Trieste, 8 May 2018 - UNIDO ITPO Italy and Friuli Venezia Region are nurturing their consolidated collaboration strategy with the launch of a new project, named: “Innovation Bridge Trieste – Dubai 2020”. This initiative envisages a wide spectrum of activities aimed at linking the Region with Expo Dubai 2020 “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. More specifically, the project is expected to create a network of regional, national and international innovators from industries and both private and public research institutes in order to identify innovative ideas for an inclusive and sustainable economic development. 

Therefore, by spurring the matching between the academic and the international business worlds, it will be possible to bring together in a comprehensive framework different expertise and skills, thus facilitating the achievement of shared solutions to common problems.

Furthermore, with regards to the operational phase, a peculiar attention will be paid to the opportunities for young people. Indeed, they represent crucial actors of a future which is very likely to provide significant technological improvements to address new needs and challenges, thus requiring new and highly-qualified workers, starting from the ongoing digitalization process.

Many actors have participated at the launch of the project, namely the University of Trieste, Area Science Park, OGS, (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) and SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies.

Such actors will be provided with their own space to discuss and share their knowledge and ideas regarding the relevant issues of EXPO 2020 (Mobility, Opportunity and Sustainability), thus co-creating a multidisciplinary perspective extremely beneficial both for the experts involved and the general public.
The events have the promising potential to create room for innovation and setting the preconditions for future collaboration both in the short and long term. The content and results of these events will be shared by UNIDO ITPO Italy through a digital platform during the entire project’s lifespan and ultimately exposed in the context of EXPO 2020 Dubai.

In the light of the aforementioned objectives and means, the project seems to be perfectly in line with UNIDO ITPO Italy’s mandate. The Office is profoundly convinced that promoting collaboration opportunities and technology and know-how transfer at the entrepreneurial level can play a key role not only to improve productivity, but also to spread innovation globally. As a result, acting in this sense means taking a decisive step forward towards the achievement of the 17 global objectives of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, UNIDO ITPO Italy’s vital beacon.