Spotlight on Italian Research and Innovation at the University Startups Conference 2009

The Italian Trade Commission of New York, via its Investments Desk and Intellectual Property Rights Desk, participates for the first time at the “University Startups Conference: Creating Jobs and Powering Innovation With University Startups”, which is organized annually by the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) and this year takes place on December 2-4, 2009 in Washington DC.

Part of a conference series, this event is dedicated exclusively to creating and funding university startups and gathers universities creating startups with VCs, angel investors and Fortune 500 technology scouts funding them. With the goal of presenting an updated picture of Italy’s R&D landscape to conference participants, the Trade Commission will seek to draw the attention of company technology scouts and venture capitalists to the research, products and services of dedicated centers, spin off and start up operations in Italy, which have been proliferating over the last few years. Italy has in fact made huge strides towards spurring and improving its R&D activities, which have already increased the country’s competitiveness worldwide. Although there is still considerable room for improvements, the high quality of research occurring in Italian infrastructures as well as the strength of Italy’s scientific community and the gradual but constant increase in the number of patents are among the most interesting and encouraging findings that emerge from highly accredited reports on innovation.

Further to the end of promoting Italy’s R&D activities at the conference, Valentina Petricciuolo, Deputy Trade Commissioner and Head of the New York Investments Desk will present a report titled RESEARCH IN ITALY – How and where to Invest in Italian Scientific and Technological Excellence. The report will provide a broad spectrum of information on the Italian R&D landscape, including an overview of technology parks, research centers, universities and of the country’s performance on global innovation indices, as well as information on existing sources of funding for research and government support. Most importantly, the report will offer VCs and corporate VCs a selected list of spin-offs and start-ups originated from Italian universities and research centers, offering concrete investment opportunities.

Moreover, in an effort to enhance the Italian Trade Commission’s services, the presence of Donatella Iaricci, Head the Intellectual Property Rights Desk will serve the additional purpose of providing information and legal assistance on patents and trademarks in the US, as well as of facilitating the collaborations between Italian companies, universities and academic labs, and their American counterparts.