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Si avvisa che i termini di chiusura della cut-off per i Bandi a cascata - Linea A - Mezzogiorno è stato procrastinato alle ore 23:59 del 30 Settembre 2023.  Le imprese del Mezzogiorno (Abruzzo, Molise, Basilicata, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia e Sardegna), potenziali beneficiarie ammissibili come da bando, avranno quindi, più tempo per sottomettere le domande di finanziamento e rielaborare i progetti di ricerca industriale e sviluppo sperimentale che promuovano l’innovazione di prodotti, servizi e/o processi negli ambiti delle tematiche dell'Ecosistema NODES. Chi avesse già presentato domanda di finanziamento su piattaforma Telemaco ha facoltà di ripresentarla nel nuovo termine, corredandola nuovamente di tutta la documentazione richiesta. Si invitano gli interessati a prendere visione della documentazione aggiornata disponibile ai link dei singoli Bandi. LINEA A - MEZZOGIORNO Spoke 1 - Spoke 2 - Spoke 3 - Spoke 4 - Spoke 5 - Spoke 6 - Spoke 7  

Recently, the Augmented Human paradigm has been introduced, which aims to enhance physical, mental, and social capabilities of individuals through the adoption of eXtended Reality (XR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions.  The Health sector is fertile ground for the dissemination of these technologies as it can guarantee benefits for doctors, who may have at their disposal innovative tools during diagnosis, intervention or evaluation. Patients can benefit from personalizet treaments, and these technologies, can also simplify and enhance communication, consequently improving the doctor-patient relationship. This improvement is crucial for expediting and achieving a full recovery.    In this perspective, the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Turin and the 3D Lab affiliated with the Department of Management and Production Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin have initiated a collaboration aimed at designin an XR solution to carry out cognitive tests or simple improvements of the patients' state of mind through shared virtual environments that allow sessions to be conducted in familiar settings and remotely with specialists. 

Professor Barbara Pozzo, scientific representative of Spoke 3 - Tourism and Culture industry, visited the ComoNExT technological innovation hub (already a partner of the Nodes project) in order to evaluate new synergies within the NODES project in relation to possible projects to be developed in the fields of textiles, communication and gender equality.   During the day, Professor Pozzo was able to visit two important entrepreneurial realities; two startups born within the ComoNExT incubator and which have become consolidated small and medium-sized businesses.   Specifically: DKR srl, a dynamic software house specialized in the fields of virtual reality, augmented reality and Metaverse, websites and web marketing, mobile app development and back/front-end software. The meeting focused on the topic of virtual reality and the metaverse and what applications and services can be enabled by these technologies. The visit then concluded with the test of VR headset applications, in particular one developed by DKR srl in the cultural sector.   Finally, SenseCatch srl, a company expert in the application of neuromarketing technologies. The meeting focused on in-depth analysis of these methods of collecting information, thanks also to examples of projects carried out by the company. The visit concluded with the testing of the technologies (eye tracker, micro-sweating detector) compared to the viewing of some advertising spots.  

Il 10 luglio si è tenuta a Torino l'Assemblea Generale dell'Ecosistema dell'innovazione.  Lunedì 10 luglio a Torino è stata una giornata molto calda per l’Ecosistema NODES. Vuoi per il sole che picchiava sulla Cavallerizza Reale. Ma soprattutto perché lì, nell’Aula Magna dell’Università, si è tenuta l’Assemblea Generale dell’Ecosistema dell'innovazione.    Un momento importante di confronto e allineamento per il ricco gruppo di lavoro costituito dalle delegazioni di tutti i 24 partner coinvolti: gli atenei, i poli d'innovazione, i centri di ricerca, gli incubatori, i competence center e acceleratori.   Cristina Prandi - Vice Rettore dell'Università di Torino - ha fatto gli onori di casa salutando le oltre 120 persone presenti - "Grazie a questo progetto, per la prima volta gli atenei sono responsabilizzati ad erogare fondi ai privati: una nuova modalità di relazione per le strutture pubbliche della ricerca che esige la piena correttezza nell’uso delle risorse".    Nell'arco della giornata, Chiara Ferroni, Direttore Generale di HUB NODES, ha portato avanti i lavori dell’assemblea ribadendo gli importanti risultati raggiunti e le strategie condotte dall’Ecosistema per cogliere le opportunità messe in campo dai fondi MUR - PNRR in materia di innovazione, ricerca e trasformazione tecnologica per il territorio del Nord-Ovest e il Sud d’Italia.    Dopo nove mesi di attività, i numeri iniziano ad avere una fisionomia importante per comprendere l'impatto del progetto NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile, avviato a ottobre 2022 e che si concluderà a fine settembre 2025. 

Contrast agents (CAs) are used in over 40% of the tens of millions of MRI clinical examinations performed each year. All CAs approved for clinical use are complexes based on the metal ion Gd(III).   Approximately 50 tons of this element, which belongs to rare earths, are administered to patients every year.  However, the production of rare earths is only 1% in the EU but 90% in China. In addition, these elements are challenging to extract usign environmentally sustainable processes and to recover after use.  To correct these imbalances and strengthen its value chains, the EU aims to find viable alternatives based on metals with low environmental impact and widely available.  Our project explores the possibility of replacing Gd(III) with endogenous ions such as Fe(III) or Mn(II).  Recent results indicate that Fe(III) chelates have properties suitable for this purpose, but there are multiple challenges to overcome.  Dr. Nucera, a researcher in Prof. Botta's research group (DISIT-UPO) within the flagship project INNDIANA, has been selected for an oral presentation at an important scientific congress and he will discuss the chemical and magnetic characterization of two model compound, Fe(III) complexes with derivates of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) containing 1 or 2 benzylidene-methoxy-methylene (BOM) arms: EDTA-BOM1 and EDTA-BOM2.     This study represents an initial basis for the future design of system thta combine high efficacy, stability, kinetic inertia and the ability to engage in non-covalent interactions with proteins. 

Elderly deaf patients are known to be fragile: there is an increased risk of falls and depressive states linked to social isolation. They often have a reduced physical functionality that lead to a decline in daily activities.  Hearing rehabilitation can alleviate these weaknesses and in case of severe to profound hearing loss, cochlear implants provide an optimal solution. These implants directly stimulate the auditory nerve and they need proper control and installation.  In particular, the cochlear implant is mapped (adjustement of the intensity and electrical current for each electrode that stimulates the cochlea) and, especially in the first year, frequent appointments are required to monitor the rehabilitation protocol.  Sometimes this can be a problem for patients, having to undergo frequent hospital checks.    Recognizing the need for a new model of care delivery to alleviate the burden on both patients and healthcare facilities, an innovative solution based on remote monitoring of hearing remediation devices thorugh teleassistance has been conceptualized and will be developed.  This innovative method has been designed to increase clinical efficiency by evaluating the management needs of each individual patient and identifying those who truly require an in-person appointment.  At the same time, patients benefit from a more convenient care option that keeps them in touch with their healthcare provider and ensures the possibility of requesting a hospital visit only when necessary,  In particular, parents can be reassured that their child's device works well without the necessity to go to the hospital.     

Si è chiusa la prima finestra dei bandi con un’ottima partecipazione da parte del territorio: raccolte domande per 46,9 milioni di Euro.  Lo scorso 30 giugno si sono chiusi i termini di presentazione delle domande di finanziamento a valere sui fondi MUR-PNRR messi a disposizione dall’Ecosistema dell’Innovazione NODES – Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile per le imprese del territorio. 
Un primo obiettivo può dirsi già centrato: la partecipazione è stata molto buona con 276 domande pervenute e un valore complessivo di contributo richiesto di 46,9 milioni di euro. In questo modo i primi fondi del PNRR per le imprese (più di 16 milioni di Euro) potranno essere effettivamente utilizzati secondo le aspettative.   Prende ora avvio l'importante fase di valutazione dei progetti, presentati negli ambiti dell’Ecosistema, per ricerca industriale, sviluppo sperimentale e accesso ai servizi di innovazione.   Il Presidente di NODES, Guido Saracco dichiara: "Questi numeri confermano che, nonostante le perplessità e preoccupazioni rispetto al fatto che l’Italia non riesca a cogliere pienamente le opportunità garantite dai fondi PNRR, oggi la migliore risposta è fornita dalle aziende che dimostrano fiducia negli strumenti messi a disposizione dal MUR e in particolare dall’Ecosistema NODES per fare innovazione e ricerca sul territorio in modo virtuoso".   Il lavoro per promuovere i bandi e le opportunità ha visto coinvolto tutto l’Ecosistema con eventi nelle città, webinar e incontri di approfondimento, networking tra gli Spoke, i partner e le associazioni di categoria del mondo imprenditoriale.  Il Direttore Generale di NODES, Chiara Ferroni coglie l’occasione ricordando le prossime scadenze: 
   "i bandi per le imprese del mezzogiorno sono in pieno svolgimento e scadranno il prossimo 04/09/2023; inoltre, dal 01/09/2023 si aprirà la seconda finestra dei bandi per il Nord Ovest con scadenza 31/10/2023".    E rilancia la sfida: “Nuove opportunità che siamo sicuri le imprese dimostreranno, una volta di più, di saper sfruttare pienamente".   La gestione ottimale dei bandi, inoltre, è avvenuta grazie alla collaborazione istituzionale tra NODES e Unioncamere Piemonte con il supporto di un team dedicato e della piattaforma webtelemaco.infocamere.it, già utilizzata dal mondo delle imprese.    "Il PNRR, a cui fanno capo i bandi a cascata di NODES, rappresenta un’occasione straordinaria di crescita per il nostro tessuto economico: la risposta che sta arrivando dalle nostre imprese - anche grazie a un capillare e approfondito sistema di informazione e formazione e a un importante lavoro di squadra delle istituzioni - ci inorgoglisce e ci conferma la grande capacità del territorio di voler e saper cogliere le sfide continue poste nei campi dell’innovazione e della trasformazione ambientale, in un’ottica di sostenibilità e cultura digitale applicate in più campi" commenta Paolo Bertolino, Segretario Generale di Unioncamere Piemonte. 
Tutte le informazioni e aggiornamenti sono disponibili sul questo sito. Consulta tutti i bandi

Sono state pubblicate le prime graduatorie delle imprese che hanno manifestato interesse a promuovere dottorati di ricerca in base agli Avvisi Industrial PhD pubblicati lo scorso aprile.   È possibile reperire le graduatorie ai seguenti link:   Spoke 2 - Spoke 3 - Spoke 4 - Spoke 5  - Spoke 7 Per quanto riguarda i dottorati industriali di Spoke 1 e Spoke 6, conseguentemente alla proroga dei termini di scadenza al 09/06/2023 degli Avvisi specifici,  la pubblicazione dei risultati relativi è stata posticipata ulteriormente alla settimana del 10/07/2023.   Di seguito i link alle pagine di riferimento:   Spoke 1 - Spoke 6     

Nella sezione Lavora con noi è disponibile l'avviso di selezione per la posizione di Project Manager. La risorsa individuata sarà inserita nell'ambito delle attività dell’HUB NODES per svolgere attività di project management nell’area di Research and Innovation, dedicata al coordinamento, monitoraggio e valutazione dei risultati delle attività del Progetto NODES.  In particolare, il/la candidato/a si occuperà di supportare il Direttore Generale e il Research and Innovation Manager nel coordinare gli Spoke che compongono l’Ecosistema, in riferimento al monitoraggio dell’avanzamento fisico e finanziario, alla valutazione delle attività svolte nonché al reporting e alla diffusione dei risultati di tutte iniziative proposte delle imprese, selezionate e finanziate attraverso i Bandi a Cascata dell’Ecosistema NODES (portafoglio dei progetti e servizi finanziati). La figura selezionata dovrà operare in stretta collaborazione con i referenti degli Spoke, scambiando le informazioni e azioni necessarie.   Tra i requisiti: aver maturato un’esperienza lavorativa complessiva di almeno tre anni presso società pubbliche o private, enti pubblici o pubbliche amministrazioni in settori che abbiamo attinenza con l’area della ricerca e innovazione e/o al trasferimento tecnologico;   Tipologia contratto: dipendente a tempo indeterminato.   Invio delle candidature: entro le ore 17.00 del 04/09/2023.   Consulta l'annuncio      

The ranking of companies that have expressed interest in co-financing research projects for scholarships for the XXXIX cycle, a.y. is available online. 2023-2024 for the Spoke 3 - Tourism and Culture Industry.   The call was published in April 2023 and envisaged the activation of 4 three-year Research Doctorate positions financed by the PNRR-NODES project and by companies interested in developing collaborations with universities in the ecosystem.   An examining commission made up of 3 experts was responsible for evaluating the projects, taking into account the impact that they would have had on the career and employability prospects of doctoral students; in fact, among the main objectives of the Nodes project is the increase in youth employment.   The 4 winning projects of the tender are focused on the innovation needs of the Ecosystem territory and in accordance with the research and innovation themes of Spoke 3. The PhD students will be employed in research based on digitalisation, technological development and the creation of innovative services to be used in the tourism and culture industry.   Graduatoria  

It is online the ranking of companies that have expressed interest in co-financing doctoral positions for the XXXIX cycle, a.a. 2023-2024 for Spoke 5 - Health Industry and Silver Economy.  The call, published in May 2023, provided for the activation of 6 research doctoral positions of three years funded by the PNRR-NODES project and by companies interested in establishing collaborations with universities.    The project proposals received were examined by the Evalutation Commission, made up of 3 experts, passing thorugh various evaluation stages.  The impact of the projects on the career prospects and employability of doctoral students was one of the key evaluation criteria, in line with one of the main objectives of NODES project such as increasing youth employment.    The 4 eligible and funded projects are focused on the innovation needs of the Ecosystem's territory and they are aligned with the research and innovation themes of Spoke 5. PhD students will be employed in research based on experimental medicine and persolized therapies, territorial medicine, clinical and pre-clinical experimentation in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields (for both human and veterinary use).     Ranking

The doctor Simona Casarella, PhD student at the laboratory of Human Anatomy led by Professor Francesca Boccafoschi, together with the master student Federica Ferla, deal with the project ''Identification of laminin-binding oligopeptides in cardiac development: a possible use in functionalized dECM-based biomaterials to restore cardiac functionality in late phase of acute-Myocardial Infarction (MI)'', which aims to study cardiac functional regeneration after a heart attack through the use of innovative biomaterials.    Myocardial infarction affects approximately 3 million people worldwide and it is associated with modifiable risk factors (e.g. lifestyle habits, cigarette smoking, etc.) and non-modifiable factors (e.g. gender, family history, etc).  One of the main causes is atherosclerosis, which is the formation of atherosclerotic plaques that lead to vascular occlusion resulting in cellular death due to inadequate or absent vascularization of the tissue and necrosis of the damaged area.  The functional restoration of damaged tissue or its replacement is made complex also by the fact that cardiomyocytes (cardiac muscle cells) lack regenerative capabilities.      The main clinical therapies for heart attack include drug therapies and implantantion of the ventricular assistance device (VAD). However, none of these strategies is capable of restoring the cardiac phenotype of cells and avoiding the functional loss of the affectes area.  Due to the high incidence of the pathology and the inadequacy of current therapeutic solutions, cardiovascular engineering is a field of particular interest for basic and traslational research.  In this regard, biomaterials, composed of synthetic and/or natural materials, would represent a potential solution for cardiac regeneration.      

On Thursday, June 22, Spoke 1, Aerospace and Sustainable Mobility, showcased opportunities dedicated to southern Italian companies. The event was hosted by the Politecnico di Bari, with the participation of all Southern Italian Partners, namely the University of Catania and the Institute for Membrane Technology (CNR) of Rende (CS). Spoke representatives explained the different characteristics of the ecosystem, thematic areas and Spoke and the calls related to them. Raffella Di Nardo, research and innovation manager of the NODES ecosystem, illustrated the goals of the Ecosystem and the value of the Partners, as well as the structure of Ecosystem. Giuseppe Scellato, scientific coordinator of Spoke, described the three flagship projects of Spoke (Space4You, H2Mobility and Electro), with the support of the scientific leaders of the Southern Partners for the three projects. Giuseppe Pascazio, scientific leader for Politecnico di Bari for Space4You, illustrated PoliBa's work for NODES on thermodynamic design, autonomous planetary surface exploration systems, photonic systems and smart structures, and business models of the New Space Economy. Enrica Fontananova, scientific leader for H2Mobility, illustrated the work of CNR-ITM on the sustainability of membranes with regard to hydrogen for mobiility; these have a high environmental impact and their role for industrial innovation is crucial. Giacomo Scelba, scientific leader for University of Catania, presented the goal of his research group, which is dedicated to realizing ac/dc converters, made with high efficiencies and power intensity, to guarantee up to 800 volts.

The Higher Institute of Health estimates that by 2050, the percentage of elderly people will double increasing from 11% to 22%.  This means that health facilities may have to handle a number of people that we had never seen before.  In this context, every action aimed at preventing health problems, especially for the most vulnerable people such as the edlerlt, could avoid the congestion of health facilities.    Among the most frequent problems for this type of populatio, falls are a frequent concern, often leading to incomplete recovery of motricity and, in some cases, proving to be fatal.    Thanks to the use of wearable devices that constanlty monitor the hiking of the person wearing the device and the use of artificial intelligence algorithms, it is possible to evaluate the quality of a person's hiking and therefore try to predict a potential fall.    In fact, once the system detects that a situation is potentially dangerous (e.g. ''high probability of a fall in the next 1-5 days), the doctor can intervene, for example, by changing the therapy or prescribing specific visits in order to minimize the risk of a fall event.     

Today the National Clusters had the opportunity to learn about the cascading calls Linea A, Linea B and Linea A for Southern Italy, presented during a digital event organised by Spoke 2 - Green technologies and sustainable industry of the NODES Ecosystem. The meeting, expertly moderated by Susana Remotti of Proplast and Ilaria Schiavi of Environment Park, illustrated the interesting funding and training opportunities for companies and researchers. Chiara Ferroni presented the NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile project, while Prof. Cristina Prandi explained the functions of Spoke 2, focused on Green technologies and sustainable industry. Dr. Edoardo Braccio illustrated the cascade calls, expiring on 30 June, for research and innovation projects, and the training activities for companies. Dr. Marika Anzalone from Unioncamere provided valuable advice on how best to prepare applications for funding.   Prof. Cristina Prandi, Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Turin and Spoke 2 Coordinator, highlighted the importance of seizing these opportunities to support the green transition of the production system and the development of green skills. During the Q&A, participants delved into the details of the calls, how to apply and were able to ask questions to the organisers.