Emilia-Romagna in a nutshell
Emilia-Romagna is an Italian Region with a strong orientation towards investments in research, innovation, and sustainability. Its main Industrial Clusters – Automotive, robotics and engineering, medical equipment, agri-food, and ceramics – embrace the new technology challenges and thus hold a leading position in the world market.
The Region hosts historical Universities, firstly the University of Bologna, together with important Institutes of the main Italian Research Institutions: CNR (National Research Council), ENEA (National Innovation Agency for Energy and Environment), INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics).
In the last few years, Emilia-Romagna has been strongly committed in building a large new research infrastructure devoted to Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. The “Big Data Technopole” will also host the computing center of the European Center for Medium term Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) – moving from Reading (UK) to Bologna – and one of the three Esascale Supercomputing centers recently approved by the European Commission.
A strong and dynamic innovation ecosystem, based on a network of industrial research labs supporting the main regional industrial clusters and the public administration, is the asset identified by the Region to face future challenges.
The regional Smart Specialization Strategy aims at enhancing competitiveness, sustainability, digital transformation and human development.
The Emilia-Romagna “Space community”
The Space Industry – represents 1% regional GNP. Around 150 regional companies, with 4.500 employees, are specialised in aviation (civil, commercial and military, ground field services), space vehicles, satellites.
The Emilia-Romagna network of research centres and institutions includes:
- INAF – National Institute for Astrophysics
- The “Northern Cross” Radio Telescope in Medicina (BO) – one of the world’s biggest transit radio telescopes
- SKA – SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY – international project for new generation radio telescope that will be based in 3,000-kilometer wide areas located in Australia and South Africa
- CTA – Cherenkov Telescope Array – international project to design and build the largest ground-based gamma-ray detection observatory in the world (Canary Islands and Chile)
- Interdepartment centre for Industrial Research on aerospace of the University of Bologna (CIRI aerospace)
- Ciclope – is a research laboratory for fluid dynamics study, which allows the worldwide best space and time resolved measurements in turbulent pipe flows
Space based information or services are currently used by the Region – through its agencies – to address challenges related to climate change, production and innovation, sustainable cities, Security and Cybersecurity.
The Region is involved, directly or through regional research centres or companies, in programs coordinated by Italian Ministry of Economic Development – MISE:
- Multi-regional Programme “Mirror GovSatCom” – satellite communications system
- Multi-regional Programme “Mirror Copernicus” (Earth Observation)
- Multi-regional Programme “I-Cios” – space exploration and related technologies
- Leonardo Group Investment Program
The Region participates in many European projects (i.e. Interreg programme, Horizon 2020, etc.) and supports and encourages regional companies and research centres to participate to international programmes and networks.
In this, the regional agency for research and innovation ART-ER plays an active role.
Here you can find more details: https://progeu.regione.emilia-romagna.it/it
Basilica di San Luca (Bo) Copyright: Regione Emilia-Romagna A.I.U.S.G.
Portici (Bo) Copyright: Regione Emilia-Romagna A.I.U.S.G.
