Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, together with NETVAL-Italian Network per la Valorizzazione della Ricerca

universidad de bolonia
netval

The Università di Bologna, excellence in research and innovation. The Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, the oldest university in Europe and a benchmark in knowledge creation and transfer, will play a prominent role in the content agenda of Transfiere 2025. Its participation as an invited international university will contribute to enrich the dialogue on academic innovation and its impact on the business sector and society through specific projects on knowledge transfer.

Netval

La Università di Bologna asistirá acompañada por la , The Università di Bologna will be accompanied by the Netval network, a national network for the valorisation of research that brings together more than 100 research institutions, including universities, hospitals and foundations. The Italian educational institution will present its model of technology and knowledge transfer and its strategies for collaboration with industry, with a special focus on the internationalisation of knowledge. To this end, together with Netval, it will present projects such as Knowledge Share -matchmaking innovation platform -, the Intellectual Property Award (IPA), Master KEI – knowledge and impact exchange -, measures for the financing of spin-offs or the Bando UTT – promotion of the operation of knowledge transfer offices -. In addition, it will participate in various sessions on the role of the university in the knowledge economy and in inter-university cooperation initiatives with Spanish and European institutions.

  • The oldest university in the western world, driving innovation through a constantly growing academic offer, cutting-edge research and an increasingly broad international outlook.
  • UNIBO’s scientific community includes 6,850 researchers: 3,382 professors and researchers, 2,430 doctoral students and 1,298 research fellows. The university has 50 research centres, divided into 31 Departments, 12 Research and Training Centres, and 7 Interdepartmental and Industrial Research Centres.
  • With a multi-campus structure, UNIBO has 5 campuses in the region and a delegation in Buenos Aires.
  • It offers 260 degree programmes to more than 97,000 students, including 8,500 international students. In addition, 7,500 graduates are enrolled in doctoral and other postgraduate programmes.
  • UNIBO employs 478 researchers with an H-index >20, of whom more than 300 work in areas such as Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Engineering and Computer Science. The university maintains a strong commitment to gender equality, reflected in the implementation of its Gender Equality Plan. In addition, 14 of its departments have been recognised as Departments of Excellence, ranking it first in Italy in this field.
  • It is ranked among the top 200 universities in the world, according to the most prestigious international rankings.
  • It is considered the leading university in Europe in student mobility (Erasmus+).

Commitment to sustainability and international cooperation

UNIBO is committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leads European research and academic cooperation projects. It has established strategic alliances with companies and public and private institutions, consolidating itself as a key node within international knowledge networks.

Beyond its strong links with Europe, it maintains relations with the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. Its active portfolio includes more than 500 patents and plant varieties, as well as 58 spin-off companies and start-ups.

The University of Bologna fosters collaboration with academic institutions, research centres and industry, with 90 framework agreements with universities, public entities and research centres, and 49 agreements with private companies, to foster long-term strategic initiatives. It also forms part of 80 international associations and networks to promote research and scientific cooperation.

Research impact and funding

UNIBO has attracted more than 84 million euros in Horizon Europe funding, with more than 170 projects funded. It has also received more than €39 million in national funding and €51 million in regional research funding.

Netval is a recognised association that today brings together 66 universities, 14 PROs, 18 IRCCS and 9 other members. Founded in 2002 as an informal network between universities, Netval became an association in 2007 and opened its doors to non-university members.
Its mission is the valorisation of public research, also and above all through the creation of a community of professional TTO managers (more than 400 in 20 years).

If you want to know more about Netval you can deep dive here: ( https://netval.it/en/about-us/)

One of the flagship projects that, as association we bring in Transfiere, to share with the ecosystem’s stakeholders best practices and foster the technology transfer activities at International level, is Knowledge Share:

The Knowledge Share (KS) Innovation Platform is the largest digital matchmaking platform in Italy for research intellectual property and spinoffs. The project, currently financed thanks to the Next Generation EU funds, is managed by Associazione Netval, in partnership with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM), part of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and Politecnico di Torino.

KS mission is to make easier the match of innovation demand and offer between the world of business and academia. Our vision is to make the global knowledge generated in any academic environment available for companies and investors as a “one-stop-shop”, easily, freely and reliably.

KS 2.0, with a new platform architecture officially launched in January 2024, now provides enhanced functionalities and “quality of life” improvements, including a complete AI based research engine.

As a further step in the future of the project, we are seeking international expansion as the ecosystem is now ready to foster collaboration among institutions, enterprises, and investors globally, thanks to its multi-tenant functionalities which enable the creation of “local ecosystems based” branches (e.g. foreign countries) as part of a “natively global” federated system of knowledge sharing.

Check this info in PDF here