Events

The Wonderwood challenge 2025 is proposed by the University of Eastern Piedmont (UPO), under the scientific responsibility of Professor Stefania Cerutti.   Students from two courses will participate: - Tourism Geography Laboratory (DISUM UPO) Professor Cerutti - Landscape, Tourism, Sustainability (DISSTE UPO) Professor Cerutti and Professor Benetti   The challenge, which is also aimed at students from the University of Insubria of the Tourism Business Marketing course held by Professor Roberta Minazzi, will take place at an innovative Piedmontese facility: the Wonderwood Park.   The park, located a few km from the lakeside town of Cannero Riviera, has been offering a different and diversified use of the mountain area behind Lake Maggiore since 2019, aiming at family-friendly, outdoor, slow and sustainable tourism. Founder and manager of the management company Dr. Massimiliano Freddi.   The aim of the Challenge is to involve students in identifying possible destination management and marketing strategies aimed at making Wonderwood the gateway for mountain tourism in the lake area of ​​north-eastern Piedmont, starting from Lake Maggiore and involving Lake Mergozzo and Lake Orta. A particular focus will be on the Terre Alte, marking the border between Lake Maggiore and the Val Grande national park.   PHASES 1. INTRODUCTORY PHASE: students are trained at their universities on the reality of the Wonderwood Park and the aims of the challenge; this is an activity carried out in the classroom, with the presence of the teachers involved and the Park representative Dr. Freddi. UPO VERCELLI 10 MARCH 2025 2. EXPLORATION AND CONTACT PHASE: students are accompanied to the Wonderwood Park with a dedicated coach; at the facility they will be able to visit the immediate surroundings, map the existing tourist attractions, better understand the mix of attractions of the park and start brainstorming on potential developments. UPO and UNINSUBRIA 6 MAY 2025 3. PROCESSING PHASE: students are divided into work groups/teams; the content of the challenge and therefore the project required of them will be detailed. 4. RETURN PHASE The projects will consist of presentations accompanied by any attachments/insights. The documents will be both presented de visu and delivered via PDF. Materials such as videos, printed materials, etc. can be used in support. 5. EVALUATION PHASE AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE WINNING SOLUTION At the end of these phases, and of the activities that fall within them, the Wonderwood park team will select a winning project. In addition, a press release will be issued with the main learnings of the initiative and the key points identified by the winning group. UPO VERCELLI 17 JUNE 2025  

From March 3, 2025 to April 17, 2025, Spoke 3 - Tourism and Culture Industry will hold a series of seminars entitled: "Sustainable Tourism" at the University of Insubria in Como (Via Valleggio and Sant'Abbondio locations).   Specifically, 4 study meetings on the topic of sustainability in tourism and for the development of the territory.   The focus of these meetings will be sustainability in tourism as applied to the territory; sustainable tourism in mountain areas, the sustainable redevelopment of important city areas as well as the role of some associations such as FAI for tourism aimed at sustainability.   The mission of these meetings is to integrate the skills of the students of the three-year and master's degree courses and to help stimulate interest and raise awareness among high school students, operators in the sector and citizens on the topic of sustainable development of the territory.   The event is organized by the professors of the Department of Law, Economics and Cultures: Roberta Minazzi, Sebastiano Citroni and Valentina Albanese who will be responsible for acting as discussants during the speeches of the guests; among them there are several managers and experts in the sector.   Attention: The seminar on April 17, 2025 has been cancelled Click here to participate in the seminar from April 16, 2025  

From Sunday 9 February to Tuesday 11 February 2025, Rho - Milano Fiera hosts the 45th edition of BIT - International Tourism Exchange, one of the most important Italian events dedicated to Tourism.   Spoke 3 - Tourism Industry and Culture participates in this edition by promoting research and innovation of the ecosystem and the University of Insubria by giving visibility to innovative projects in the field of tourism and culture in order to create new synergies with exhibitors and visitors interested in the enhancement and promotion of tourism and culture; factors widely present in the North West through the use of new technologies.   BIT is the main B2B and B2C marketplace for the tourism industry. The three days of the event will be dedicated to commercial operators for BUSINESS, NETWORKING and TRAINING. One day (Sunday 9 February) is also open to travelers who visit the event to discover new experiences and find inspiration for their next trips.   At booth H07 - Hall 9, NODES Spoke 3 will present innovative prototypes and research materials, showcasing NODES projects including the flagship projects TOEP (Tourism Open-ended Experimentation Platform) and CIRIL (CULTURAL-INDUSTRY REGENERATION IMMERSIVE LAB) and academic POCs in the field of Tourism and Culture. Academic POCs include: DIGITALIMM (Digital Muse for Museums), PLANET (Planner Leisure App for Natural & Experiential Tourism), AIACE (Artificial Intelligence Assistant for Cultural Tourism Enhancement), HISTORYGRAPHIA, ITM (Immersive textile museum), CERR (Cultural Extended Reality Routes).   Some researchers will be present to illustrate their innovations to the public; among them there will be some representatives of the University of Insubria, University of Turin, University of Eastern Piedmont and University of Valle D'Aosta.  

On Wednesday 29th January at 2:00 pm at the Nuovo Polo Università della Valle D'Aosta, Room B4, an interesting workshop will be held entitled: "Tourism at TO(E)P!".   The workshop, organized within the Spoke 3 - Tourism and Culture Industry, of the NODES project by the University of Valle d'Aosta (UniVdA) and the University of Eastern Piedmont (UPO), aims to explore innovative strategies to promote cultural and experiential tourism in mountain and lake destinations.   The event will be an important opportunity to present the results of the research conducted in recent years thanks to the flagship project TOEP (Tourism Open-ended Experimentation Platform) of the Spoke 3 of NODES, which has paid particular attention to the enhancement of local cultural heritage through the use of advanced technologies, the development of digital communication and the adoption of innovative and sustainable tourism management practices inspired by participatory placebranding.   During the meeting, industry experts, academics and tourism operators will share experiences and perspectives on the future of tourism in fragile areas such as mountain and lake areas, illustrating how the TOEP platform can support businesses and institutions in improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of the territory.   Admission to the event is free. For further information, please contact the address eventi@univda.it

Spoke 3 restarts for the presentation of the TOEP Platform in other locations. After the launch on November 29th in Omegna (VB), the University of Eastern Piedmont (UPO) with the support of NOVARECKON will present the web and mobile APP created as part of Spoke 3 Tourism and Culture Industry of the PNRR NODES Project (Digital and Sustainable North West).   The first appointments of 2025 with institutions, tourism companies and operators will be on January 27th in Alba (10.30 am, at Banca d'Alba) and on January 29th in Aosta (from 2.00 pm, at the University of Valle d'Aosta). The interventions will be coordinated by Prof. Cerutti (UPO): on the 27th Prof. Luigi Portinale (UPO) and Dr. Christian Violi (NOVARECKON), while on the 29th Prof. Stefania Cerutti (UPO) and Prof. Stefania Benetti (UPO).   The heart of Spoke3 is human creativity, a fundamental element for innovation in the tourism and culture industries, also in light of economic transformations, globalization processes and climate change. It is in this framework that the TOEP platform was implemented: it includes a web interface for suppliers and a mobile application for users, both integrated with a flexible and cloud-based MongoDB database for scalability. The mobile and web applications were developed using modern technologies (such as Ionic Framework, Node.js, Firebase and TypeScript), to manage user requests, user interface design and communication with the database. A recommendation system was also implemented using machine learning algorithms to analyze user data and generate personalized recommendations.  

A Torino, il 16 gennaio 2025, dalle ore 15 alle ore 18, presso la sede di Fondazione LINKS, in via Boggio 61, avrà luogo l'incontro di Networking e Accelerazione sulla Montagna Digitale e Sostenibile, organizzato da “NODES” – Nord Ovest Digitale e Sostenibile – Spoke 4.   L’evento è un'importante occasione per le aziende e le startup del territorio per presentare le proprie attività, competenze e opportunità di mercato, e per confrontarsi con un pubblico variegato di aziende, startup, potenziali investitori e venture capital, creando spazi per nuove collaborazioni e opportunità di crescita. L’incontro avviene nella fase centrale di sviluppo dei progetti finanziati sui bandi a cascata di NODES sulla tematica dello SPOKE 4 dedicata alla Montagna Digitale e Sostenibile. Sarà quindi un'opportunità per le aziende coinvolte nei progetti di presentare i primi risultati raggiunti, i progressi in corso, nonché le competenze sviluppate e le potenziali aree di collaborazione con altri attori dell'ecosistema.

Spoke 6 invites local SMEs in the primary agro-industry to propose marketing challenges to the students of the Advanced Digital Marketing course at the University of Pavia. The goal is to develop innovative digital marketing plans to enhance the quality and authenticity of local products, improving consumer awareness and engagement both at an Italian and international level. The Students Challenges offer students the opportunity to interact with the corporate world, public bodies, associations and third sector bodies of the NODES project territories through the “learning by doing” method and provide an opportunity for companies to meet young talents and discover innovative solutions applicable within their realities.   Agenda  17:00 Welcome and introduction to the call Students Challenges 2025   Prof Hermes Giberti, PM NODES SPOKE 6 Dr Elisa Conz, course leader “Advanced Digital Marketing”   17:15 Awards ceremony Students Challenges 2024   Challenge proposed by Calatroni Vini Challenge proposed by Api dei Monti Challenge proposed by Rossetti e Scrivani   18:15 networking drinks   Date and address:   Thursday 16 January 2025, 17:00 - Aula Disegno - Università degli Studi di Pavia (Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci, 5)   A unique opportunity to discover how local SMEs can benefit from Spoke 6’s Students Challenges!   Register here!          

The University of Eastern Piedmont, partner of Spoke 3, presents the volume: "Che Impresa, la Creatività!" Geographies and narratives of creative projects for the development of talents, businesses and territories. Creativity is a fundamental skill in contemporary society, but its many facets make it difficult to understand. During the event, Professor Stefania Cerutti, scientific director of Spoke 3 and editor of the volume, will illustrate the content of the volume: Che Impresa, la Creatività!, born following the advanced training course of the same name that took place last spring. The volume will be presented on Saturday 14 December at the Forum of Omegna (VB) at 11.00, and aims to be a compass to orient oneself in the vast world of creativity, exploring its different faces and potential. Through geographies, stories, practices and models, the text offers ideas and questions to understand how creativity can contribute to the development of talents, businesses and territories. Combining methodologies, empirical reflections and dissemination, each chapter enhances the original talent and creative autonomy of each author. An exciting journey, which invites the reader to immerse themselves in a multifaceted and stimulating universe, dedicating a Rodari-like wish: "Will he go far? Will he make his fortune? Will he straighten out all the crooked things in this world? We don't know […] We can only wish him, with all our hearts: "Have a good trip!"" (Rodari G., Il Giovane gambero, 1962). When: Saturday 14 December, 11:00 Where: Omegna (VB) at Forum, Parco P.Maulini 1 Contributions by: Stefania Cerutti (UPO, editor of the volume), Alberto Poletti (director of the P.AR.C.O Foundation) and Simone Fornara who wrote the preface to the volume. Free admission.