What We Do
As outlined in the Programme Agreement that established SiS FVG in 2016, Area Science Park ensures operational support for achieving the network’s goals. Key activities include services for internationalisation, system promotion, monitoring human capital mobility, and dissemination efforts.
The planned activities refer to:
System Actions: Serving All Partners
Within the scope of the network’s activities, working groups operate to allow continuous updating of strategic topics and facilitate collaboration between partners.
There are four main areas of activity: European Project Management, Intellectual property, Internationalisation, and Communication.
Patent Information
Providing assistance to partners regarding the protection, management, and enhancement of Intellectual Property to outline the applicative potential of research outcomes, from safeguarding new discoveries to their commercialisation;
- Raising awareness and training
- Support for technology transfer
- Conducting studies and analyses to support protection strategies: ensuring state-of-the-art, technological and market scenarios, patent analysis, and preliminary patentability assessments
European Project Management
Supporting collaboration between partners to increase participation in European programmes, particularly Horizon Europe:
- Coordination structure
- Thematic groups
- Training and refresher courses for partner personnel
- Liaison with the FVG Region Representative Office in Brussels
Internationalisation
Providing support for international hospitality and increasing the number of people coming from abroad to study or work in the region. Welcome Office FVG offers assistance and advice on the main mobility issues that students, researchers, and their families have to deal with, both before their arrival and during their stay in the region. It organises meetings and webinars with Local Authorities, offering constant updates to the staff of the institutions dealing with international mobility:
- Continuous information and updates for partners
- Collaboration with Public Authorities, Local Authorities, associations, the MAECI Visa Centre, and the EURAXESS Centre in Trieste
Communication and Positioning
Promoting the system and disseminating research results and opportunities offered by SiS FVG:
- Promoting partner research activities and job opportunities offered by the System
- Organising scientific dissemination events, workshops, and initiatives for the general public and the scientific and business community
- Dedicated information channels: website, newsletter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn
Initiatives to Promote and Strengthen the Regional Scientific System
Agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
A multi-year collaboration between the regional universities (SISSA, Universities of Trieste and Udine) and the MIT in Boston, the institution that best represents the global capitalisation of research and the impact of science on innovation. From an international development perspective, this initiative promotes the enhancement of research activities for technology transfer and innovation, also in support of the production system in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.Internationalisation in the CEI Area
Collaboration with the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative (CEI) to support the internationalisation of SiS FVG in Central and South-Eastern Europe: scientific diplomacy initiatives, consolidation of the network of UNESCO Chairs and collaboration with SiS FVG institutions on cross-cutting topics of interest such as environmental protection and sustainability, health, innovation, and digitisation. Particular emphasis is placed on developing scientific diplomacy initiatives, strengthening the network of UNESCO Chairs, and collaborating with SiS Institutions on cross-cutting topics of interest such as environmental protection, sustainability, health, innovation, and digitisation.Blue Economy Platform
Strengthening sustainable economic development and responsible blue economy, coordinated by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS).Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability
A laboratory spread across the scientific and humanist institutions in Friuli Venezia Giulia, dedicated to developing scientific methodologies capable of quantitatively representing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), led by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) and the Trieste International Foundation for the Progress and Freedom of Science (FIT).Foreign Promotion and Strengthening of International Scientific Partnerships
Through collaboration with the relevant offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and support from the Italian network of science experts and attachés, this initiative aims to strengthen the presence of SiS FVG in national, European, and international contexts, through active participation in multilateral scientific and technological cooperation initiatives, as well as bilateral scientific diplomacy.Research Infrastructures
Mapping of strategic research infrastructures (RI) for the regional system, aligned with the regional Smart and Sustainable Specialisation Strategy (S4), the National Research Infrastructures Plan 2021–2027, and the priorities of the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).
Services for Innovation and Technology Transfer
IP4FVG – EDIH European Digital Innovation Hub
Evolution of policies supporting digital transformation, initiated in 2016 as part of the Digitising European Industry Initiative and as part of national policies. The project received the European Commission's "Seal of Excellence" quality label.FVG Innovation System
A project implemented by the regional science and technological parks TEC4I FVG and Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico Andrea Galvani.Innovation HUB FVG - #IHUB FVG
The Friuli Venezia Giulia Region supports understandings and agreements for the implementation of projects that involve stakeholders in the production system and in research and technology transfer, and that generate impacts on the regional territory.
Internationalisation
Welcome Office FVG
Welcome Office FVG is a free and personalised welcome service for researchers and students coming from abroad or from other parts of Italy.
It is provided by Area Science Park in collaboration with the regional universities and SiS FVG institutions. It offers information and support to those who intend to settle for a period of study or research in Friuli Venezia Giulia, both in the pre-arrival phase, remotely, and on-site thanks to the technical support available in Trieste, at Area Science Park, and in Udine, at the University.
The activities carried out also include assistance with the bureaucratic formalities necessary for entry and for staying in our country, such as entry visas, residence permits, and family reunification, as well as information on healthcare and, more generally, on daily life.
International Mobility
Every year, since 2005, the survey entitled ‘The Mobility of Knowledge’ collects the main data on students, researchers, and faculty members of SiS FVG research institutions. It detects incoming and outgoing mobility flows, countries of origin, gender differences, and areas of interest.