Basics

Name	Matteo Merler
Email	matteo.merler@gmail.com
Phone	+39 342 3646961
Url	https://merlerm.github.io/
Summary	I am a pre-doctoral researcher at FBK NLP in Trento, Italy, with an MSc in Machine Learning, Data Science, and AI from Aalto University in Helsinki. My research focuses on bridging large-scale models (such as LLMs and VLMs) with methods like Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Symbolic Planning. I aim to explore how RL's ability to learn from experience can complement the strengths of LLMs, which currently lack this capacity. I'm particularly interested in model-based RL and world models, investigating how large-scale models can be trained to plan ahead and imagine future states, helping them to adapt to complex reasoning and long-horizon planning beyond pattern matching.

Work

• 2025.01 - present

  Trento, Italy

  Researcher

  Fondazione Bruno Kessler

  Working as a pre-doctoral researcher ("Researcher 4 contract") in the Natural Language Processing Lab under the supervision of Bernardo Magnini.

  • Lead researcher on FBK's side of a joint project on planning with Vision-Language Models (with Aalto University), under resubmission.
  • Led a second project on selectively integrating VLM guidance with model-free Reinforcement Learning based on the agent's own uncertainty, with a preliminary version accepted at the CAIPI workshop at ECAI 2025 and a full paper in preparation.
  • Participating on private research for collaborations with companies.
  • Contributing to the draft of a Horizon Europe funding proposal, leading the lab's team for Language and Reinforcement Learning.
  • Active participation to the research group's scientific activities, including monthly meetings and collaborative discussions.

• 2024.08 - 2024.09

  Helsinki, Finland

  Research Assistant

  Aalto University

  MSc Thesis worker in the Foundation Models for Language and Reinforcement Learning (Larel) group, supervised by Prof. Pekka Marttinen.

  • Conducted a research project on Symbolic Regression with Large Language Models, presented at the ACL Student Research Workshop.
  • Co-led a research project on Code World Models with PhD candidate Nicola Dainese, forming the basis of my Master's Thesis, accepted at NeurIPS 2024.
  • Started a project on planning with Vision-Language Models, later continued by both Aalto University and my current group at FBK.
  • Regularly attended lab meetings and participated in broader academic activities, including the Seminar on Large Language Models.

• 2022.02 - 2022.06

  Trento, Italy

  Internship

  ThinkIN

  Worked as a software developer intern in collaboration with the University of Trento.

  • Designed and built a prototype for an indoor navigation system specifically targeted for supermarkets, to be used with the company's own location tracking system.

Education

• 2022.09 - 2024.09

  Master of Science

  Aalto University

  Machine Learning, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

  Final Score:

  • Graduated with honors, with a final grade of 5.0/5.0 and a GPA of 5.0/5.0.
  • Thesis: Generating Code World Models with Large Language Models Guided by Monte Carlo Tree Search, supervised by Prof. Pekka Marttinen, published at NeurIPS 2024.
  • Thesis awarded as one of the three best MSc theses of 2024 at the School of Science.
  • Received the Dean's Scholarship for outstanding academic performance.

• 2019.09 - 2022.07

  Bachelor of Science

  University of Trento

  Computer Science

  Final Score:

  • Graduated with a final grade of 110/110 cum laude (with honors) and a GPA of 28.46/30.
  • Thesis: Route Optimization for Indoor Spaces, supervised by Prof. Alberto Montresor (in Italian).

• 2014.09 - 2019.07

  High School Diploma

  Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci

  Liceo Scientifico (Italian Scientific High School Diploma)

  Final Score:

  • Graduated with a final grade of 100/100.

Publications

• 2025.10.25

  Guiding Reinforcement Learning with Selective Vision-Language Model Supervision

  ECAI Workshop on AI-based Planning for Complex Real-World Applications (CAIPI'25)

  Matteo Merler, Giovanni Bonetta, Bernardo Magnini

• 2025.05.19

  ViPlan: A Benchmark for Visual Planning with Symbolic Predicates and Vision-Language Models

  arXiv preprint

  Matteo Merler*, Nicola Dainese*, Minttu Alakuijala, Giovanni Bonetta, Pietro Ferrazzi, Yu Tian, Bernardo Magnini, Pekka Marttinen

• 2024.12.13

  Generating Code World Models with Large Language Models Guided by Monte Carlo Tree Search

  Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 37 (NeurIPS 2024)

  Nicola Dainese*, Matteo Merler*, Minttu Alakuijala, Pekka Marttinen

• 2024.08.01

  In-Context Symbolic Regression: Leveraging Large Language Models for Function Discovery

  Proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, Volume 4: Student Research Workshop (ACL 2024 SRW)

  Matteo Merler*, Katsiaryna Haitsiukevich*, Nicola Dainese*, Pekka Marttinen

• * Denotes equal contribution

Volunteer

• 2018.08 - 2018.08

  Volunteer

  Associazione Volontaria "Per un Mondo Migliore"

  I participated in a volunteering camp experience in Rijeka, Croatia where we helped different families and associations in need around the city and in mainland Croatia while living together in a shared home.

• 2017.07 - 2017.07

  Volunteer

  Libera Associazioni Nomi e Numeri Contro le Mafie

  I participated in a volunteering camp experience in southern Italy where we cultivated the fields of mafia-confiscated houses for the Libera association, while also taking part in various activities on the territory and listening to testimonies from victims and policemen.

Awards

• 2025.04.03

  Master's Thesis Award

  Aalto University, School of Science

  My Master's thesis was awarded as one of the three best MSc theses of 2024 at the School of Science.

Languages

	Italian
	Native

	English
	C2 (Near-native proficiency)

	German
	A2 (Basic)