Italian Embassy, Carleton University e University of Toronto, collaborated on a special Canada-Italy innovation event hosted by Carleton University at the Ottawa campus.
Called Spin-off and Startups: Innovation Partnerships Between Universities, Researchers, Institutions and Industry, the event drew dozens of university presidents, representatives of leading research centres, venture capitalists and Canadian and Italian companies which participated in discussions and heard speakers on diverse subjects centred around the key theme of R&D and marketing of innovations.
“Our goal is to accelerate the process of innovation both in Canada and in Europe,” said Carleton President Roseann O’Reilly Runte. “Learning from each other, we will speed the commercialization of innovation, leading to new companies, employment, and economic growth.”
“By working with leading universities such as Carleton and developing strategies to more quickly commercialize university inventions and technology, we can leverage historic cultural ties between Canada and Italy,” said Massimo Egidi, President of LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome.
Participants discussed existing agreements between Italian and Canadian universities and explored future possibilities for co-operation, particularly in science and technology, to bolster both the Italian economy and provide a template for the European Union.
Discussion sessions included developing innovative strategies, accelerating innovation and research partnerships, funding innovation, and a special look at the automotive, aerospace and agri-foods sectors.
Also attending were the Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), Italian Ambassador Andrea Meloni and Nöel Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate.
The Machines Italia task force at ICE Toronto participated to the event as a panelist in the automotive and aerospace sessions of the roundtable providing insights and expertise from the manufacturing technology providers point of view.
The program and the footage of the roundtable is availble at http://www1.carleton.ca/ci/canadaitalyinnovation/
