The Rector of the University of Palermo, Massimo Midiri, and the General Director of BI-REX, Stefano Cattorini, have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at technical-scientific cooperation with the aim of generating value for the territory of the Sicily Region and the Emilia-Romagna and new growth factors for the City of Palermo and regional ecosystems, through the implementation of projects consistent with scientific excellence and the needs of local businesses.
On the occasion of the signing, the start-up plan for the activities and services was defined which UniPa and BI-REX, in collaboration with the regional administration and employers’ associations, will make available to businesses and local authorities through the opening of an office BI-REX operational in Palermo in spaces made available by the University, an important meeting point aimed at providing services for the digitalisation of businesses co-financed by PNRR funds.
“The opening of a BI-REX operational headquarters in Palermo has a strategic importance with a high impact for companies in the South and Sicily – declares Stefano Cattorini, General Director of BI-REX – BI-REX, by virtue of the PNRR funds awarded by MIMIT, will be able to provide subsidized services with state aid to Sicilian companies in the form of innovative 4.0 services at subsidized rates. The axis generated with the University of Palermo is of fundamental importance for the provision of these services, in terms of research applied to industry, local skills activated, state-of-the-art technologies present in the University laboratories , all assets with enormous added value that will be put at the service of businesses, local authorities and healthcare”.
“The collaboration with the BI-REX Competence Center represents a further step forward towards the creation of a system of specialist skills in areas relating to the enabling technologies of Industry 5.0, such as Big Data systems and Artificial Intelligence, and towards the creation of a new and integrated plan of activities to support technological transfer which will be active in the coming months and usable by our students and researchers and the entire territory” – underlines Massimo Midiri, Rector of the University of Palermo.
The University of Palermo and BI-REX are already consolidated partners in various initiatives in national and European projects linked to the PNRR and National Complementary Plan. In the panorama of Precision Medicine, with the HEAL ITALIA project (Health Extended ALLiance for Innovative Therapies, Advanced Lab-research, and Integrated Approaches of Precision Medicine) and in the DARE project (DigitAl lifelong pRevEntion) which will instead leverage the enormous potential of data to improve the tools and knowledge aimed at defining, monitoring and predicting health trajectories with a view to prevention.
BI-REX and UniPa will work together to develop a strategy aimed at enhancing its planning heritage and the development of the territory, the attraction of investments and the use of resources intended for the University, local authorities and businesses.
To this end, the respective technical-scientific resources may be shared to jointly develop development projects in the sectors of common interest, facilitating procedures between the institutions aimed at achieving common objectives.
Within the framework of the agreement, workshops are already being planned to present the services jointly provided to businesses and institutions, as well as cultural and study initiatives, technical-scientific comparisons, restitution to the territory and public engagement.
BI-REX will facilitate the University’s dialogue with its member companies and between these and Sicilian companies, through the involvement of Sicilian employers’ associations, also with the aim of promoting curricular internships and industrial and research doctorates and in the planning of specific lines of research related to the enabling technologies of Industry 5.0.
BI-REX will also support activities related to the digital transition of SMEs, start-ups, Sicilian local authorities through demonstration and training actions and services, test before investment, technology transfer and best practices, business acceleration and creation, access to funding for R&D projects.
In turn, the University of Palermo will make available its wealth of basic and applied research in fields of common interest to enhance the analysis, interpretation, evaluation and decision-making capacity of the technological and entrepreneurial system and to achieve matching between know-how needs in order to arrive at an organizational model focused on the transfer and promotion of technological innovation 4.0.
– Picture: press office University of Palermo
(ITALPRESS).
