Publishing date: 28 April 2026 Immagine notizia Immagine Paragrafo There is great satisfaction at the University of Insubria following the outcome of the Regione Lombardia call for proposals dedicated to strengthening research infrastructure: the University has been awarded 4 million 400 thousand euros to develop new technological platforms and strengthen existing ones at its Como and Varese campuses and at the Busto Arsizio hub.The funding is part of the overall allocation of 50 million euros from the ERDF Regional Programme 2021–2027, intended, for the first time, exclusively for public and private universities in Lombardy for the creation and modernisation of research infrastructure. As Regional Councillor Alessandro Fermi emphasised, the aim is to strengthen dialogue between universities and businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, and to turn research into a driver of development, innovation and competitiveness for the local area.The funding will be managed by CRIETT, the Research and Technology Transfer Centre – Research and Technology Transfer Centre (CRIETT) | University of Insubria – of the University of Insubria, founded in 2024 to coordinate the University’s major equipment through platforms, which has obtained resources for two strategic projects. Immagine The first project, IMPACTT, receives almost 3 million euros – 2,999,860.77 euros – and aims to strengthen the Matter Analysis and Characterisation Platform in Como and establish a new biomedical research platform in Busto Arsizio, with the goal of enhancing research and technology transfer in the fields of advanced materials and diagnostics for ageing, within the Silver Economy. The idea is to create a “gate”, a direct link between local small and medium-sized enterprises and leading international research centres.The second project, SustAA, receives around 1 million 400 thousand euros – exact total 1,414,454.40 euros – and provides for the creation in Varese of an infrastructure dedicated to sustainable innovation in the field of amino acids and their derivatives. The initiative is part of the “Health and Life Science” ecosystem and supports the area’s vocation in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food sectors. Immagine “This result,” emphasise Rector Maria Pierro and Deputy Rector Umberto Piarulli, “confirms the quality of the planning developed by our University and its ability to build a system across different scientific areas of expertise. Research infrastructure is a decisive element in attracting high-profile projects, talent and collaborations: this funding allows us to strengthen strategic assets at the Como, Varese and Busto Arsizio sites and to generate tangible benefits for the local area and the production system.”Professor Flavia Marinelli, Scientific Director of CRIETT; Deputy Director Professor Mauro Fasano; Professors Sandro Recchia and Tiziana Rubino, contacts for the IMPACTT project; and Professor Loredano Pollegioni, proposer of SustAA, together with the CRIETT Scientific Board, are already working to define the next operational phases of the projects and to organise a moment of discussion with the University’s scientific community dedicated to the use of the new funding. (In the photographs, the CRIETT laboratories in Varese and Como with SEM microscopes; Professor Sandro Recchia with Cristina Corti)