NODES Last Dance: in Turin, the grand finale of the Innovation Ecosystem.
On Friday, March 6, 2026, in Turin, the NODES Ecosystem – North-West Digital and Sustainable celebrated the conclusion of its 2022–2025 program with NODES Last Dance, an evening that brought together institutions, universities, companies, startups, researchers, and stakeholders who, over the years, contributed to building the project.
The event took place at EDIT Space Torino, which for the occasion was transformed into a place for meeting and sharing, where participants could reflect on the work accomplished and recognize the value of the relationships built over the three years of activity. A relatively short yet extremely intense period, during which NODES created a complex ecosystem of research, innovation, and education, involving universities, companies, research centers, and local territories.
As evidence of the value generated, it is worth highlighting some of the results achieved: more than 800 scientific publications produced through research activities, accompanied by 17 patents and industrial property titles, and the development of more than fifty demonstrators and prototypes within the flagship projects. At the same time, academic and industrial Proofs of Concept fostered the creation of new entrepreneurial initiatives and the development of technologies ready to engage with the market.
With regard to training activities, more than two hundred training programs engaged thousands of participants, while the Student Challenges brought hundreds of students face to face with real-world problems proposed by companies. Finally, through cascade calls, the Ecosystem supported more than 300 companies in innovation projects, mobilizing over €54 million in public funding and private investment.
All of this would not have been possible without the more than 1,200 people involved in project activities, who reached over 370,000 participants through events, initiatives, and outreach programs.
Three years of work, told in one evening
NODES Last Dance thus offered a moment to summarize what had been generated by the ecosystem. The first part of the event, moderated by Filomena Greco of Il Sole 24 Ore, recounted NODES’ journey through the voices of its key players.
In his institutional greetings, the President of the NODES HUB, Stefano P. Corgnati, emphasized the value of the work carried out over these years.
“NODES has been a great ecosystem that was able to make good use of the resources provided, and within the planned timeframes,” he recalled. “Funds that have created value for those who participated and believed in the project. Universities have shown that they can manage complex programs—and do so collaboratively. Creating a system generates opportunities for everyone.”
This was followed by the intervention of the General Director, Chiara L.G. Ferroni, who traced the birth and development of the ecosystem.
Three and a half years ago, NODES was primarily a project on paper: the idea of building a network capable of connecting universities, businesses, and territories of the Northwest around seven major strategic areas linked to the digital and ecological transition.
“We can say it has been a success story,” Ferroni noted. “We will probably never see so many resources concentrated in a single program again, but the challenge was to turn them into tangible results. Through research, we have been able to generate projects, skills, and innovation.”
Experiences from the Seven Spokes
The evening continued with presentations by the coordinators of the seven thematic Spokes, who provided an overview of the activities developed throughout the program.
Spoke 1, focused on aerospace and sustainable mobility, presented by Giuseppe Stellato, showcased the results of research and technology transfer activities carried out through the flagship projects Space4You, Electro, and H2Mobility, aimed at strengthening industrial innovation in the space economy, hydrogen, and electric mobility sectors.
Edoardo Braccio, representing Spoke 2, focused on green technologies and sustainable industry, described the creation of an innovation community dedicated to the ecological transition, involving researchers, companies, and startups on topics such as circular economy, green chemistry, renewable energy, and environmental resource management.
For Spoke 3, dedicated to tourism and the cultural industry, Barbara Pozzo presented initiatives that integrate legal research, sustainability, and digital innovation to enhance the cultural and creative heritage of the territories, including the experimental TOEP – Tourism Open-Ended Platform, designed to develop new data-driven tourism models.
Marco Alderighi, for Spoke 4, centered on digital and sustainable mountain development, illustrated projects focused on technological solutions for mountain areas, including environmental monitoring systems, water resource management models, and digital tools to promote new forms of work and economic development in alpine regions.
In the field of health and the silver economy, Marco Invernizzi, representing Spoke 5, presented research and innovation activities aimed at developing technologies for regenerative medicine, advanced diagnostics, and digital health technologies, while also promoting training and technology transfer programs between universities, clinical centers, and companies.
Spoke 6, dedicated to primary agro-industry, showcased research and innovation initiatives in agricultural supply chains. Hermes Giberti discussed projects focused on viticulture, the development of new crops, and experimentation with more sustainable production models, with strong involvement from businesses and local communities.
Finally, Luisa Torri, for Spoke 7, focused on secondary agro-industry, presented research activities on sustainable food production, circular economy, and intelligent systems for food processing, developed through a collaborative model involving universities, companies, and stakeholders in the agri-food sector.
Taken together, these presentations demonstrated how the NODES Ecosystem has successfully connected different scientific fields and transformed research into tangible opportunities for both businesses and territories.
The Greatest Value: Connections
In her closing remarks, the General Director emphasized that the most important value of the NODES experience lies not only in the scientific results or projects completed.
"The true value of NODES is not just in the numbers or the innovations produced," Ferroni explained. "It is in the relationships that have been built, in the trust established between people and institutions, in the ability to work together."
An invitation to those present to look around and recognize the network of connections that has emerged over the years between universities, companies, researchers, and territories.
The Ecosystem’s Last Dance
After the public session, the evening continued with a networking moment among partners and stakeholders—a chance to continue discussing ongoing projects and future prospects.
The event concluded with NODES Last Dance, the convivial finale that gave the evening its name: a symbolic way to celebrate the journey together.
More than a conclusion, it was a passing of the baton: programs may end, but the relationships built continue.
As the NODES Ecosystem motto reminds us: Where connections shape our future.
