Politecnico di Milano

Italy: Lombardy

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

Politecnico di Milano is one of the most outstanding universities in the world, among the top 20 in all the three areas of specialisation: 17th in Engineering (24th in 2016), 9th in Architecture (15th in 2016) and 5th in Design (10th in 2016), according to QS World University Ranking. Founded in 1863, Polimi is the largest school of Architecture, Design and Engineering in Italy, with 3 main campuses located in Milan, heart of fashion and design industries, and 5 campuses based around the Lombardy region, which is one of the most industrialized areas of Europe.

In the academic year 2016/2017, 20% of the students enrolled in Master of Science Programmes were international students.

Inter and multidisciplinary approaches are fostered throughout the academic path, and represent the methodological approach of the PhD School and the ASP (Alta Scuola Politecnica), a school for young talents from all over the world, who develop their skills in a team work context to pursue complex innovation projects.

Teaching is closely related to research, a key commitment that enables to achieve results of high international standards, while creating connections with the business world.

Strategic research is carried out mainly in the fields of energy, transport, planning, management, design, mathematics and natural and applied sciences, ICT, built environment, cultural heritage, with more than 250 laboratories, including a Wind Tunnel (unique in the world for configuration and features), a Crash Test Centre, PoliFAB (the University's infrastructure for micro and nano production) and PoliFactory, a laboratory where new design processes are developed.

Polimi was the first university in Italy for funded projects under the FP7 and also in Horizon 2020 maintains its Italian leadership among other universities (1621 proposals, 207 funded projects for a global amount of more than 94 Million Euros).

 

Fondazione Politecnico di Milano (Polimi Partner - www.fondazionepolitecnico.it/en) was founded in 2003 through a joint effort between the Politecnico di Milano, major city and regional institutions and important corporations to support the university’s research projects and contribute to innovating and developing the economic, productive and administrative environment. Fondazione Politecnico is committed to building a more effective relationship between the university, industry and public administrations.

To achieve these goals, Fondazione Politecnico develops:

innovation projects not only for large companies, but for numerous small to medium sized enterprises that characterise the Italian economy;

European projects that, by leveraging the Politecnico’s renowned capabilities, extend the network of both university and industrial collaborations outside our borders.

These efforts are complemented by a number of training programmes aimed at upgrading professional skills, to keep workers up-to-date with the rapidly evolving labour market, and of digital and online collaboration initiatives.

Aware of the importance of contributing to economic and social growth, Fondazione Politecnico develops social responsibility projects in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano, involving teachers and students in the drive for civil and communal change. In a global context, Fondazione Politecnico has been active in co-operation projects with both countries in need and nations experiencing exponential growth.

 

In 2013 Fondazione Politecnico transformed the Acceleratore di Impresa, Politecnico’s business incubator unit, into a modern structure designed to support the best national and international innovative startups, entrepreneurial empowerment and co-working projects: PoliHub (http://www.polihub.it/), which operates selecting innovative business ideas, forming teams, defining business model and market viability, research, financing and scale-up support. Mentors are managers, entrepreneurs and investors from various innovation sectors providing Acceleration/Startup/Business-Incubation. PoliHub delivers the basic services of an operative DIH: technology transfer, training, incubation and awareness construction capitalizing on the university competences and university consortia (Cefriel, MIP and Poliedra).

PoliHub has been recently awarded third place incubator from the UBI Global ranking (http://ubi-global.com/rankings/) among the top university incubators. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Pôle EMC2 Competitiveness cluster for innovation in production technologies

France: Loire Region

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

EMC2 is a French competitiveness cluster created in 2005 in the framework of a national initiative for industry competitiveness, operating in the Pays de la Loire and Brittany regions on Advanced Manufacturing Technologies.

The association gathers all the actors of innovation around key markets and technologies to foster the emergence of collaborative projects of R&D. The aim is to reinforce the innovation territorial ecosystem by structuring 4 sectors – aeronautics, naval, ground transportation and energy – in a common and transversal approach: the advanced manufacturing technologies. The vision of the cluster is to promote business development through collaborative innovation, building an innovation path mixing skills, markets and technologies to make innovation R&D projects emerge. EMC2 activities are enhanced by the IRT Jules Verne (Research and Technological Center) created 3 years ago at the initiative of the cluster.

EMC2 leads a network of 380 members composed of SMEs, Large Entreprises (LEs) such as Airbus, STX Europe, Naval Group, Solvay, Dassault… as well as the Research & Technical Organisations of our territory (Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Université de Nantes, Ecole des Mines de Nantes,...). At the end of 2016, the global budget of R&D reached 1.395 bn € for 230 projects launched, including 523M€ of public funds. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Plastipolis

France: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

PLASTIPOLIS has been officially appointed in 2005, as France’s competitiveness cluster for the plastics and composites industry sector. Plastipolis has now more than 400 active members (industrial firms, R&D centers, universities, training centers, institutions) including a large number of small and medium size companies. The main missions of Plastipolis are:

The stimulation of innovation within the plastics and composites industry with connecting technologies and business applications,
The support of small and medium companies to develop and implement new developments,
The improvement of the cooperations between industry and academic entities.

Plastipolis has built its innovation strategy across different strategic technology domains that have been defined in connection with trends and challenges of the major business markets: construction, transportation, medical, packaging, energy and environment, sport and consumer goods. Based on continuous technology and market analysis, Plastipolis and its members are sharing a technology roadmap aiming to drive the innovation efforts toward the most relevant and promising challenges. This roadmap that is now under implementation is organized on 4 main strategic areas: Advanced materials, High added value manufacturing processes, Smart plastics and Green materials and eco-design.

From 2013, Plastipolis has been awarded the Gold label, the highest European award in cluster performance evaluation.

https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/plastipolis Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Plan4all

Czechia: South-West (Czechia)

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

Plan4all is a digital innovation hub (DIH) for cooperation and experimentation. The key focus is on geospatial or location based open data and their utilisation in different domains including spatial/urban planning, rural development, transport, environment, tourism and precision/autonomous farming. 

The key features of the Plan4all DIH include:

Experimentation space on cloud including storage space
Service of cloud operator and possibility to install additional tools
Tools for development of new applications
Open data
Knowledge transfer

The Plan4all DIH is coordinated by the Plan4all association, a non-profit organisation sustaining and further enhancing results of multiple research and innovation projects. Plan4all aggregates large open datasets related to planning activities in different specialisms and makes sure that open data are easily accessible for reuse, data are maintained and their quality is improved.

The Plan4all association is an umbrella organisation of 60 partners from 22 countries including public bodies, universities, research organisations and business partners. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

PID BERGAMO SVILUPPO

Italy: Lombardy

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

PID Bergamo Sviluppo is a non-profit organization, established in the second half of 2017 and managed by the Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Bergamo, named Bergamo Sviluppo: https://www.bergamosviluppo.it/sito/sviluppo-e-innovazione/pid-punto-im…

In Italy, PIDs and DIHs together with Technology Transfer Centres, Universities and innovation clusters, share the responsibility to provide services for the digitalization of SMEs.

PID Bergamo Sviluppo is part of the 88 PID distributed in Italy created by the “National Plan Impresa 4.0 2017-2020” implemented in May 2017 by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (hereinafter MiSE): https://www.puntoimpresadigitale.camcom.it/paginainterna/cosa-sono-punt…

PID Bergamo Sviluppo is a one stop shop that offers solutions and services to help SMEs with the digitalization process. Our support, as other DIHs, is focused on:

workshops on Industry 4.0 items and on enabling technologies;
training on the job through experience center based on lean production (labour and service intensive);
self-analysis to define the digitalization level of the local business companies (SELFI4.0)
one to one consulting through expert insight, an original approach to creative problem solving and cost-effective delivery (ZOOM4.0)
economic support through Digital voucher provided by Bergamo Chamber of Commerce.

We are part of Bergamo Sviluppo, recognized by the Lombardy Region as a Research and Technology Transfer Center (RTTC) within the QUESTIO system and by IASP (International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation) as a Science Park since 2013.

Bergamo Sviluppo’s Science Park is located in Dalmine and for 6 years hosts the Business Incubator (active since 2001). The project aims to develop high growth potential business and supporting, at a local and national level, aspiring entrepreneurs or self-employed who wish to work in the field of innovative services or manufacturing activities. The Business Incubator of Bergamo Sviluppo is the ideal place for the growth of innovative ideas, the development of new technologies, the creation of stimulating synergies and business opportunities. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

PIAP HUB

Poland: Warsaw-Capital

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

Ever since PIAP’s origins in 1965 it’s role was to introduce new technologies to industry. PIAP acknowledges the low level of digitalisation in Polish manufacturing companies relative to other European countries and wants to facilitate the upcoming boom in this field in the Mazovian Region and in the whole country. Nowadays PIAP helps companies in the region become more competitive by improving their business/production processes as well as products (and services) by means of digital technology. This is being achieved by offered support with expertise and infrastructure, consulting and training services.
PIAP’s established role of competence centre for robotics, automation and measurements for industrial purposes has been accompanied by a number of services based on the expertise such as technology audits, technology scouting and technology brokering. By runnig a Hub in Warsaw PIAP intends to extend its impact to the SME sector by offering services to companies which currently have a relatively low level of digitisation and which do not have the resources or personnel to address the digitisation challenge.

 

The hub has access to a number of labs used for scientific and commercial purposes. These are being integrated in processes supporting business in order introduce the one-stop-shop principle. Our goal is to have the capacity to offer companies possibilities to test and experiment with technologies. To support the technology providers and users to carry out an experiment and to test whether the proposed approach would indeed be beneficial for the user. At the same time this experiment can be useful for the provider that has an early customer and can adapt the technology to the needs of a certain class of users.

Technologies developed by PIAP, its partners and clients may take advantage of PIAP’s commercialization good practices offered in the form of supporting service. Upon request they will be subject to commercialization potential evaluation by PIAP special purpose vehicle PIAP-Scientech Sp. z o.o.. The methodology developed in cooperation with an SPV of the Warsaw University of Technology will be applied. If the technologies show potential of commercialization, the process will be launched and the success fee will be distributed among parties involved in commercialization and R&D. Several networks and organizations (National Chamber o Commerce, Polish Institute of Technology, VCs and intermediaries running investment opportunities scans) will be involved in the process. Playing the role core partner in PIAP HUB Fundingbox Accelerator Sp. z o.o. provide access to cascade funding, acceleration and incubation programs and cascade funding distribution.

The role of the animator of the hub will be not only to offer its expertise and resources but most of all to integrate the potential of the whole ecosystem of public and private labs, technology and service providers. Hundreds of project implemented by PIAP resulted in a great network of partners from all sector. Their potential will add to the background PIAP already has and result in creation of a vibrant hub participating in international networks and national initiatives. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Photonics Bretagne

France: Brittany

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

Photonics Bretagne is a Photonics Innovation Hub located in Lannion (Brittany, France) integrating a cluster supporting innovation in the field of Photonics and its applications and a research and technology organisation (RTO) expert in the development of specialty optical fibers and components. The cluster supports innovation and industrial and technological development of its members (companies, research centers and schools) in order to generate economic growth and create jobs in Photonics, in Brittany. The cluster gathers more than 100 members today. The RTO of Photonics Bretagne develops, provides and sells custom specialty optical fibers and optical components. The RTO also offers services such as scientific studies, technology transfer and consulting in Photonics. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

PhotonDelta

Netherlands: North Brabant

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

PhotonDelta is one of Europe’s leading digital innovation hubs, and the main one in the area of Integrated Photonics, amplifying existing initiatives and kick-starting new ones. We believe that a fragmented approach to building the multi-billion Photonics business in Europe is never going to scale. Disruptive innovation needed to keep Europe’s lead in integrated photonics starts when young companies get access to the knowledge already gained by high-tech enterprises and applied research institutes. Although private initiatives are starting to grow, public funding is still needed to bridge the gap between working prototypes leaving the research lab and the point at which the chips are ready to be manufactured in quantity. It’s at that point where the private sector takes over. Grant funding to support research and innovation in SME’s has grown tenfold in the last decade to reach €100 million a year. But we believe that in order to keep a lead ahead of the US and Asia, funding level should be 10-20 times that. PhotonDelta is taking the lead to coordinate activities amongst other European digital innovation hubs working in optics and other sectors where photonics is a key enabling technology. So, for example, PhotonDelta is focusing on integrated photonics around SiN and InP. We’re collaborating with Ireland’s IPIC who are championing the challenges of photonics packaging, and participate in the ACTPHAST initiative recognized by the EC as an example of a Digital Innovation Hub; it provides open access for SME’s to design and manufacturing facilities in Integrated Photonics. We are establishing three pillars under PhotonDelta: PhotonDelta Research• The Institute of Photonic Integration builds on 40 years of optics research at TU/e – in cooperation with other nanotechnology centres like Mesa+ at the University of Twente and Saxion University of Applied Sciences. • PhotonDelta Cooperative - a consortium of scale-ups, manufacturers and investors. The goal is to build win-win situations for members, including early access to Research IP. The Photonics Integration technology centre (PITC) is currently being established, branching out on Europe-wide work done in circuits and components by the JePPIX consortium and the systems work done by the 5GBluespace Projects. Domains on pilot production lines, packaging, prototyping, building block development, and testing are currently being developed. PhotonDelta is very pro-active in outreach to industry, government and research organisations. We are gathering deep technology and industry knowledge so as to be efficient and effective. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

PARSEC HUB PERUGIA

Italy: Umbria

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

PARSEC HUB is a NO-PROFIT network of companies specialised in the provision of consultancy services, training and innovation support. It promotes a deep cultural intervention through a digital transition program in order to seize the opportunities offered by the Digital Single Market

Currently PARSEC HUB is composed by the following companies:

Agevolazioni Ricerca e Sviluppo, BLMProject, CONSVIP and Enginfo Consulting.

PARSEC HUB has an exclusive partnership for the provision of services on behalf of the Compagnia delle Opere’s (CdO) Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) and acts as a bridge between enterprises, research and development projects, also supporting companies in the identification and access to funding at national and European level.

PARSEC HUB follows companies through the digital transformation to help them fully understand its potential and risks, identify priority areas of intervention and to acquire the necessary know-how for the realization of technological innovation projects.

PARSEC HUB has a wide experience in:

analysis of the digital maturity level and the identification of needs;
understanding the opportunities and risks inherent the adoption of innovative technological solutions;
identification of priority areas of intervention to be transformed into projects digital transformation;
implementation and realization of projects with the partnership of professionals, companies and research institutes.

PARSEC HUB is regulating the Digital Transition Managers professionals, who are available to companies to promote and drive 4.0 innovation through customized paths, fully responding to the needs and potential of their business.

PARSEC HUB is located in Genova, Milano, Perugia,Ancona, Bari, Napoli and Catania Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

PARSEC HUB NAPOLI

Italy: Campania

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

PARSEC HUB is a NO-PROFIT network of companies specialised in the provision of consultancy services, training and innovation support. It promotes a deep cultural intervention through a digital transition program in order to seize the opportunities offered by the Digital Single Market

Currently PARSEC HUB is composed by the following companies:

Agevolazioni Ricerca e Sviluppo, BLMProject, CONSVIP and Enginfo Consulting.

PARSEC HUB has an exclusive partnership for the provision of services on behalf of the Compagnia delle Opere’s (CdO) Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) and acts as a bridge between enterprises, research and development projects, also supporting companies in the identification and access to funding at national and European level.

PARSEC HUB follows companies through the digital transformation to help them fully understand its potential and risks, identify priority areas of intervention and to acquire the necessary know-how for the realization of technological innovation projects.

PARSEC HUB has a wide experience in:

analysis of the digital maturity level and the identification of needs;
understanding the opportunities and risks inherent the adoption of innovative technological solutions;
identification of priority areas of intervention to be transformed into projects digital transformation;
implementation and realization of projects with the partnership of professionals, companies and research institutes.

PARSEC HUB is regulating the Digital Transition Managers professionals, who are available to companies to promote and drive 4.0 innovation through customized paths, fully responding to the needs and potential of their business.

PARSEC HUB is located in Genova, Milano, Perugia, Ancona, Bari, Catania and Napoli Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology