“Innovation in the new millennium arises from a collaborative culture because it requires the rapid transformation of science into applied solutions through Technology transfer” are the words of Gianmario Verona, president of Human Technopole, an Italian research, innovation and training center located at Mind-Milan Innovation District. Verona spoke during the round table entitled “International Strategies for Emerging Biotechnologies and Life Sciences” within the event “Italy – United States of America: international cooperation on emerging biotechnology and life sciences” which took place in Rome.

Collaborate starting from university departments

According to Verona, today, it is necessary to collaborate in order to innovate because science “always requires the mastery of many very very complex scientific paradigms which must be coordinated through collaboration between University departments, between different Universities and naturally between countries”.

The Human Technopole Foundation was born in the wake of another Italian institute created twenty years ago, namely the Italian Institute of Technology, with “the idea of ​​leveraging synergies from the point of view of opportunities at both a scientific and industrial level” .

Science and innovation district similar to international ones

For this reason, an attempt was made to create a platform at a national level to be able to make highly expensive tools available whose use requires centralization of the universities which then develop their projects within the centre.

“Within our district – adds the president of Human Technopole – a series of important initiatives are being brought together, in addition to the physical presence of some companies such as Bracco, AstraZeneca, the Galeazzi Hospital. So we are really starting to represent a form of district consistent with international models of industrial districts“.