Juxtaposing the economic and industrial scenario in the U.S. with the one of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which features dynamic and innovative SMEs, with a view to relaunching scientific, technological and industrial cooperation across the Atlantic. This is the central theme of the Innovation Forum – Driving changes for US and Italian Innovation Systems: finding better ways to learn from each other, which was attended by Fabrizio Nicoletti, head of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Unit of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s Directorate General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation.
The Forum, which was organized by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and by the Area Science Park, also saw the participation of the Undersecretary of State for Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto, the President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Debora Serracchiani, the President of Area Science Park, Sergio Paoletti, and the Vice President of Unioncamere, Giovanni Da Pozzo. The United States was represented by Ambassador John R. Phillips, while the European Commission was represented by Miroslav Vesković, Director General of the Joint Research Centre.
The plenary session, which was also attended by representatives of the academic, research and business world, discussed the role of science, technology and innovation in promoting partnerships and strengthening transatlantic cooperation. Mr Nicoletti, the Foreign Ministry’s representative, illustrated the foundations of Italy’s scientific diplomatic action in the United States, which consists of: a bilateral cooperation agreement signed in 1988, a network of scientific attachés at the Italian Embassy and Consulates in the United States, a community of eminent scientists from both Countries involved in joint research projects, and numerous joint projects in areas such as the aerospace industry, physics and medical science. Mr Nicoletti explained the support, also financial, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation gives to Trieste’s Area Science Park, one of the world’s major scientific and research districts and a central hub in the relations between Europe and the United States in the science sector.
The afternoon session was organized around four round tables focusing on specific topics (advanced materials, life sciences, ICT and Agro-food), aimed at signing bilateral programs and agreements.
Last February, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) and the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia signed an “Agreement to upgrade the scientific output of national and international research centers, universities and science and technology parks in Friuli Venezia Giulia”, with the aim of enhancing the promotion of the regional research system through an institutional mechanism coordinating them with the largest contributing Ministries, also thanks to the financial support of several international scientific institutes present in Trieste’s Area Science Park.
