RCIA Bolzano – Study Visit #5

Working our way through all the good practices of our nine project partners and their stakeholders, our fifth study visit was full of inspiring presentations, engaging discussions and good Italian food

Indulging in Italian Innovation

Sparkling new, hyper-modern buildings met the eye of the RCIA partners as they approached the venue of the first day. The brand new NOI Tech Park in Bolzano hosted the study visit and with good reason: as Sepp Walder of IDM Südtirol/Alto Adige explains in the first presentation, the purpose of the newly opened NOI Tech Park is to bring companies, research institutes and universities together and support cooperation to encourage the transfer of technology and know-how.


After a guided tour of the premises and further introduction to the vast activities and initiatives at IDM, including a business incubator, R&D, networking services and relocation, the day continued with Good Practice presentations from the region of South Tyrol. First up was a presentation of the Weigh Station creative community which is a laboratory in progress that creates opportunities for in-depth analysis on the most current issues of innovation based on the needs of cultural and creative operators. It gives concrete support to training through professional workshops, offers support through expert advice and promotes opportunities for networking and collaboration. Following in the line of training and education was a presentation of “Training initiatives for creative industries – IRECOOP that promotes training initiatives aimed at emerging professionals and entrepreneurs. IRECOOP manages and provides consulting services for start-ups, organizational development and human resources management. 

The program then moved towards an example of a creative industry company in the region. Anna Quinz and Kunigunde Weissenegger presented the company franz and the many projects their creative vision for the company had resulted in. franz is a creative, bold company that stimulates and promotes a contemporary and innovative, multilingual and inclusive, creative and visionary South Tyrol, Trentino and Tyrol. The range of projects spans from the online magazine on contemporary culture and innovation, a street music festival BUSK to JOSEF, an untraditional travel book. You can read more at www.franzmagazine.com.


Lavinia Brunelli from the Department for Innovation, Research and University of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano ended the day with a presentation on regional support schemes for innovation. Being a partner in the Interreg Europe Project InnoBridge, the partners were also lucky enough to get a quick presentation on this project aiming to bridge the innovation gap through converting R&D results into commercial success in a more effective and efficient way. Learn more on the project website www.interregeurope.eu/innobridge

For three days the RCIA study partners shared their good practices and those of their stakeholders. Read more about how the Municipality of Silandro support the creative industry and much more in part two of the RCIA Bolzano study visit.