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NODES dà via il 12 aprile a Pollenzo ai bandi a cascata dello Spoke 7 Stimolare la competitività nelle aziende del settore agroalimentare è solo uno degli obiettivi che si propone lo Spoke 7, ma è anche il principale scopo che il progetto ha nei confronti delle aziende. Per questo motivo, l’Ecosistema NODES ha previsto una serie di iniziative che coinvolgeranno in prima linea il tessuto produttivo dell’area geografica interessata, prima fra tutte i bandi a cascata per le imprese. L’evento sarà l’occasione per presentare tutte le opportunità che lo Spoke 7 dell’Ecosistema dell’Innovazione NODES, destinerà nei prossimi mesi alle imprese della trasformazione alimentare di Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta e delle province di Pavia, Como e Varese. All’evento parteciperanno: Chiara Ferroni (Direttrice Hub NODES), Luisa Torri (Responsabile scientifico dello spoke 7), Dario Vallauri (Polo AGRIFOOD - M.I.A.C. Scpa) e Roberto Strocco (Unioncamere Piemonte). Nel corso dell’incontro verranno presentate anche le modalità per aderire ai bandi a cascata. L’evento di presentazione si tiene il 12 aprile 2023 alle ore 14.30 a Pollenzo (CN) presso la Sala Rossa dell’Università di Scienze Gastronomiche. ISCRIVITI ALL'EVENTO  

Venerdì 31 marzo a Torino, presso il Salone d'Onore del Castello del Valentino, alle ore 11.00 si è tenuta la conferenza stampa di presentazione dell'ecosistema dell'innovazione NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale e Sostenibile, finanziato nell'ambito del Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR). Sono intervenuti: - il Presidente del consorzio NODES e Rettore del Politecnico di Torino, Guido Saracco; - il Direttore Generale per il coordinamento e lo sviluppo della ricerca del MUR, Fabrizio Cobis;  - l’Assessore al Bilancio, Finanze, Programmazione economico-finanziaria, Patrimonio, Sviluppo delle attività produttive e delle piccole e medie imprese di Regione Piemonte Andrea Tronzano; - il Segretario Generale di Unioncamere Piemonte, Paolo Bertolino.   NODES è uno degli 11 Ecosistemi dell'Innovazione che il Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca ha individuato al fine di supportare la crescita sostenibile e inclusiva in quella che viene identificata come la doppia transizione (digitale ed ecologica). L’ecosistema interessa il territorio di Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta e le province più occidentali della Lombardia, con bandi a cascata anche a favore delle regioni del Sud del Paese e con un ammontare complessivo di 110 milioni di euro. 15 milioni di euro saranno dedicati ad attività di ricerca e bandi a cascata a favore delle regioni del Sud del Paese. La Direttrice Generale di NODES, Chiara L. G. Ferroni, ha illustrato come i bandi innescheranno un effetto leva in grado di ampliare il raggio d'azione del PNRR, generando nuove opportunità di finanziamento e moltiplicando gli investimenti.  

NODES and Proof of Concept (PoC) Academics: Funding for innovative green technologies. The NODES call for proposals intends to fund Proof of Concept (PoC) projects in order to support the development of innovative green technologies to foster their transfer to the business world, in support of sustainable industry. In particular, the Nodes Academic PoC call finances innovative projects developed by university research groups, which focus on solutions and technologies in line with NODES and Spoke 2 themes. The main objective is to increase the level of maturity of the technologies and knowledge developed in the University as this will reduce the technological and business risk in order to facilitate their subsequent commercial exploitation and generate a positive socio-economic impact on the ecosystem territory. This impact will be assessed in terms of an increase in Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Societal Readiness Level (SRL), the creation of prototypes or demonstrators and the foundation of academic spin-offs that base their activities on the technologies and ideas developed during the PoCs. The call, aimed at university researchers, foresees the Cascade Call opening on the 14th of April with activities starting in the autumn, for 14-month PoC projects.

Stakeholders Committee The first meeting of the Stakeholders Committee of Spoke 4 took place on Friday, February 17th, from 11:00 to 13:00. The Stakeholders Committee includes the scientific leaders of Spoke and the projects activated by it, researchers, and research centers involved, representatives of local administrations in Valle d'Aosta, major business representative organizations in the regions involved in the NODES ecosystem, and some references from the civil society of the regions where Spoke 4 operates. This meeting provided an opportunity to present the activities of Spoke 4 and the three Flagship Projects (SUMMER, SMART WEST, and INTERFACE) to all stakeholders. It aimed to gather reflections, suggestions, and indications from stakeholders to align all parties for the subsequent phases of Spoke 4's activities. Further meetings of the Stakeholders Committee are planned.

From vineyard management to wine production The challenges and opportunities that the Italian wine sector is facing due to ongoing climate change highlight the need for sustainable innovation. The sector is highly fragmented, with a large number of actors in the value chain. The VINO project will propose three pillars of sustainable innovation to address these challenges. These pillars include the development of data collection systems for grape transformation stages, the interpretation and analysis of data for the development of climate models, and the implementation of climate sensors for data collection.    The involvement and collaboration of wine sector operators and economic actors are crucial for the success of the project. The use of remote sensing systems, expertise in big data, and precision agriculture techniques can contribute to addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainably improving the competitiveness of the sector.    The project aims to test and develop a sustainable business model that can be replicated in other sectors of primary agro-industry. The University of Turin, the University of Sassari, ERSAF, and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change will support the University of Pavia by providing researchers and professionals with multidisciplinary scientific and technological expertise. Agronomists, botanists, climatologists, biologists, and geologists will be connected in specific research modules where they can carry out the necessary activities to cover all project objectives with a multidisciplinary and integrated approach.

Spoke 6's flagship project FORMIDABILÆ The agro-industrial sector is undergoing a huge transformation due to globalization, the increasing global population, and climate change. This transformation requires significant investments in innovation, digitalization, and the development of new technologies.    Moreover, in the European Union, the transition towards a more circular economy is crucial to achieving the sustainability goals of the Green Deal, and agriculture is a critical sector in this transition. The flagship project FORMIDABILÆ consists of five research modules aimed at improving the sustainability, circularity, and resilience of the agro-livestock system. The primary objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. The research modules will focus on agricultural production, maize, livestock optimization, climate effects on herds, and the use of precision farming techniques.    The project involves a multidisciplinary team of engineers, agronomists, botanists, biologists, and animal scientists coordinated by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, along with the University of Pavia, the University of Turin, the University of Sassari, and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change. The project will promote targeted approaches to improve smart, resilient, circular, and diversified farming in the agro-livestock sector. This ensures food security and the socio-economic sustainability of dairy and dairy-based food chains in a 4.0 and farm-to-fork perspective.

Sustainability reporting and assessments: trends and data reliability On Wednesday 19th April, at 5.30 p.m., the Grugliasco Campus of the University of Turin will host a meeting to connect researchers and companies. The appointment is structured around a short 10-minute illustrative video entitled 'Reporting and Sustainability Assessments: Trends and Reliability of Data', given by Professors Laura Corazza from the Department of Management, and Alain Devalle from the Department of Economic-Social Sciences and Mathematical-Statistics. Non-financial reporting and sustainability data are becoming increasingly important both in terms of corporate communication and financial reporting. Indeed, sustainability reporting is aimed at all stakeholders from suppliers to investors. UK research is active in understanding the importance and potential of this tool, future trends and the importance of data collection in the fight against greenwashing. The initiative is promoted by the Butterfly Area, a strategic project of the university. Participation is free of charge subject to confirmation via form by 17th April 2023 Contact: butterflyarea@unito.it  

Spoke 1, Aerospace and Sustainable Mobility with civil society representives April 16 marked the start of the work of the Stakeholder Committee, one of the management and steering bodies of Spoke 1 Aerospace and Sustainable Mobility. The committee, which met telematically, brought together associations, industrial and innovation districts and agencies, chambers of commerce, and local and central representatives to discuss the common strategy to be adopted in view of the now imminent launch of funding calls. The involvement of the area's many and diverse actors demonstrates Spoke 1's intention to work to ensure maximum impact and synergy between the project and other local development, innovation, digitization and sustainability initiatives. Scientific coordinator Giuseppe Scellato outlined the status of the project in its entirety, emphasizing NODES' commitment not only to collaborative research, training and technology transfer, but also to the development of entrepreneurship, a key issue in ensuring the competitiveness of the area.

School of Water Re-use The first international training school on the topic of water reuse, School of Water Re-use, will be established in Turin in 2022. The school intends to train staff of water utilities, companies, young researchers, young professionals, PhD students interested in deepening their knowledge and developing skills on the topic of water reuse. The aim is to offer participants an insight into new perspectives and solutions for the challenges that will be faced in this field. In particular, multidisciplinary knowledge related to the topic of Water Re-use will be acquired by crossing different fields of application. Not only training. On 19th April 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Aula De Filippi in Via Accademia Albertina 13 in Turin, the first meeting of the newly created Working Table on Water Re-use will be held. The Table was created to address with a multidisciplinary approach the issue of water reuse in view of the increasingly pressing water crisis and the entry of the Regulation (EU) 2020/741 on minimum requirements for water reuse. The aim of the meeting is to gather critical issues, interests, needs and present the expertise present. Finally, the Working Table proposes itself as an interlocutor to initiate collaborations, synergies, projects to face and fight the water crisis.

Un incontro per raccogliere riflessioni e indicazioni dai protagonisti del settore Giovedì 2 Marzo dalle 14.30 alle 17.00 si è tenuto a Cuneo il secondo appuntamento dello Stakeholder Committee dello Spoke 7. L’evento è stato rivolto alle organizzazioni del territorio, quali acceleratori e incubatori, centri di ricerca, enti di rappresentanza di imprese, investitori, poli di innovazione regionali e cluster tecnologici nazionali, che hanno espresso il loro interesse a partecipare ai lavori dello Stakeholder Committee dello Spoke 7- Agroindustria Secondaria.  L’incontro è stato l’occasione per illustrare la missione e le attività dello Spoke 7 e per presentare le tematiche di ricerca, raccogliendo riflessioni, indicazioni e riscontri dai portatori d’interesse per eventuali proposte di integrazione.  A questo scopo i portatori d’interesse sono stati invitati a diffondere lo Strumento di Scoperta Imprenditoriale, messo a punto con la collaborazione del Sistema dei Poli di Innovazione Piemontesi, che permette alle aziende di fornire riscontri circa i temi di ricerca e sviluppi e proporre idee progettuali, al fine di orientare la programmazione dei futuri bandi.     

Nuove opportunità per giovani ricercatrici e ricercatori  Creare nuove opportunità di lavoro per giovani ricercatrici e ricercatori è una delle ambizioni del progetto NODES. Per portare a termine questo importante obiettivo, lo Spoke 7 ha concentrato i propri sforzi nei primi mesi del 2023 per l’attivazione di bandi per assegniste e assegnisti di ricerca, dottorande e dottorandi, tecnologhe e tecnologi della ricerca. L’iniziativa ha consentito di creare opportunità per 23 nuove posizioni, alle quali hanno applicato circa 60 giovani risorse. I temi di approfondimento della ricerca dello Spoke 7 sono in linea con l’obiettivo generale dello Spoke, innovare il sistema agroalimentare nel Nord-Ovest, introducendo approcci digitali e sostenibili nella trasformazione alimentare. Per quanto riguarda le attività previste dai bandi, alcune figure si occuperanno di analisi di laboratorio per definire la qualità degli alimenti e delle bevande e della loro salubrità. Potranno dunque essere coinvolte nelle procedure analitiche, anche strumentali, per determinare la loro composizione, la presenza di contaminanti chimici e microbiologici e proporre delle azioni di miglioramento nel caso vengano riscontrate delle criticità. Importante sarà inoltre il contributo nella definizione di nuovi approcci produttivi che possano soddisfare la crescente necessità di aumentare la sostenibilità dei sistemi alimentari.    

On February 2, the partners and researchers of the Spoke dedicated to Aerospace and Sustainable Mobility met at I3P to take stock of the progress of activities. About fifty researchers working on the three Flagship Projects of Spoke 1, which represent the thematic trajectories through which the spoke aims to achieve the goals set on the different axes of the ecosystem, SPACE4YOU, H2 Mobility, Electro, participated. Specifically, the SPACE4YOU project, coordinated by Professor Sabrina Corpino of DIMEAS-Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Professor Fabio Dovis of DET-Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, aims at the creation of a distributed laboratory dedicated to "small satellites" and the new space economy. On the other hand, the theme of sustainable mobility, guaranteed through the use of alternative energy carriers such as hydrogen, will be addressed by the H2 Mobility project, whose coordination will be in the hands of Professor Fabrizio Pirri of the DISAT-Department of Applied Science and Technology. Finally, the ELECTRO project, coordinated by Professor Paolo Guglielmi of DENERG-Department of Energy will contribute to the development of systems and devices for the charging and management of electric vehicles, as well as the analysis of new business models for sustainable mobility. For more information click here

A privileged tool for scientific collaboration between research and business for innovation and sustainability. The PNRR is an important funding instrument that aims to support the country's recovery and growth through investments in various sectors, including research and development. In this context, Spoke 2 is a reference point for connecting the worlds of research and business, recognising the importance of funding to support PhD scholarships. On the 22nd of February 2023, at the Grugliasco Campus (TO), the University of Turin organised the 'Doctorates and Industry' event, aimed at companies interested in collaborating with the university and learning more about the opportunities offered by PhDs at the Piedmontese university. The meeting was attended by the referee professors of the various PhD courses, as well as numerous entrepreneurs. During the event, useful information was provided on the financing of PhD scholarships through PNRR funds, which could be used to co-finance these training and research opportunities. The funding of a PhD scholarship by a company or institution allows the PhD student to work closely with the funding institution or company, having access to laboratories and contacts with researchers at the university. Interested parties can find further information on the dedicated page on the University of Turin's portal.

Spoke2 - Green Technologies and Sustainable Industry involves the Stakeholder Committee to share the action strategy and activate the joint construction work  The first operational meeting of the NODES Ecosystem Spoke2 - GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY with the Stakeholder Committee was held on the 22nd of February 2023 at 2.30 p.m. in an online meeting.  Focus: Sharing information and action strategy and activating interaction for joint construction work. Three crucial topics were discussed during the meeting: the opportunities for companies with cascading calls, the collection of research topics proposed by companies and the collection of topics proposed by researchers.  The objectives of the project are applied research, training, technology transfer and entrepreneurship development. Indeed, the Stakeholder Committee plays a central role in achieving the objectives of the learning and change process generated by the NODES Ecosystem. It consists of representatives of local organisations such as accelerators and incubators, research centres, business representative bodies, investors, regional innovation poles and national technology clusters, as well as representatives of central and local public administration.  The members of the Stakeholder Committee are not directly partners in the project, but are important because they bring their knowledge, experience and expertise to the regional and interregional learning process and will be able to support the project's objectives in terms of research and innovation topics.  The Committee will meet at other times during the year and will be involved, in particular, in the SPOKE 2 themes to which it will refer in order to: validate the development themes of the NODES Ecosystem, contribute to the investigation of possible developments, support the dissemination and valorisation of the Ecosystem results and participate in dedicated events and activities, collaborate in the creation of synergies between the Ecosystem, Spoke 2 and local and European public and private initiatives. 

The role of Stakeholder Committe and how to join.  The NODES project includes Stakeholder Committes among the bodies for managing the Ecosystem. In these initial months of the project, Spoke 5 has been actively engaging representatives from the territory belonging to different areas (innovation, sustainability and digitalization) with a decisive impact on every aspect of human life - from health to the environment, from interpersonal relationships to democracy.    Associations, venture capital firms, chambers of commerce, professional orders, Invitalia, and incubators have been invited and involved.    The Stakeholder Committe of Spoke 5 currently consists of 13 members. The Committe has held two meetings to discuss flagship projects and educational needs.