Nodes: three years of innovation connecting universities, businesses and local areas. The final results of the MUR-funded Ecosystem, supported by NRRP funds, presented at Castello del Valentino.

Below we publish the official press release for the final NODES conference, which was held on Monday 23 March in Turin.

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At the conclusion of the NODES – Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile programme, the Innovation Ecosystem funded by the Ministry of University and Research as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – Next Generation EU presents the results of the activities carried out and the impact generated on research, businesses and local areas over more than three years of activity, as well as its contribution to strengthening the research and innovation system in North-West Italy and across the country.

Created within the national Innovation Ecosystems programme, NODES aimed to strengthen collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas, accelerating technology transfer, supporting the creation of new entrepreneurial initiatives and fostering the development of advanced skills to accompany the twin digital and ecological transition.

With a total budget of over 112 million euros, the programme involved 33 partners, including universities, research centres and innovation players, activating a broad system of collaboration between universities, businesses, public administrations and local areas.

The activities mainly took place in Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and the western area of Lombardy, while also strengthening cooperation with universities and companies in the regions of Southern Italy, through a dedicated investment of around 15 million euros, in line with national development and territorial cohesion objectives.

“Innovating today means transforming scientific knowledge into tangible value for businesses and local areas. The NODES Ecosystem has helped build bridges between universities, research and the production system, supporting the country’s digital and ecological transformation. The project represented an excellent testing ground for assessing the impact, across the entire territory, of the technological and scientific expertise made available by universities”, says Stefano Corgnati, President of the NODES Hub and Rector of Politecnico di Torino.

A research and innovation ecosystem

The NODES model is in fact based on collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas, and on the organisation of activities into seven thematic Spokes, coordinated by the partner universities of the Ecosystem.

The Spokes developed research and innovation projects in strategic areas for sustainable development, including:

• aerospace and sustainable mobility 
• green technologies and sustainable industry 
• tourism and the cultural industry
• digital and sustainable mountains
• health and the silver economy
• primary agroindustry
• secondary agroindustry

This model made it possible to connect scientific expertise, research infrastructure and entrepreneurial capabilities, encouraging the creation of new collaborations and the testing of innovative solutions with tangible benefits for local areas.

The results and impact of the programme

Over the three years of activity, NODES supported numerous applied research, technology transfer and innovation projects, helping to strengthen dialogue between the academic system and the production system in a concrete way.

The Ecosystem’s initiatives involved hundreds of researchers, innovators, students and professionals, fostering the development of new skills and models of collaboration between research and business. In this context, a central role was played by activities supporting companies and innovative start-ups, through innovation support programmes, entrepreneurial training and acceleration tools.

In particular, around 80% of the companies involved in NODES recognise the positive impact of universities in companies’ innovation processes.

Overall, NODES generated a significant impact on the territory, strengthening connections between universities, businesses and institutions and supporting the spread of advanced knowledge and skills. The activities developed helped increase the capacity of local areas to generate innovation, attract talent and foster the growth of high-tech businesses, consolidating the role of North-West Italy as one of the country’s leading hubs for research and innovation.

A particularly significant result concerns the technological development of Academic Proofs of Concept: the solutions developed recorded an average advancement of two technology readiness levels (TRL 4 → 6), moving closer to market application. The Academic PoCs also proved to be a powerful catalyst for new collaborations with companies, industrial bodies and local partners. This pathway has also translated into new entrepreneurship: 10 start-ups and spin-offs launched, with 2 more currently being established.

The impact on the companies in the Ecosystem is equally significant: 92% developed new products or services or innovated existing ones, a result that contributes to the growth and expansion of their target markets in the short to medium term, while 89% introduced process innovations, strengthening their efficiency and competitiveness in the medium to long term. In addition, 79% of companies say they involved young recent graduates or first-time professionals in research and innovation activities, highlighting strong demand for new skills and a growing openness among companies towards young talent. 

Chiara L. G. Ferroni, Director General of the NODES Innovation Ecosystem, says: 
“NODES has shown that an innovation ecosystem can truly work when universities take on a central role, not only in producing knowledge but also in building connections between research, businesses and local areas. Over these three years we have worked as a system, experimenting with a method capable of bringing together rigour, speed and collaboration. The most important result lies not only in the numbers achieved, but in the relationships we have built, which will continue to generate value even beyond the conclusion of the programme.”

The NODES model: collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas

One of the distinctive features of NODES was its model of collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas, which encouraged the meeting of scientific expertise, entrepreneurial capabilities and the innovation needs of the production system.

Through calls for collaborative projects, innovation support programmes and initiatives dedicated to the development of new businesses, the Ecosystem helped reduce the distance between research and the market, supporting the transformation of scientific ideas into concrete solutions for businesses and society.

Cristina Prandi, Rector of the University of Turin, says: 
“For the University of Turin, its partners and all the universities involved, NODES represented an opportunity for growth that goes far beyond scientific and technological results. The project brought universities, institutions, businesses, researchers and students around the same table, generating an ecosystem in which knowledge was concretely translated into sustainable innovation. Working on green technologies and the industries of the future, in a context where the digital and ecological transitions are now inseparable, required us to rethink the way in which a university actively participates in processes of change. One of the most important aspects of this experience is precisely the internal transformation that a project of this scale produces: we have learned to navigate the complexity of articulated ecosystems, managing to take on, at the same time, the perspective of those who carry out research and those who help finance it and accompany it towards the market. This is one of the most interesting challenges that the major NRRP programmes have handed to us – and one we intend to continue pursuing.”

Umberto Piarulli, Deputy Rector of the University of Insubria, says:
“The NODES project represented an extraordinary opportunity for growth and for strengthening dialogue with the local area, enhancing the distinctive expertise of our University. In particular, our role as lead partner in Spoke 3 helped promote the digital and sustainable transformation of tourism and the enhancement of cultural heritage, while our participation in Spoke 2 consolidated our commitment to industrial sustainability and the ecological transition, with specific attention to the textile sector.

NODES is therefore confirmed not merely as a set of projects, but as a true generator of impact, capable of producing lasting results for the academic community and the local area. Along this path, the University has strengthened its role as a bridge between knowledge, business and society, integrating interdisciplinary skills to respond to contemporary challenges.”

Manuela Ceretta, Rector of the University of Valle d’Aosta, says: 
“Mountain areas have always been one of the key areas of focus for the University of Valle d’Aosta. It is within this context that our participation in the NODES project takes place. I hope that the broad and strategic collaboration network that has been activated will continue to build innovation in the future, once the project has concluded.”

Menico Rizzi, Rector of the University of Eastern Piedmont, says: 
“The results of NODES confirm the University of Eastern Piedmont’s ability to interpret the needs of the territory, transforming NRRP resources into structural innovation. Launched during the previous rectoral term, this project has shown that our University is not only a centre for education, but also a strategic industrial partner capable of accompanying scientific research to the threshold of commercialisation. Today we are not merely celebrating the end of a funded programme, but the beginning of a permanent method of collaboration. UPO will continue to enhance the expertise consolidated in the fields of health, the silver economy and agroindustry, making stable those networks with companies that have proved indispensable for the growth and competitiveness of our production system.”

Giancarlo Sangalli, Deputy Rector for Research at the University of Pavia, says: 
“Thanks to the NODES Ecosystem, the University of Pavia has consolidated its role as a director of territorial innovation, becoming a recognised point of reference for the entire primary agroindustry sector. Researchers did not limit themselves to carrying out research in the laboratory, but acted as a genuine stimulus for the productive fabric, transferring cutting-edge expertise directly into the field. The synergy between academic excellence and industrial vision is the key to transforming the challenges of sustainability into opportunities for growth for the territory.”

Nicola Perullo, Rector of the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, says: 
“NODES has shown concretely how collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas can transform research into real value for society. The most important legacy of these three years is not only the results achieved, but the relationships built and the skills shared, which will continue to generate innovation well beyond the conclusion of the project.” 

A basis for future collaboration

The conclusion of the NODES programme not only marks the end of an NRRP-funded project, but also the beginning of a new phase of collaboration between universities, businesses and local areas. The relationships built, the skills developed and the initiatives launched over these three years form a solid basis for continuing the path of innovation and strengthening the role of research as a driver of economic, technological and social development.

The experience of the NODES Ecosystem shows how collaboration between academic institutions, the production system and local stakeholders can generate concrete results and contribute to building an innovation model capable of addressing the challenges of the digital and ecological transition.

NODES in numbers

The Ecosystem overall

• 112 million euros in total investment
• 33 partners, including universities, research centres and innovation players
• 7 thematic Spokes
• more than 500 research and innovation projects developed and supported
• over 1,200 people involved, including researchers, innovators and students
• 491 new hires during the project

of whom almost half were women and 67% were under 35

NODES and research

• 15 Flagship Projects 
• 540 researchers and professionals involved
• almost 500 person-years employed over the duration of the project
• 862 publications
• 51 prototypes, demonstrators and pilot projects
• 17 intellectual property rights
• €37.4 million invested in research

Competence pathways

• over 230 training pathways designed
• 6,100 participants involved
• 3,900 hours of teaching delivered

Academic Proofs of Concept

• 61 Academic Proofs of Concept
• 130 researchers involved in the Academic PoCs
• 116 additional people recruited into the teams during the projects, an average of 2 for each PoC
• €5.7 million total value of projects fully funded by NODES

Industrial Proofs of Concept

• 183 project proposals funded
• over 300 companies involved
• €56.1 million total value of the projects
• €36.5 million in NODES funds invested in Industrial PoCs
• €19.6 million invested by companies
• 101 collaborations activated by companies with universities 

in technology transfer, for an induced value of €5.5 million 

Acceleration

• 29 start-ups accelerated
• 40 acceleration services funded
• 34 entrepreneurial projects accelerated

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