments, through the design of interventions (e.g. water-loss reduction interventions), to the planning and execution of works, (e.g. pipelines replacement works). 

In particular, digital tools and advance hydraulic analysis can support the identification and prioritization of interventions such as pipe replacement and network district metering (districtualization), while also enabling a more effective planning of construction activities and infrastructure renewal. By integrating technical, hydraulic, economic, and operational information, these tools can help water utilities evaluate alternative intervention strategies and allocate available resources where they can generate the greatest benefits. 

The overarching objective is to move towards a more efficient, resilient, and sustainable management of water distribution networks, maximizing the benefits of infrastructure investments while minimizing the social and environmental impacts of the interventions. In this perspective, digitalization is not considered merely as a technological innovation, but as an enabling element for a new approach to water utility management, capable of improving the quality and effectiveness of technical decisions and guiding investments and interventions towards the most valuable outcomes. 

About the Speakers and Moderator

• Prof. Orazio Giustolisi, PhD | Orazio Giustolisi has been Full Professor at the Polytechnic University of Bari since 2003. He was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Taranto from 2006 to 2009 and member of the Board of Directors of the Polytechnic University of Bari from 2014 to 2018. He is co-founder of the start-up IDEA-RT. He is currently Head of the “Industrial” Doctorate in “Change Management in Civil Engineering Infrastructures” and Professor of the courses Digital Water and Hydraulic Systems Management. His main research activity includes modeling and management of water distribution networks, digital transition, Hydroinformatics and machine learning. In 2004 he invented Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (EPR), a symbolic machine learning technique. EPR is today used worldwide in various fields. He has been Editor-in-Chief and Editor of the Journal of Hydroinformatics for more than a decade and Chair of the IWA-IAHR Hydroinformatics Leadership Team. He is the author of more than 80 articles in WoS journals related to machine learning, complex network theory and analysis, planning and management of water systems. Finally, he received over 5.300 citations in SCOPUS with an H-index of 41 and is present in the World's Top 2% Scientists ranking since its establishment.  He is the Chair of the next IAHR World Congress in 2027 in Bari.  

• Giusy Messa, PhD Candidate | Giusy Messa is a third-year PhD student in the Industrial PhD programme “Change Management in Civil Engineering Infrastructures” at the Technical University of Bari, Italy, in collaboration with Acquedotto Pugliese (AQP). She is a Civil and Hydraulic Engineer and currently works at Acquedotto Pugliese, the company responsible for managing the integrated water service in Apulia region, Italy. Her professional and research activities focus on innovation and digital transformation in water utilities, with particular attention to the integration of digital tools and innovative strategies to support technical decision-making and improve the planning, design, and management of water distribution systems.
  

• Eng. Hossein Azizi Nadian: PhD student at DICATAM, University of Brescia, Italy, and President of the Italy Young Professionals Network. His research focuses on the hydraulics of open-channel and water pipeline systems.

How to Participate

This session will be held online via Zoom. Click here to register and receive the meeting link 
A Certificate of Participation will be available upon request. Please contact iahr.italy.ypn@gmail.com

Organized by

IAHR Italy Young Professionals Network