Did you know that during the last decades the mission
of Universities and public research centres has increasingly shifted towards a
more attentive consideration of the valorisation of research results and their
impact on the local economy? As a matter of fact: Technology Transfer (TT) has
become a key activity of Public Research Entities (PREs), which often provide TT
related services through a dedicated office and skilled personnel. However,
while this process is well established in more advanced countries, southern
Europe’s universities are often lag in their ability to effectively contribute
to the competitiveness of the local companies.
The economies of Italy and Greece are characterized
from small and medium industries, which are today increasingly exposed to
global competition and are therefore pressed to innovate their products,
production processes, organizations and marketing strategies at a much higher
pace than before. In this framework, the role of organisms devoted to
Technology Transfer connected to enterprise development is a key to strengthen
regional competitive system.
Ilonet addresses the common challenge to apply,
valorise and transfer research technological results and knowledge produced in
Universities and Research Organizations, in favour of youth entrepreneurs and
the creation of new innovative SMEs. It aims to create a cross-border network of ILOs, Industrial Liaison Offices, whose role is the
technological transfer and incubation paths for supporting the development and
growth of existing small and medium enterprises.