On Tuesday 8 October, IRET Foundation and the Bologna-Ozzano ‘Rita Levi-Montalcini’ Technopole opened the doors of their laboratories to two representatives of the European Commission, Ms. Isaura Lopes Ramos and Mr. Anton Schrag, and to exponents of the Emilia-Romagna Region and consultants from the Cogea company accompanied by Morena Diazzi, Director General of Knowledge, Research, Labour, Enterprise at the Emilia-Romagna Region.
Opening remarks were made by the Manager of the Bologna-Ozzano Technopole, Eng. Paolo Celli. Prof. Calzà, Scientific Director of IRET Foundation, then presented a broad overview of the research activities conducted by IRET since its foundation in 2006. Those present also toured the state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment and delved into the objectives of the most innovative scientific projects financed by ERDF funds, such as Step-by-step (2016), Mat2Rep ( 2019), AI4ChemoBrain ( 2023) , N2ERT ( 2023) and Glymed ( 2023).
A particular emphasis was then given to the project, which aim is to expand the research infrastructure, called ‘Tecnopolo BOZ RLM 2030: High Tech Lab per Ricerca e Innovazione Responsabile’, which marks a new milestone in the area’s scientific and technological development. Thanks to co-financing from the Emilia-Romagna Region, in fact, the Technopole will expand its infrastructure from 750 to over 1,200 square metres.
This ambitious project envisages the construction of new state-of-the-art laboratories, dedicated to frontier research in various fields, from neuroscience to biotechnology and new therapeutic approaches. In addition, a new multifunctional space, the ‘hexagon’, will be created to host events, conferences, workshops, and scientific dissemination activities, and a ‘cubicle’ entirely dedicated to the wellbeing of the laboratory operators and to carrying out activities related to the Alzheimer’s world and more, in collaboration with non-profit associations.
This was followed by a brief excursus on the Technopole’s projects ‘Recognise your brain – from deficit to benefit’ and ‘Your Brain, Your Planet’, which focus on brain health and environmental sustainability, adopting the ‘one-health’ approach that considers human health and the health of the planet as interconnected. In parallel, the ‘Creare Reti Consapevoli’ initiative was also presented, which aims to involve an increasing number of local actors in research and innovation, promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange.
This visit represented an important opportunity to make the Bologna-Ozzano ‘Rita Levi-Montalcini’ Technopole known at European level and to foster the consolidation of collaborations, not only national but also international, and to develop new solutions in the field of health.