On Tuesday 24 May 2022, between 2.30 p.m. and 5 p.m., the Plenary Assembly of the Founders and Adherents of the Technology Cluster Foundation for Smart Cities & Communities – Lombardy (Cluster SCC) was held in attendance at Palazzo Lombardia – Sala Opportunità.

On this occasion, an invitation was also extended to Techinnova – supported by the Innogrow accelerator – as a founding member of the SCC Cluster.

 

The meeting – which opened with greetings from the President of the SCC Cluster Foundation, Fabio Germagnoli, followed by institutional greetings from the Undersecretary of the Lombardy Region responsible for Relations with International Delegations, Alan Christian Rizzi – was an important and constructive opportunity for dialogue, discussion and a general update on the progress of activities relating to the following innovation ecosystems:

  • Health & Life Science;
  • Connectivity & Information;
  • Smart Mobility & Architecture;
  • Sustainability;
  • Culture & Knowledge.

 

Like all the speakers who took the floor during the plenary, of great relevance was the speech by Dr. Riccardo Roggeri (CEO & Founder of Techinnova), who illustrated to the Members present in the room an action plan aimed at fostering the internationalisation of the results of projects co-financed by the Lombardy Region.

In particular, during the meeting, the Clusters of the Lombardy Region were offered the opportunity to become ‘facilitators’ of internationalisation activities, in which the SCC Cluster would become a pioneer within the regional and national innovation scene; it would therefore follow that the SCC Cluster, taking advantage of the institutional spaces provided by the Lombardy Region, could take on the role of internationalisation hubs, periodic institutional ‘showcases’ ready to host various topics in the field of innovation.

Within this framework, Techinnova – in synergy with other members of the Cluster – would coordinate the activities, divided into two strategic axis:

  • Presentation phase: it would include the illustration and dissemination activities of the results of the R&D projects co-financed by the Lombardy Region.
  • Training phase: it would include the holding of micro-sessions dedicated to enhancing the knowledge and soft skills of SMEs on specific topics with a view to internationalisation.

In fact, at the same time as the discussion of the projects and their results, the same meetings would also include micro-sessions on specific topics during the same day, which would be useful for ‘targeted’ internationalisation activities, i.e. internationalisation in specific geographical areas, each of which not only has its own distinctive cultural characteristics, but is also characterised by specific elements from a business point of view.

In this instance, Dr. Roggeri suggested to the Lombardy Region and the SCC Cluster the possibility of promoting these workshop days, which would focus on the following aspects:

  • preparation and presentation of effective elevator pitch
  • preparation of business plans adapted to the business environment of the target country;
  • preparation for an optimal cultural and entrepreneurial approach, in accordance with the specific culture of the countries of reference;
  • evaluation and valorisation of Industrial Property, with the related promotion of R&D project results;
  • importance of Business English, with a view to an approach to English that entails greater control of language and communication, especially in the work environment.

It was, therefore, well highlighted how, through such moments of meeting and confrontation, we intend to propose, in the final analysis, operational tools for each company to develop valid and profitable internationalisation paths, in order to establish successful business activities in the countries of reference.

To conclude, the Plenary Assembly of 24 May aimed to highlight the experiments currently underway in the area, starting from the need to monitor the efficiency of the SCC Cluster Foundation’s activities in an increasingly rich context of innovation players (Clusters, Agencies, Districts and Technological Poles; etc.) that aspire to cooperate with each other to satisfy individual and collective needs.