First steps
Friuli Innovazione was set up in 1999 by the University of Udine, the Udine Industrial Association, the Fiat Research Centre, Agemont, the Pordenone Industrial Association and the CRUP Foundation. Later on, we attracted support from other local partners who have endorsed and developed a shared strategy and objectives in innovation and technology transfer. In 2004, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Authority made a major contribution to the initiative by appointing Friuli Innovazione to launch and manage the Luigi Danieli Science and Technology Park at Udine. The ideal space for turning ideas into projects and research into products.
1999 – our efforts contributed to the launch of the Region’s first academic spin-off company.
2001 – we took part in Sister, the regional project for the creation of a permanent system supporting technology transfer.
2002 – we joined the Campus One project for training recent graduates. In the same year, we collaborated with the University of Udine and Labiotest srl to launch LOD, the Laboratory of Dynamic Olfactometry, the first joint university-industry laboratory specialising in UNI EN 13725:2004-compliant odour measurement, characterisation and control; subsequently, we set up CRISP, the Centre for Process Pollution and Development specialising in environmental management and assessment.
2004 – the Science and Technology Park opened; we launched a new technology transfer project for Friulprint srl that would lead in 2006 to the completion of an innovative phytopurification plant.
2005 – a crucial year for Friuli Innovazione which saw the launch of Techno Seed, the Region’s first enterprise incubator specialising in the creation of high-technology ICT (Information and Communication Technology) enterprises; we were the only Italian partner in the interregional Corinna (Cooperation of Regions for Innovation) project to promote the collaboration of the border regions of Slovenia, Austria and Hungary in technological innovation; we hosted the Park’s first resident and launched the services of Spazio Impresa for businesses, public bodies, researchers and young graduates. We quickly became a new interlocutor for the propagation of technological innovation and enterprise culture in the Region.
2006 – the Institute of Applied Genomics was set up with the University of Udine and four researchers as partners; the Laboratory of Metallurgy, Surface Technologies and Advanced Materials is opened; we took part in the ICT Education Centre financed by the Regional Authority to develop and enhance technical higher education and training opportunities in ICT. We took part in the InnovarèImpresa project funded by the European Social Fund to promote innovation in SMEs by introducing research and innovation-oriented skills.
2007 – we received the Quality Award for our Techno Seed and Corinna projects within “Challenges - From Good Practice to Good Administration”, the national territorial promotion and development initiative sponsored by Forum PA and the Department for the Development of Territorial Economies of the Prime Minister’s Office. Friuli Innovazione and Techno Seed joined Achieve, the European umbrella network for more than twenty of the best ICT enterprise incubators. Also in 2007, we took part in Domotica FVG, a project that brings the Region’s four science and technology parks together for the first time, promoting the collaboration of industry and research in the development of new models and prototypes for domotics. We set up Techno Growth, an enterprise accelerator serving small and micro hi-tech enterprises seeking to boost growth. The initiative generated a new project to develop a centre of excellence for virtual prototyping and testing technology. We started our activities in the wood sector by proposing European and Regional projects. We also took part in the European IMPROVE project, implemented to support SMEs in innovation management. We designed and completed this first presentation in addition to many other ambitious new initiatives.
