Mark Coticchia, Henry Ford Foundation, gave a speech at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Annalisa Bonfiglio, vice-rector, said: “We are injecting entrepreneurial spirit into our students”. Representatives from the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the municipality of Cagliari took part in the roundtable discussion.
Startup and tech transfer. The roundtable discussion “Making it happen: startups, tech transfer and the real world” held at the CREA UniCa (Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the University of Cagliari) hosted Mark Coticchia (vice president and chief innovation officer of the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan), Marzia Cilloccu (councilwoman to production activities, municipality of Cagliari), Federica Todde (officer Axis III: product innovation and competitive vantage – Autonomous Region of Sardinia) and has been coordinated by Mario Mariani (The Net Value). Annalisa Bonfiglio (vice-rector, University of Cagliari) welcomed the visitors. The meeting – aimed at enhancing contacts and promote job opportunities in the US – has been arranged by the CREA in cooperation with the United States Embassy in Italy. Researchers, students and doctoral candidates have been well represented.
Junior spin-offs for students. “We provide know-how and support to new businesses with a brilliant team and create strategic partnerships in the health care. Those partnerships give mutual benefits, I.E. the creation of groundbreaking medical equipment – said Mark Coticchia. “We offer citizens the same service reserved to the Ford family. There’s a tech transfer towards this new company entering a vast system managed and operated by Ford. By doing this, we create a health-care environment via the institutions”. Mario Mariani stressed startups’ key role: “They are now flourishing even in Sardinia: the regional government put money and effort in supporting the R&D department of the University of Cagliari. We must involve students and authorities in the circular economy”. Prof. Annalisa Bonfiglio: “The University is injecting entrepreneurial spirit in the youth. Our startups have been awarded both at a national and international level” – but there’s more. “We were the first to implement a third kind of spin-offs, called junior spin-off. We wanted to accomodate the needs of our students. This strategy entails a considerable added value to our actions and our results” – concluded the Vice Rector. “Cagliari is our own Silicon Valley. We are proud of that. The municipality helps digital companies in their growth both at a regional and international level. The municipality is involved in this kind of projects Research and know-how are important, as well as our cooperation with the Contamination Lab” – said Marzia Cilloccu. “We thought of a circular strategy, starting with just an idea to be developed in order to be attractive to investors”. The EU set the pace for growth, innovation and sustainibility” – emphasised Federica Todde. In the end, the meeting gave students an insight on the opportunities in both the European and American market.
