In the first part of the seminar, I recall some basic definitions from Commutative Algebra and Combinatorics. In particular, I consider classes of homogeneous ideals arising from discrete structures. The main goal of my research is to describe algebraic properties of these ideals in combinatorial terms. A typical example of this approach is to establish relations between the graded Betti numbers of monomial ideals and the structure of associated simplicial complexes or hypergraphs. In this flavour, I present various results, suggesting also possible future developments. Time permitting, in the last part of the seminar I focus on new directions of research, involving arithmetic matroids and a generalization of flag varieties.