The EIT ICT Labs ecosystem in Italy is enriched with an innovation centre in Milan that functions as a satellite of the Trento Co-Location Centre, which works as a satellite of the Italian node based in Trento.
Through the opening of the Satellite, EIT ICT Labs leverages on the Milan important role in innovation in Europe. Milan is in particular recognized for developing infrastructures and initiatives for smart cities. That is a theme addressed by the EIT ICT Labs in innovation projects in the fields of Urban Life and Mobility, Smart Spaces, and Future Cloud.
The location of the Satellite has been selected also considering that Milan is the venue of the 2015 Universal EXPO, which is attracting significant investment and is transforming the city into an ideal experimental and showcase arena for projects where ICT is a key innovation enabler. The activities and investments linked to EXPO 2015 will leave a footprint in the city that will outlive the event itself and will keep Milan at the forefront of urban life experimentation and innovation.
The Satellite of Milan will work closely together with the Co-Location Centre of Trento and its strong partner network consisting of Italian excellences in ICT higher education, research and industry (CEFRIEL, Engineering, Federazione trentina della cooperazione, FIAT Research Centre (CRF), Poste Italiane, Reply, STMicroelectronics and Telecom Italia). The academic partners are CNR-National Research Council, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Trento RISE (which is grouping FBK and the University of Trento) and the Università di Bologna).
“Milan is an important centre of innovation and creativity - says Prof. Dr. Willem Jonker, CEO of EIT ICT Labs – I am very glad that by opening a satellite in Milan, EIT ICT Labs firmly connects this environment".
“The Italian Node has successfully integrated in the EIT ICT Labs family over the last two years in terms of infrastructures, innovation activities and education programmes – says Dr. Roberto Saracco, President of EIT ICT Labs Italy – It has been able to create a strong local ecosystem in Trento. Now, through the setup of a Satellite in Milan, the Italian Node proudly brings to the EIT ICT Labs Community another very strong ecosystem”.
The Milan Satellite will be hosted on CEFRIEL premises (Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Research and Education in the field of Information and Communication), with close links to the nearby education campus of the Politecnico di Milano.
"The affiliation of the CEFRIEL to the EIT ICT Labs – adds Alfonso Fuggetta, CEO of CEFRIEL – represents not only an important growth opportunity for the centre, but also helps to enrich and promote innovation activities of the EIT ICT Labs in Italy and strengthen international collaborations. CEFRIEL will make available its expertise to be an active part of the EIT ICT Labs and to promote ICT driven innovations for economic growth and quality of life in Europe."
Visit the Milan Satellite web page for more information.
