Technology Transfer System - Handbook - Politecnico di Torino
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Technology Transfer
System
Handbook
Technology Transfer System is a new vision that was born
in 2017 within the Politecnico di Torino as a response
to the matured awareness of the complexity of the techno-
logy transfer processes and the importance of promoting
the results of research. These results are obtained in a con-
text that links the University with several players on the
outside, in a phase of deep changes that involve society,
companies and research.
Technology Transfer System comprises different inter-
dependent areas linked to the technology transfer process.
Innovation, knowledge transfer, transparency and
openness toward the territory are just a few of the keywords
that feature in this new vision. It is a complex system
that bases its value on the importance of a multidisciplinary
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and sharing approach to generate a tangible impact on
society. It is an exchange of skills, a knowledge system to
support people, the territory and companies in a dynamic
and innovative way.
Giuliana Mattiazzo
Vice Rector for Technology Transfer
Shiva Loccisano
Head of Technology Transfer and Industrial Liaison Area
trin@polito.it Politecnico di Torino
Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24
+39 011 090 6317 10129 Torino – Italy
polito.it/imprese knowledge-share.eu eic.polito.it/blog/
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Editorial
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The meaning Politecnico di Torino gives to Technology Transfer is that of an activity
that can link Research to Innovation. Through it, Politecnico works to transform
the knowledge generated by public research into technology, meant as “skill, ability
in doing”, so as to have a real impact on Society and Economy.
In the following pages of this Handbook we would like to introduce Politecnico’s
Technology Transfer model, explaining its parts, method and activities carried out
at various levels. In the Record section we illustrate the results obtained during the last
10 years and provide a picture of it today.
This publication is a tool to simplify the external understanding of the system that
has thus derived from it. We will cover topics such as:
— Protection, development and marketing of intellectual property produced by
research, in order to exploit the knowledge generated, make it widely available
to all and mitigate the increasing divides that appear today.
— Specific training for the growth of an entrepreneurial culture amongst teachers,
researchers and students of all levels. Politecnico has indeed activated specific
courses and has introduced international programs in which students are allowed
to develop their ideas in an interdisciplinary and truly innovative way.
— Funding of PoC (Proof of Concept), in which the University acts as investor in
“market failure” conditions with the objective of creating the right ones to trans-
form research results into artefacts that may be subject to further developments,
thus mitigating the risk that they will not be used.
— Support in the establishment of spin-offs based on research results, with a partic-
ular focus on those originating from the PoC program. At Politecnico, the poten-
tial founders of the spin-offs are aided with the creation of conditions that may
easily enable their birth and growth, such as the achievement of an adequate level
of maturity of the technology, support in the creation of IP, access to necessary
professional skills. Starting from these conditions, and also thanks to thecontribution of I3P, Politecnico di Torino’s Incubator of Innovative Enterprises,
it becomes easier for investors to effectively support the incipient spin-offs.
— Continuous exchange with medium-large enterprises, aimed at the use of research
results and collaboration with the spin-offs. Therefore, Politecnico accepts chal-
lenges, from these, to solve tangible problems that originate from the true need
to innovate in the areas of company activity, whilst offering the spin-offs opportu-
nities to develop.
These initiatives derive from the institutional role that Politecnico covers and from the
tools with which it has equipped itself to do so in a modern way. In line with the indi-
cations in the Horizon 2020 Strategic Plan, inspired by the Horizon 2020 Program of
the European Commission, Politecnico considers “knowledge sharing” to be an “indis-
putable strength” that is necessary to generate and empower technology transfer
processes.
The so called “Third Mission” is now acknowledged as an institutional activity that
is strategic to the contribution by Universities (and solely possible to these) to the social,
cultural and economic development of Society. Within this context, Politecnico has
developed the technical background and the skills to converse with the outside world,
and it is capable of providing adequate responses to the issues and needs addressed by
the social and economic system.
Today’s and the near future’s challenge regards the evolution of Technology
Transfer, that is shifting from a traditional “inside-out” paradigm to a knowledge sharing
system in which the “outside-in” aspects are also taken into consideration, as they
revolve more around the needs of companies and public institutions.
Politecnico is promoting this shift, as it registers the first handover of the role
as Vice Rector. The project line is thus confirmed, with the will to consolidate the over-
view on the promotion of the results of research and on the sharing of knowledge in
various forms, which, as we will see further on, involves many players both within and
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outside the University, hence creating the Technology Transfer System. As pointed out
by the new Rector Guido Saracco, we must “accomplish our mission on technology trans-
fer in harmony with the other industry players ( functional entities, incubators, local and
international entrepreneurial fabric), each one according to their specific characteristics.”
Prof. Giuliana Mattiazzo, Vice Rector for Technology Transfer
Prof. Emilio Paolucci, former Vice Rector for Technology TransferContents
Editorial 5
Technology Transfer System 8
Protection of Research Results 11
www.knowledge-share.eu 12
The Maturity of Early Technology 12
Spin-off 15
IPR 15
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Increase of Technology TRL 15
Business Idea Development 15
Investors and Companies 16
Team, Multidisciplinarity and PhD 16
Student Entrepreneurship 17
Innovation for Change 17
European Innovation Academy 18
Contamination Lab & Innovation Kitchen 18
c.lab Torino 19
Industrial Relations 20
Partnership Agreements 20
Techshare Day 21
Broad P.I.T.T. 21
Glossary 23
Italian Translation 25
Colophon 35Technology Transfer System
The Technology Transfer ecosystem
Politecnico di Torino’s Technology Transfer System so called TRL scale (Technology Readiness Level),
has the objective to promote and enhance – par- which measures the rate of technological maturity
ticularly outside the university – the results of excel- from level 1, documentation on the basic princi-
lence in research carried out within the University. ples, to level 9, equivalent to a technology release
The activities carried out by the University, in and start of production.
this direction, have defined a model based on the TTS activities are therefore allowing: the
sharing of knowledge and its translation into skills involvement of talents such as teachers, research-
and innovative technologies made available to ers and PhD students; a robust IP status; the sup-
society, under the name Technology Transfer port of early stage technologies to defend them
System (TTS). The knowledge system can be sum- from “market failure” risks; the establishment of
marised as a set of good practices and involvement important collaborations with businesses; the
of various players, internal and external to the uni- attraction of strategic investments; the engage-
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versity, and it is based on three areas of action: ment of institutional and private stakeholders; and
— knowledge generation and entrepreneurship finally an impact on society and the territory.
training Since 2014, with the adoption of the Strategic
— technology development Plan, Politecnico has invested and created an
— transfer to industry and society. organizational structure that has enabled increas-
Each area can be matched to a stage of the ingly effective Technology Transfer activities. The
inventive idea’s progress as it changes into a tech- excellence reached by the University in terms of
nological prototype and matures to find a tangible quality of the Research and the requests coming
application. Like the cogs of a complex mecha- from the industry, with the impending issues
nism, the internal activities of each area have an related to Industry 4.0, have called for a more con-
influence on the others and are in turn influenced. sistent approach to the management and exploita-
The areas are not rigidly separated and they tion of intellectual property.
cannot be. They mutually interact in an intercon- The steps were:
nected and non linear process, working on differ- — the establishment of the institutional figure
ent planes, timing and directions (the return to of the Vice Rector for Technology Transfer,
point zero is indeed at the base of a successfully not provided for until then;
applied scientific method). — the creation of the TRIN Area (Technology
The Technology Transfer initiatives are by Transfer and Relations with Industry) seen
definition innovative and multidisciplinary. as a modern evolution of the Office for
Together they create profitable overlaps that bene- Commercial Agreements and Technology
fit the whole system, by using different tools, such Transfer;
as: protection and enhancement of Intellectual — the establishment of the Interdepartmental
Property Rights, entrepreneurship training, Proof Laboratory for Technology Transfer (LabTT),
of Concept funding, aid in the setup of innovative an operational liaison with the inventors;
spin-offs, strategic business and financial relations. — the presence of the LabTT Steering
Each of these tools is aimed at increasing the Committee, the governance body that is –
value of the technologies subject to transfer on the at various levels – an expression of all theUniversity, from the Board of Governors that deal with TT. It is composed of:
to the Departments; — the Vice Rector for Research;
— the creation of the Entrepreneurship and — the LabTT Director (i.e. the TT Vice Rector);
Innovation Center (EIC), focused on — the members of the BoG;
research issues linked to entrepreneurship — the TRIN Area Director;
and innovation; — the Research Area Director;
— the coordination of the activities of the Patent — the Department delegates.
and Spin-off Committees. An even greater effectiveness of the TT’s general
The strong peculiarity of the new organisation is coordination is guaranteed by the fact that
that within each body that deals with technology several members of the Steering Committee are
transfer, there is a mix of different figures that also part of the Patent and Spin-off Committees
guarantees a constant connection across various of the University. Once again the flows of informa-
levels of the University (institutional, academic, tion have shared meeting points, thus favouring
research, administration, management). Hence an an approach and matching between the visions of
all-round involvement and a constant sharing on the internal institutional processes, on the one
the technology transfer issues, including the side, and the needs of companies and enterprises,
Departments and their fundamental contribution on the other.
in terms of research generation. From an operational point of view the TRIN
From a governance point of view, the LabTT Area (Technology Transfer and Relations with
(Interdepartmental Laboratory for Technology Industry) oversees all the phases that have to do
Transfer) Steering Committee is not only the body with sharing and distribution of technology,
“politically” steering technology transfer opera- from base research until its industrial/commercial
tions, but it is also the subject that represents the application. It deals with the administration, pro-
liaison across the different University functions motion and management of the projects, taking
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Knowledge Technology
development development
Research Patent
and Education
Idea Proof
of Concept
Business Network
development development
Spin-off Dissemination
AdP of results
Licensing
Market Discovery Knowledge Share
and Assessmentcare of the development of patents and spin-offs, The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center
pursuing Partnership agreements with companies (EIC), established within TRIN, is mainly made up
deemed to be strategic, managing relations with by subjects with management skills, and is open
industry and the territory, organizing the manage- to the contribution of other departments. Its work
ment services for the technology transfer. is based on the research on technology transfer
With their MSc or PhD qualifications LabTT’s issues, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Knowledge and Technology Transfer Managers Furthermore it deals with the promotion of train-
(KTTMs) work within it, and with their technical ing events. It represents the closing of the circle,
background, they represent a first reference and because it allows the determination of evi-
figure of exchange for teachers, researchers and dence-based policies that are useful to TT offices
students who intend to develop a business idea or to make their operations more efficient.
who require a consultancy regarding IP. Overall, there are roughly 40 people actively
The TRIN Area and LabTT have an organiza- involved in technology transfer, including profes-
tional model based on matrix interactions: TRIN sors, doctoral students, researchers, legal, adminis-
manages the single issues, vertically and based on trative and research fellows. There are roughly ten
specialisation, while LabTT goes across them people that are employed in the TRIN Area, and
during the natural evolution of the work cycle, in a about as many as LabTT staff.
shared and transversal way. The LabTT KTTMs We therefore talk about Technology Transfer
oversee the single projects, exchanging views at System because we have become aware that we
every stage of the process with the administrative, have built a system that is capable of transferring
management and legal personnel at TRIN: the knowledge, of interacting with other players on the
result is a constant multidisciplinary vision of the territory and of generating a virtuous ecosystem
entire process. which can attract talents, businesses and investors.
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TTS
TRIN Lab TT
Director Director
Staff Steering Board:
Administrative staff, Legals, Economics Academics representing the eleven resear-
ch departments, delegates from the Board
of Governors and key administration heads.
Administration, promotion and
Staff – Knowledge and Technology Transfer
project management
Managers:
MedTech Area
Energy Area
Partnership Agreement and Chemistry and Material Sciences
Industrial Liaison Management Area and Production
Architecture and Cultural Heritage
ICT – Electronics Area
Communication Area
Development patents and spin-out
(commissions)
EIC
Director
Management services for TT Staff
Professors, Researchers, AlumniProtection of Research Results
Inventions, Patents and other IP
As indicated in the University Regulations regard- the University and the remaining ones are jointly
ing Industrial and Intellectual Property, one of held with organisations or businesses.
Politecnico’s objectives is to “enable the patenting The TRIN Area is the organisation in Politecnico
and filing of the University’s research results” and that, amongst other activities, supports and provides
to “enhance the University’s research results, consulting services to inventors, following a fully
through the promotion of activities that may also consolidated process. As explained previously, the
entail their capital exploitation”. first figures to liaise with the inventors are the
To this end, the protection of the inventions Knowledge and Technology Transfer Managers
and other IP created during research activities (KTTMs). Thanks to their technical background,
allows for innovation and social impact by also the KTTMs allow the academic world to relate
generating economic resources that can be reused with the administrative, legal and economic areas.
for training, research and technological develop- The first step that the KTTM approaches,
ment activities. This is therefore a virtuous mecha- when the inventors propose their Research output,
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nism for the use of public funds. is to verify whether the “finding” can be protected,
It is thus obvious that IP is not only essential, i.e. if it has the necessary requirements of novelty
but represents the pivotal, starting and finishing (it has never been presented to the public), of
point of all Technology Transfer activities. inventive step (it must not be considered obvious
All this is possible because, in very general by an expert of the sector) and of industrial appli-
terms, a patent is an agreement between the cation (it must be industrially exploitable).
inventor and society. The latter makes a commit- Once these requirements are met, the search
ment to provide the former with a temporary for prior art commences, i.e. a verification made to
monopoly of the invention to be able to exploit it learn the state of the art in a specific technological
commercially provided the inventor reveals how sector and to check whether there are any similar
he or she has achieved the invention. An incentive products on the market or other patents that may
is therefore guaranteed to share with everybody hinder the finding’s patentability.
the knowledge, which may benefit society. Once the negative result has been verified
By setting up a robust protection and man- with the prior art search, the inventors must com-
agement of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), the plete a “disclosure form”, the document requesting
University is certainly able to protect the results of the filing/registration that contains, among other
academic research, to take up an advantageous things, a detailed description of the characteristics
role in terms of development and marketing of the of the invention and other information (other
underlying technologies, and to have access to potential inventors and the inventors’ inventive
immaterial assets that become the object of col- attribution in percentage, whether the invention
laborations with its partners. For this reason, originates from free or paid research, potential
the researchers at University are called to report joint holding by businesses or organisations, the
the new results of their Research so they can be TRL, the reference target market, existing compet-
correctly protected and promoted. At the moment, itors, etc.). The disclosure form is used to have the
the managed portfolio consists of 270 active pat- largest possible amount of information to show
ents, which constitute 150 active patent families. the Patent Commission, Politecnico’s body whose
Overall, 60% of the patents are fully owned by job is – amongst other things- to takes decisionson the request to file and/or extend patents and The starting point which brought about
on the maintenance of patents and registrations Knowledge-Share was to overcome the difficulties
in the years after the initial filing. Italian universities face in adequately promoting
If the Patent Commission decides in favour their research results. The solution brought up by
of a patent filing, the writing of the patent appli- Politecnico was the creation of a platform that
cation in the forms required by law and the suc- could act as a showcase of patents coming from
cessively filing is assigned to an expert consultant, public research. This made it possible to put on
a so called “patent attorney”. the market, and more in general into society, the
It is important to note that for a correct pro- assets of intellectual property of Universities and
tection of intellectual property it is necessary to Research Centers, thus obtaining three important
file the patent before publishing the research results: to generate a real social and economic
results. This way, there is no invalidation of the impact at a national level, in accordance with the
principle of novelty, which is a necessary require- objectives of the “Third Mission”; to provide a tan-
ment to file a patent application. gible support to (not only) Italian businesses to
Following the filing, a lapse of 18 months accelerate their innovation processes; to allow uni-
passes, during which the patent is secret: this versities to obtain an economic return to be re-in-
means that the technology is not immediately of vested in new technology transfer activities.
public domain, but it will be after 18 months. Just as Knowledge-Share’s pay-off claims,
This time lapse is provided to consider whether “We share knowledge”, the portal’s goal is to
to “extend” a patent (its filing) also in other for- become the meeting point with the excellences in
eign countries, but also to provide a competitive scientific know-how developed by university
advantage to the holder of the patent or to con- research and Research Centers, that can have tan-
solidate his or her advantage, for example to fur- gible applications. This matching mechanism
ther develop the invention, to negotiate agree- allows to act effectively by putting into direct con-
ments with companies, to start the industrial tact research groups with businesses and other
production, etc. public organisations, and by making these patents
quickly available.
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The website allows to search the various pat-
www.knowledge-share.eu ents according to several criteria: the name, the
The patent showcase of Italian research University or Research Center it comes from, the
area of application, the events at which they were
The Knowledge-Share platform, which was shown. Once a patent of interest has been found,
strongly backed by Politecnico di Torino, is a fur- the related page explains in an informative and
ther important milestone that the University non-technical language what the applications,
has set in its strategy of knowledge sharing and uses and characteristics might be, and the benefits
the consolidation of its leadership regarding deriving from the adoption of the technology.
Technology Transfer. There is also information on the inventors, and
The concept of Knowledge-Share, which ini- it is possible to download a “marketing annex”, i.e.
tially had the support of Intesa Sanpaolo, during a sheet that contains the basic information on
its first phases foresaw the definition of the pilot the patent, conceived to be a functional and brief
project and the standard based on Politecnico’s communication tool. The website also hosts
IPR portfolio. Subsequently, a second model arose information on the world of innovation, and, in
to become an inclusive platform open to all Italian the event of specific events where patents are
universities, with the involvement of Netval (the shown, companies can register and book one-to-
Network for the Valorization of Public Research), one meetings with the inventors.
which relaunched the proposal addressing the
Technology Transfer offices of its members (more
than 60 among Italian universities and public The Maturity of Early Technology
research centers). Thanks to Netval the platform The Funding of Proof of Concept (PoC)
has had a tangible boost in terms of participation:
there are now over 20 universities and public One of the large obstacles that public research
research centers on Knowledge-Share, with an faces is the fact that, albeit consistent in quality
aggregate portfolio of more than 200 patents and quantity, it seldom manages to be developed
with a trend for growth. sufficiently to reach an opening into an industrialapplication – a phenomenon known as the with the obligation to take part in a week of train-
“European Paradox” because of its frequency at ing on IPR issues before the start-up, allows
a European level. to promote an entrepreneurial culture especially
A “new” technology in fact, although pro- among young researchers and to provide eco-
tected from an intellectual property point of view, nomic and legal skills to inventors to approach
goes through a delicate and critical moment the market.
until it manages to demonstrate it is valid and Another specific characteristic of the PoC is
functional, and can successfully overcome the collaboration with companies since inception.
“market failure”. In the various commissions for the evaluation of
This phase is defined by literature as “death the projects there are, according to the industrial
valley”, because of the lack of funds both by uni- area: an entrepreneur, a professional investor
versities and public organisations, and by compa- (both knowledgeable in technology) and a mem-
nies and investors. The public sector, particularly ber of the LabTT Steering Committee, with the
in Italy, still has no sufficient and adequate finan- supervision of the Vice Rector for Technology
cial tools for such a phase that comes immediately Transfer. This allows to share very different points
after Research; the private sector instead is hesi- of view and sensitivities on each project, thus
tant to invest on early stage technologies that have offering useful advice and thoughts to reflect upon
not yet demonstrated that they work. in each project team.
To partially solve this problem Politecnico The elements subject to evaluation are: the
di Torino, the first university to do so in Italy, project per se (in other words the possible increase
adopted and established a Proof of Concept (PoC) of the TRL rate and the related increment in
funding. This is a strategic tool to promote the value), the team composition, the potential of tech-
development of patented technologies and their nology, the budget and the interview with
advancement on the TRL scale (Technology the Commission.
Readiness Level), the parameter that evaluates The first three calls financed for the PoC bid
the maturity of a technology according to a series (the first in 2016, the others in 2017) show very
of indicators that go from 1 (the basic principles positive results and confirm the University’s cor-
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are documented) to 9 (the technology is released rect choice to act when there is a “fragility” phase
and industrial production is started). Typically, in the technology: 1.1 million Euro allocated, 32
technologies held by universities have scale values technologies financed, 118 researchers involved,
ranging between 2 and 4. and an average increase of TRL of 2 points (by cal-
More specifically, a PoC entails a funding culating an average TRL of 3.3 and 5.4 respectively
of limited proportions, up to 50,000 Euro, which at the beginning and at the end of the PoC).
is given under certain conditions. First of all it So thanks to PoC, Politecnico intends to fill
cannot go to new research activities, but to results the gap between the research results and the
that have been identified and on which the industrial application, and in doing so it becomes
University has the related intellectual property. a proactive investor hence obtaining a series
Since the main objective of the PoC is an increase of benefits: a deal flow of technologies that, after
in the TRL, the goal to be reached is the construc- the PoC, will be closer to the market and to the
tion of prototypes or demonstrators: these must investors; the offering of an important support for
allow to reach pre-established performance the start of spin-offs that can count on technolo-
thresholds through measurable results within a gies that are for a better part already validated and
maximum period of 6 months. Another crucial capable of attracting new funding; the involve-
point is the composition of the team that manages ment across the board of all the University and of
the project: the project must be led by a Professor, the Departments, together with a qualified net-
as Project Manager, but must include at least work of entrepreneurial individuals.
a person aged under 35. This element, togetherTRL 1
The basic principles are sworn and documented.
The research moves the first steps from
the base to the applied one. Level 1 is that
of scientific papers.
TRL 2
Formulation of principles that support the
applicability of an invention. Close to filing
a patent.
TRL 3
Research demonstrates the feasibility. Research
and Development can start. The concept
is proved with a simulacrum that reproduces
the analytical expectations.
TRL 4
A low reliability prototype can be built to de-
monstrate the technology and its function
in the laboratory.
TRL 5
The laboratory prototype is presented and
predefined in a vast system context.
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TRL 6
The technology is demonstrated with an engine-
ering prototype in a widely relevant context.
The bill of materials, if applicable, is indicated.
TRL 7
The prototype is executed in controlled situa-
tions (cold test) and the production tests
(on-plant) are finalized and will be definitive.
The bill of material is satisfied. The costs of
the materials are defined.
TRL 8
The prototype has proven to work in its final
form and under the expected conditions.
In almost all cases, this level represents the
end of the development process.
TRL 9
Technology is released, the product is in pro-
duction, material costs and transformation are
consistent with expectations.Spin-off
The birth and development of innovative enterprises
One of the fundamental activities of technology IPR
transfer is to support the creation of spin-off
enterprises. You have a starting point once research produces
Up to now roughly 50 have been established, as a result technology that has been protected
20 of which are active. in terms of intellectual property. Even if the tech-
The Politecnico Regulation defines “spin-offs nology is at a level of basic principle claims,
of Politecnico di Torino as public or limited liability an accurate management of the IPR in this phase
companies that have the statutory enterprise pur- guarantees whoever hold the rights a future
pose of using the research results in an innovative competitive advantage in terms of valorization and
context, i.e. the development of new products and marketing of the technology.
new services, deriving from research activities car-
ried out within Politecnico”. It is therefore a matter
of establishing a corporate legal entity that, start- Increase of Technology TRL
15
ing from the results deriving from research carried
out within Politecnico, wants to make an entre- The maturity of technology and its validation
preneurial use of it or develop further products come at the immediately successive step.
and services. The difference with respect to the Technology Transfer System makes it possible
term “start-up” therefore lays in the fact that the thanks to the funding of the Proof of Concept –
innovative business idea brought to the company PoC (see p. 12), conceived by Politecnico with
derives from university research or that teachers, the specific aim to support the development
researchers or students of any level are part of the costs of a prototype and/or demonstrator of
shareholding. a technology whose intellectual property is held
The entrepreneurial spirit and the capability by the University.
of the people to work together are critical factors
when the decision is made to found a company.
With this in mind, TTS’s tasks are, firstly, to Business Idea Development
develop and promote an entrepreneurial culture;
then, to prepare the conditions for an adequate The design of the business plan has to occur after
birth of entrepreneurial initiatives and, successively a careful analysis that summarizes the strategies,
to make young innovative companies grow until the objectives and the economic-financial program-
they are capable of standing on their own legs. ming to be reached, by correctly determining
The process includes a few essential passages the markets and the related business models. In
that, once again, do not follow a linear path this moment, one can, for example, decide
and can mutually influence each other. It must be whether the path to follow is the birth of a spin-
noted that it is possible that at any instant the off or the creation of value through the sale or
evaluations made and the decisions adopted can licensing of IPR.
determine the continuation, the reconsideration
or the abandonment of the initial project.Investors and Companies The composition of the spin-off team is,
objectively, one of the most critical stages of the
At this stage of the process the technology has process, because the different souls and perso-
been protected with a patent, it has demonstrated nalities of the enterprise need to be identified and
its validity as a prototype and a value proposi- “mixed”.
tion derives from it. It is therefore possible to meet Doing this implies following three criteria.
investors and companies to obtain further funding, The first is the addition of PhD or doctoral stu-
opportunities for development and/or industrial dents amongst the founders. Their technical
application, or a valuation on the business outlook. and specialist background allows them to supply
Often the shareholding nucleus that will be grow- a high added value, that intersects the second
ing the project is already established. In some criterion: within the staff there must be individu-
cases the investors may propose the addition of als with different skills deriving from various
further figures within the young enterprise, so disciplines. The challenges and the issues that the
as to fill in any skill gaps in specific areas. team will necessarily have to face and overcome
require a strong and varied multidisciplinary and
an across-the-board nature: this helps aggregate
Team, Multidisciplinarity and PhD and exploit different skills and knowledge, allow-
ing the team to have a wider scope of vision.
The entrepreneurial spirit and the capability Finally, a further criterion that we try to enact is
of the people to work together are crucial when to actively involve teachers in the founding of
the decision is made to build a company. spin-off enterprises. As highlighted previously by
Politecnico proposes students, researchers and reference literature, their impact is more signifi-
teachers a wide range of initiatives that aim to cant in terms of performance in the success of the
develop and promote an entrepreneurial culture, enterprise, when their contribution is based on
thus enabling structured courses toward the mentorship rather than on executive or manage-
creation of a business. ment functions.
16Student Entrepreneurship
Projects and opportunities for future innovators
There are many initiatives put in place by Politecnico provide them with advanced technologies, know-
over the last years that have entailed students in how and intellectual property, create a connection
structured courses for entrepreneurial training and with leading companies and institutions. In other
start-up. Before providing support to the technology words, make technology respond tangibly to the
transfer activities, Technology Transfer System needs of society: this is the meaning of Innovation
involves students in programs that might help them for Change.
translate their innovative ideas into enterprises Since it deeply believes in this idea, Politecnico
with a high technological content such as start- di Torino, together with the Business School
ups and spin-offs, with the acquisition of know- Collège des Ingénieurs Italy and with IdeaSquare,
ledge and skills necessary to move with agility CERN’s organisation dedicated to interdiscipli-
through the entrepreneurial dynamics of the cur- nary R&D projects, organizes an innovative entre-
rent industrial phase. preneurship kick-start program that lasts five
Whether they be specific study courses, hack- months, and is based on teamwork and the contri-
17
athons, prototyping bootcamps, weekly programs bution of different skills to solve global reaching
or monthly projects, the various activities are issues (such as health or nutrition).
based on several base principles. During the five months, the participants,
The first is the application of the “learning by selected amongst students with a high level tech-
doing” method, the tight relationship between nical background, are divided into teams accord-
teaching and practice that alternates moments of ing to multidisciplinary and transverse criteria,
theoretical training with more operational ones and they face challenges proposed by internation-
within companies, maker spaces or group work ally renowned companies or organisations, to
sessions. Students can hence practice and experi- find innovative solutions. Once they have under-
ment hands-on what they have acquired in class. stood the challenge specifics and have determined
The second concerns teamwork, which must the issues to be tackled, the teams are overseen
occur following a correct mix of technical skills that by their respective stakeholders to receive the
must touch sectors across the board. The aggrega- most relevant indications in the chosen sectors.
tion and exploitation of different skills and knowl- As an operational support to the participants,
edge allows the team to have a scope of vision that between training and group work sessions held
is wider and, in the medium-long run, a winner. in Turin and Geneva, various resources are made
Finally, it is fundamental that all work be available, by Politecnico and CERN, in the form
carried out under an adequate mentoring which of access to research, patents and technologies,
includes teachers, entrepreneurs, investors and next to the involvement and supervision of teach-
professionals from the various national and inter- ers, scientists and experts.
national reference sectors. The students are furthermore supported by
the Alumni of the Politecnico and the Collège des
Ingénieurs Italy, who have become entrepreneurs
Innovation for Change or work in large industrial groups, and can offer a
Win global challenges with multidisciplinary skills more operational point of view on the business side.
At the end of the program there is a Demo
To face global issues, involve young talents, Day, during which the teams show the results oftheir work to a panel of selected judges of entre- directions unwanted or not needed by the market.
preneurs, investors and institutional figures. After The process generates a scalable business model
a pitch and a presentation of their prototypes, and a precise marketing strategy to approach the
they can demonstrate the validity of their idea and market.
how they have managed to add value to the tech- The third and last week is dedicated to start-up
nological aspects to obtain an impactful innovation. funding strategies. To do so, the teams must first
To provide continuity to such an experience, learn the various aspects of intellectual property
a few of the young students that take part in protection that allow to have and consolidate a
Innovation for Change are selected to take part in the competitive advantage. The next step is learning the
European Innovation Academy, where they will have main financial indicators to be placed in the plan
to bring as an endowment the start-up they have just and in the budget, next to building a specific strat-
come up with, to develop it and make it grow. egy to obtain the funding. Finally, there’s the prepa-
ration and execution of the final presentation pitch.
At the end of the three weeks the best projects
European Innovation Academy are shown to a jury of professional Venture Capitals
From idea to start-up in 3 weeks and the most interesting are funded by the investors.
Undoubtedly the existence of a similar event is
For 3 weeks, during the summer, Politecnico brings an opportunity for an enrichment like no other in
to Turin hundreds of students from universities terms of skills and knowledge acquired, of interna-
all over the world, making the city the internation- tionally relevant networking and the chance to
al capital of innovation. During this period, there cross over and develop ideas that would otherwise
is the largest student entrepreneurship accelera- not be able to emerge. This is true non only for the
tion event in the world, the European Innovation participants, but also for the territory that hosts
Academy (EIA): in a truly international environ- the event and its players (institutions and busi-
ment, students work under the daily mentorship of nesses) as they are involved for nearly a month at
university teachers, entrepreneurs, sector profes- the core of a development and innovation system.
sionals and international venture capitalists, mostly
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from Silicon Valley. The goal is for the participants
to propose a business idea of theirs, to transform Contamination Lab & Innovation Kitchen
it into a company ready to go to market, by using An informal environment for new ideas and prototypes
tools and methodologies structured according to a
very specific format, based on multidisciplinary CLIK was created in response to Politecnico’s need
teams and predefined work sessions. The edition to provide students with a new educational approach
held in July 2017 saw 500 students from over 60 that can create a contamination between state-of-
universities of the world and the contribution of the-art research, innovative ideas and transverse
70 mentors, 40 speakers and 10 venture capitalists. skills. As is the case in many foreign settings, where
During the first week the young entrepre- similar spaces exists, Politecnico decided to invest
neurs-to-be must create a team of 5-6 members in this activity by renovating historical premises
according to the multidisciplinary principle. Each that for decades had hosted the University’s data
team must include specific and differentiated center, refurbished according to a project by the
skills, according to the roles foreseen in the future Department of Architecture and Design.
start-up, such as the development of software, The Laboratory is therefore proposed as a
data science, business development design and place in which students can experiment and put
others. Once the team has been created, the best into practice what they have learnt during their
ideas need to be picked out, and a selection must lectures, in an informal environment that pro-
be made of the one whose value proposition is motes a spirit of creativity and collaboration.
potentially disruptive and that needs to be devel- The activities within CLIK involve as mentors
oped, focusing on a problem for which the market both individuals from within the university, like
or society needs a solution. researchers, and expert individuals from various
During the second week a basic version of the professional sectors outside it: to share their
product is produced, according to the logic of experiences and skills with the students, in a space
the Minimum Viable Product, which aims at ena- that may allow the young ones to stimulate their
bling functionality preferred by the consumer creativityandenabletheencounterwithdifferentknow-
and at avoiding the use of time and resources in hows, as ingredients that are the foundation of in-novation and of potential entrepreneurial projects. that, not unlike the creation of CLIK, are at
By providing state-of-the-art tools for maker the base of c.lab TORINO, the first and only
and prototyping activities, CLIK offers the chance to Contamination Lab in Italy as a result of a collabo-
promote educational projects, organise student com- ration between two Universities.
petitions and hackathons, and can host events cre- With an overall allocation of around 900,000
ated in collaboration with other Contamination Labs. Euro (300,000 Euro of which – equal to the
An important point of distinction for CLIK is full amount requested – obtained from the MIUR
the fact that it is a channel open to society and (Ministry of Education, University and Research),
industry, with which it can generate synergy and and nearly 600,000 Euro co-funded by Politecnico
develop projects linked to the territory. Through di Torino and Università di Torino), c.lab TORINO
the lab one can propose to the students, or collect is placed among the 16 winning projects selected
from them, some of the tangible challenges out of 68 candidates from Universities all over Italy.
of everyday life or those linked to industrial pro- Politecnico and Università both replied to
cesses. The “challenge-driven” approach acts as the funding bid issued by the MIUR by presenting
a stimulus for the lab’s activity and it was chosen a single project, with the objective of involving
because on one side it responds to the needs for the two universities as much as possible for the
innovation that companies are facing in the incipi- benefit of the city and territory. c.lab TORINO
ent Industry 4.0, and on the other it helps to drive wants to be a place of meeting and sharing of know-
the birth of start-ups with a technological DNA. how that creates value for students, society and
The entrepreneurial training, although in a the industrial fabric of the city. In order to transfer
“light” version, is in fact one of the themes that the knowledge and the results of research to society
CLIK regulars approach, often for the first time. and industry, contamination between various
The ideation of a solution to a problem is taught disciplines is key to connect the ideas and innova-
through team work, as is the subdivision of tasks tion capabilities of students with the requests
based on skills, and the development of a techno- coming from the industrial and economic world.
logical prototype, to demonstrate its validity and As is foreseen by the inter-university joint
to tell the business idea’s story. project, the main seat of c.lab TORINO is in Via
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In line with this vision, CLIK was inaugurated Verdi, in the heart of the city. In a location that
in September 2017 with the organisation of a hack- was purposely refurbished, more than 100.000
athon with a challenge based on the ideation of students of “Turin as a University City” have access
a concept regarding a “Lab Assistant”: for two days to an informal and creative environment where to
4 teams of students worked with the objective follow an innovative extracurricular educational
to create forms of virtual assistance in support to course.
CLIK, with access to Raspberry Pi3 boards with The c.lab TORINO project falls within
related components for video and audio, software the Entrepreneurship Education’s scope, with the
for Alexa, the well-known Amazon vocal assistant, objective to create social value and promote an
and a 3D printer to generate prototypes to support entrepreneurial culture, innovation and sustaina-
the electronic components. At the end of the bility. The design is “challenge-driven”: each chal-
hackathon the three winning teams had the oppor- lenge is developed during a brief period of a few
tunity to continue to use CLIK in the following months (6 at the most), with a main focus on a
months to better structure their project and reach base theme and a few in-depth modules that can
a more definitive prototype. Finally, two of the be tailored by the student, through study courses
three teams took part in the Rome 2017 Maker held at the two Universities. The challenges can
Fair, where they exhibited their prototypes to be determined by proposal of the Universities, by
the public, earning the interest of a few companies the students, or by organisations and companies.
and of the visitors. Through the contamination between different
skills, the students and the doctoral students will
acquire tools to face the job market with an entre-
c.lab Torino preneurial approach, hence finding innovative
The first joint Innovation Lab in Italy solutions, with the chance to kick-start new start-
between two Universities ups. To complete the projects, the students will
also be able to use other seats or laboratories,
A path that entails a “doing” by starting from identified case by case according to the needs and
different “know-hows”: these are the motivations functionality of the locations.Industrial Relations
Innovation sharing for the benefit of the territory
Technology Transfer System increasingly sees itself It must also be noted that there is a growing
as a reference point for the entrepreneurial world trend of a further involvement of industry, starting
and it does so through a series of services and ini- from the primary phases of technology transfer:
tiatives studied to create a match between the enterprises are eagerly present to both propose
University’s wealth of research and the needs of challenges that concern everyday real life, and with
the world of production. a global impact, and also assess the technological
The great transformations brought by the so- development phase, in which and expert view
called Fourth Industrial Revolution imply the from the “industry” may offer new points of view
growing need, by corporate enterprises, to gener- for those carrying out the research.
ate and adopt innovative processes to continue
being competitive. State-of-the-art technologies
manage to spread particularly among companies Partnership Agreements
that are most capable of developing and adopting The strategic connections
20
them: in looking at the national context (Italy is with the leading enterprises
ranked second at a European level in manufac-
turing) Italian universities and research centers Partnership Agreements represent for our
become key players in supporting enterprises, University the strategic relations with private
especially SMEs, that are not structured to inno- industrial partners of great relevance, to start
vate on their own. collaborations on projects of primary interest
Throughout the years, the University’s will to and typically lasting several years.
become a front-line player in the social and eco- Relationships with the industrial world are
nomic development of the region and the nation essential to create a network of collaborations
has brought about the development and structur- within an ecosystem that is based on knowledge
ing of different approaches to enterprises, based and is aimed at the spread of innovation.
on the objectives and on the respective interests The purpose of the Agreements may be an
and needs. To keep stable relationships with the activity linked to research, development and inno-
industrial world and nurture new ones is essential vation, and to teaching and training.
within an ecosystem that is based on knowledge Within the TRIN Area there is a dedicated
and is aimed at the spread of innovation. To office that monitors and implements the
respond to enterprise needs for the solution of Partnership Agreements thus guaranteeing a sup-
even complex problems, Politecnico proposes port across the board to all Departments of
research and consultancy services with a multidis- the University, in managing the collaborations,
ciplinary, multi-service and customer-oriented in research and innovation.
approach. The contractual form at the roots of the
In Technology Transfer System’s vision, these Partnership Agreements thus regulating them
connections with enterprises allow the creation must not be considered a simple agreement
of mutual opportunities along the whole industrial between parties, because in reality it is a planning
chain: during the generation of ideas, training, tool that is thoroughly structured to reflect the
technological development and industrial and vision shared between Politecnico and the enter-
economic creation of value. prise, and it plans a medium-term cooperation.On the contract there is a prior definition 25 minutes each, to discuss advantages and appli-
of what contents the parties will be conveying, cations of the technologies. In the weeks that
their related activities and the respective field of follow, the enterprises that have an interest can
action. One of the main issues for Partnership propose to the University projects for the develop-
Agreements, in a Technology Transfer context, is ment and the industrialization of the technologies,
the correct regulation of the intellectual property in view of a collaboration with the researchers
rights than can arise from the joint research and/ to build prototypes and demonstrators – the
or development activities. Since it is a mean so-called proof-of-concept.
to convey and enhance the value of the research In the last three editions, two of which held
results, the stipulation of an Partnership at Politecnico in Turin and one in Pont Saint
Agreement always provides for an article that reg- Martin in Val d’Aosta, roughly 50 patents were
ulates the ownership of the industrial and intellec- shown. More than 260 enterprises took part with
tual property rights deriving from the activities well over 450 delegates. The meetings with the
mentioned in the contract, with the aim to achieve inventors were more than 300, and these gave way
a joint ownership and a joint filing of the patent, to roughly 35 follow-ups.
also providing future value-increasing strategies
that point towards a sale or licensing of the patent
to the company. Broad P.I.T.T.
The partnership agreement also includes sev- Technology Transfer brings Innovation into SMEs
eral contractual templates to be used consequently
and within which a high level of detail is required The first edition of BROAD P.I.T.T. was held in
to regulate the contents. This explains the impor- 2015, with the cooperation of Piccola Industria
tance of the support function that the TRIN and Intesa San Paolo, to support SMEs that
organization offers the Departments, since the have the need to introduce elements of innovation
typical critical negotiation points are immedi- into their business models. As is evident from
ately tackled and overcome, thus avoiding the the name, the project’s objective is to bring to a
need to have to review and renegotiate the future “broad” base of enterprises the tools and skills
21
contracts with the enterprises. to innovate (Piccola Impresa Trasferimento
Tecnologico – Small Enterprise Technology
Transfer), with a coaching path that also includes
Techshare Day a high level of scientific specialisation, consulting
The SMEs meet and offering of intellectual property.
the inventors and their prototypes SMEs often understand the need to develop
an innovative product or to change the productive
Technology Transfer System increasingly sees itself, process, but they do not have the independent
as a reference point for enterprises and it does resources to do so. The resources to be used can
so through a series of services and initiatives stud- be of various nature: instrumental, financial, staff,
ied to create a match between the University’s know-how, time. These are investments that, in
wealth of research and the needs of the productive a balance sheet of an enterprise that is not par-
world. The Techshare Day, in particular, is a spe- ticularly structured or is small – and often family
cific event through which SMEs of the territory run – appear to be rather difficult to source, if
have the opportunity: to discover new technolo- indeed at all. The risk is therefore that they may
gies for their products; to meet the university lose their pace against competition or that they
research teams and interact with the inventors; to may delay the enterprise’s development, thus
start activities with the research groups to develop widening the technological and commercial gap
commercial applications of the technologies; and with their competitors.
to acquire a license on the patents of their interest. For Technology Transfer System the BROAD
On the days preceding the event, the enterprises P.I.T.T. program expresses a realistic opportunity
can analyse the details of Politecnico’s patents, to test and put into working action its knowledge
that are made available on-line through the dedi- and methodologies of technology transfer.
cated platform, www.knowledge-share.eu During Furthermore it allows to establish a close link with
the event, the inventors exhibit their prototypes the territory and its players, be they public or
and then have direct exchanges with the enter- private, and to generate positive outcomes thus
prises through a series of one-to-one meetings of developing new professional skills. The methodimplies the initial analysis of the entrepreneurial greater number of subjects involved, thus trying to
needs and strategies of the company and the improve the collaboration system between market
consequent design of the innovation project. and university. The reviews of the companies at
Clearly each company has specific and individual the end of their experiences of “innovation on the
characteristics, that need to be addressed uniquely. field” are more than positive. Particularly appreci-
Thanks to the good results obtained and the ated is the opportunity to “create a system” of
synergy between the organisers, we have reached interactions between different subjects and skills,
the second edition, BROAD P.I.T.T. 2, which that enriches everyone and allows companies
is witnessing an increase in the number of com- to find a way out of the crisis and to renew their
panies involved and organising partners. The pas- entrepreneurial spirit.
sage takes us to a more articulate setting with a
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