University of Bologna sets Italian innovation hub in New York

A new hub for innovation, research and learning projects at the heart of Cornell Tech Campus, the Vertical Silicon Valley on Roosevelt Island.

The Italian Academic Center is promoted by Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Sapienza University and Federico II – University of Neaples.

The Italian Academic Centre has recently opened in New York. This new space in the middle of Cornell Tech campus will host innovation projects, research and learning activities promoted by the most prestigious Italian universities: Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Sapienza University (Rome) and Neaples University Federico II.

Rectors Francesco Ubertini, Eugenio Gaudio and Gaetano Manfredi alongside Cornell’s Dean Gref Morrisett attended the opening of the Italian Academic Center.

The new hub is located inside the Tata Innovation Center, which was designed and built according to eco-friendly sustainable principles and technologies. It is part of Cornell’s Tech Campus, the so-called Vertical Silicon Valley on Roosevelt Island, a joint venture between New York’s Cornell University (USA) and Technion – Haifa Israel Institute of Technology (Israel).

The hub will see to the development of innovative start-ups and business ventures deeply linked to academic research, it will also provide joint courses and learning programs. The three Italian universities will be able to work with the American academia and industry, this will give space to new collaborations and will also give new impulse to multidisciplinary projects, promoting public and private partnerships, involving local communities and paying special attention to innovation and sustainability.

The Inter-University International Learning Center H2CU – Honers Center for Italian Universities gave a major contribute for all this to happen. For years, the H2CU has been working to improve academic collaboration between Italy and the United States, organizing summer schools with Italian and American Universities in New York.

The Italian Academic Centre is the next step in this process: an unprecedented opportunity for the Italian academic community to share and promote research activities, ideas and projects, while, at the same time, opening up to the complexly rich academic, social and business context of the United States.

In particular, the University of Bologna covers a privileged position thank to an agreement with Cornell Tech. This agreement allows for students, Ph.D. candidates and researchers exchanges within joint projects in two central areas at the heart of technological innovation and social development: automotive and the future of mobility (getting the lead from MUNER - Motorvehicle University of Emilia Romagna) and Data Science challenges in Big Data management and elaboration. Finally, the Unibo East Coast Alumni Chapter, by the University of Bologna graduates association living in the US East Coast, represents a further point of strength.

This article was first published 27 November 2019 by University of Bologna.