Partner Institutions
The National Research Council (CNR) is the largest public research institution in Italy, with multidisciplinary competences, acting under the Ministry of University and Research and having legal public-law status as well as scientific, financial, organizational, patrimonial and accounting autonomy. CNR mission is to carry out, promote, transfer, encourage and enhance research in order to apply the results for the scientific, cultural, technological, economic and social development of Italy. It is the first research institution for number of researchers: the staff counts more than 8.000 researchers, technologists, technicians and administrators. CNR structure includes a central administration, 7 scientific Departments and 88 Institutes with specific leading expertise in science/technology sectors, with more than 220 secondary sites and laboratories in Italy and abroad. The Departments are structured in macro-thematic areas, whose task is to be the interface between the CNR’ offer and the research demand within the whole Italian economic system and to coordinate the Institutes in the process of expanding their research activities. In some cities Institutes are aggregated within research areas, offering support services and representing a scientific and cultural attraction pole. CNR operates on the basis of its own 3-year activity plan, that sets general guidelines and establishes objectives, priorities, and resources for the entire period, consistent with the National Research Program and with EU research programs. Over the last years and under the coordination of one or more Departments, CNR has consolidated its position, as the main public research organization participating, at national level, in the largest number of Research Infrastructures of national and European interest, included in the ESFRI Roadmap or in the National Research Infrastructure Program, both as lead organization and as participant.
Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university training engineers, architects and industrial designers. More than 1,200 researchers work at POLIMI and 40,000 students study in 7 different campuses. It is a leading Italian research center characterized by combining excellent theoretical bases and first-rate research infrastructures. This framework provids a variety of experimental research and coordinated environment for PhD training via its PhD School, coordinating 18 active PhD Programmes with 3 year duration and an English track with 1100 Early Stage Researchers, 30% of which are international. The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer. Research has always been linked to didactics and it is a priority commitment which has allowed Politecnico Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level as to join the university to the business world. Research constitutes a parallel path to that formed by cooperation and alliances with the industrial system. A vivid ecosystem, fostered by the POLIHUB academic incubator permitted to grow several spin-off companies stem from POLIMI research.