SUCCESSFUL TRIO. Yaar (Alessandro Loi, Maria Zaitzeva, Alessio Cordella and Antonio Ravenna), won the #04 edition of the CLab UniCa. They took part in the competition with a software for those SMEs that want to be innovative implementing Augmented Reality in their own websites and e-commerces. NeeoT (Renato Caboni, Chiara Cocco, Nicola Aldo Cabras and Federico Corona) came second with a software dedicated to the collection and analysis of data from sensors displaced on a given area in real time. This software elaborates the data and gives the results to agricultural holdings. Third place, OMSy. Cecilia Murru, Enrico Medda, Daniele Marras and Marco Puddu developed a mobile app dedicated to the screening of the Obstruction Sleep Apnea Syndrome /OSAS).

A BIG CHALLENGE. Today, February 24 at 15.00 in the Teatro Massimo, took place the finale of the #04 edition of the Contamination Lab – University of Cagliari. Alessandro Fusacchia (Minister of University and research), coordinated the event; Gloria Berbena, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs and Deputy ambassador of the United States in Rome, and Ofer Sachs, Israeli ambassador in Italy, took part in it. The meeting between our Rector and the US Deputy ambassador has been fruitful: the two institutions agreed on the exchange of academics and students between Cagliari and the US as well as on strenghtening the current relationship. Menny Barzilay, international cybersecurity expert, Mario Mariani (The Net Value) and Augusto Coppola (LVenture), Paolo Petrocelli (president of Italian Youth – Unesco), Linda Di Pietro (president Rena – Rete Eccellenze Nazionali) gave a speech during the ceremony.

BRAVE AND FOCUSED. Besides YaaR, NeeoT and OMSy, also iFeel Baby, Little Alienz, Placeat, RefoodIt took part in the final chapter of the CLab. This format, which has been awarded in Europe and lauded by the ministers of Economical Development and University, saw the competition between teams of students and graduates coming from different sectors. Each group had a 6-minute pitch and a 60-second-long video in order to introduce their business concept to the jury composed of stakeholders, journalists, investors and multinational firms.

THE AWARDS. YaaR, NeeoT and OMSy have been awarded 10.000 €/each by the regional agency Sardegna Ricerche in order to give effect to their startups. YaaR won a 2-month-long incubation phase in The Net Value, 5.000 € to be invested in Hub/Spoke’s consultancy services, 1.000 € from Confindustria Sardinian Youth to be invested in legal and administrative advisory and a card offered by Sardegna Teatro to each team member, valid for 5 shows at the Teatro Massimo. NeeoT and OMSy have been offered four months in Open Campus Tiscali’s coworking space, plus another six months in Hub/Spoke’s coworking space. Sardegna Teatro has awarded those two teams with a card valid for 5 shows in the coming 2017/2018 season. The Rector, Maria Del Zompo, assigned the first prize (2.000€) for the social commitment to Little Alienz. Other prizes and awards have been assigned by Sardegna Ricerche and Banca Intesa (acceleration course for the winners and the likes for those startup linked with health care, and so on). Tommaso Giulini’s (F.C Cagliari’s president) Fluorsid gave 2.500€ to ReFoodIt and awarded the 23 finalists with a subscription to our city’s own football matches. The American Embassy honours YaaR with a visit to Israel.

GREETINGS AND AUTHORITIES. Great ambitions, prolific paths, agreements between institutions, university, businesses and researchers. With the full involvment of social partners and territory. “The Rector, Maria Del Zompo: “The Contamination Lab is growing faster and faster. Do business, create and be innovative: it’s all possible. The University of Cagliari is the perfect place for that. We aim at contamining other places in Sardinia”. Raffaele Paci, Vice-president of Sardinia, likes our format: “The CLab is a fruitful sample of contamination between different sectors. It has been fostered well by the University. The Region tries to involve the councilmen in the top themes, such as education”. Massimo Zedda, mayor of Cagliari, adds: “We suffer from scarce cohesion. The CLab links citizens, businesses, students and territory. P.A needs a skillful and motivated youth”. Maria Chiara Di Guardo, scientific director of the Contamination Lab, broadens the scenario: “We all are the CLab, with no exceptions. Our message is built upon the cultural transfer that happens with contamination. Entrepreneurship and ideas are fostered by our University in the best way possible”.

THE FINALISTS. iFeel Baby (Maria Laura Craboledda, Pier Francesco Zanata, Salvatore Basolu), sends an alert to the parents when their child is approaching a dangerous zone, making the domestic environment safer and reducing the risk of accidents. Little Alienz (Sarah Pinna, Valentina Bellotti, Mauro Cuccu): it consists in a board game, accompanied by a mobile app, for kids aged 4-6. It helps assessing dyslexia’s first symptoms. Placeat (Luca Lussu, Susanna Scaffidi, Giulia Testa): it signals the restaurants offering lactose free/gluten free meals in Cagliari. RefoodIt: (Michele Schlich, Claudia Lecca): it develops formulae for cosmetics and supplements exploiting the waste of the food processing industry as active ingredients.

SUCCESSFUL IDEAS. The final chapter of a course which strenghtens and creates business development through the incubation of winning ideas born among creativity, innovation and territory, has been positively evaluated by a jury composed of investors, journalists, financial actors and multinational firms. Among them, Peter Kruger (StartupBootCamp), Enrico Mattiazzi (United Ventures), Jari Ognibeni (Industrio), Anna Amati (Meta Group), Lorenzo di Donato (Fluorsid), Oozi Cats (Telit Communications), Giovanna Roversi (Audience marketing manager, Microsoft), Nava Swersky Sofer (direttore IdcBeyond), Roberto Bonanni (Meta Ventures) and Fabio Spagnuolo (Network & Promotion of Innovation Culture – Intesa Sanpaolo).

CLAB CONQUERS: PARTNERS AND SPONSORS. Sardegna Ricerche, CRS4, The Net Value, Open Campus, Hub/Spoke, Confindustria Sardinian Youth, F.C. Cagliari, Bank of Cagliari, Sardegna 2050 and the United States Embassy in Rome support the Contamination Lab. Sardegna Teatro, Kama Events and Congresses and the School of Hotel Management and catering – Tortolì (Nuoro) offered their support during the event.

Check the Press Release of the event.

Watch the docu-reality videos of the #04 edition of CLab UniCa

#01 L’arte di creare
#02 L’arte di innovare
#03 L’arte di fare impresa
#04 Un impresa a regola d’arte