Up to 5 million euros in services and loans, made available by Marzotto Venture Accelerator, to support ideas and projects with a high technological content in the health, economic and social fields capable of developing innovative products and services useful for tackling the post- emergency and, in perspective, to digitize prevention systems. The initiative marks the debut of the first Open Innovation Academy developed in Italy by a University (Campus Bio-Medico of Rome) with a venture capital fund
Rome, 31 March 2020 - Is called “Covid-19 Challenge” the Call for Ideas promoted by Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma e Marzotto Venture Accelerator to help address the global emergency of the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the consequent new and multiple challenges of the near future.
The Call, which makes available up to 5 million euroso in services and financing (equity and loans), made available by Marzotto Ventures, aims to support ideas and projects with a high technological content in the health, economic and social fields, able to offer innovative products and services useful for insure the business & life continuity.
To participate in the call, fill out the form on site http://www.unicampus.it/covid-19challenge/ o http://www.marzottoventure.com/covid-19challenge/, with the deadline for submitting applications on 30 April 2020.
Considering the urgency imposed by the global situation, the proposals received will be evaluated according to an over the counter procedure and, if deemed worthy, will immediately access the foreseen facilities.
Objective ofchiaraThe purpose of the Call is to support public containment policies in the SARS-CoV-2 health emergency phase, the management of the post-emergency phase in its various economic and social dimensions, the redefinition of the system of prevention, containment and management of new epidemiological and health emergencies.
“We must act quickly – explains the General Director ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Andrea Rossi mobilizing all the creative energies available to our country. Startups, researchers and the best Italian innovative forces will be able to count on a fast-track enabling access to financial resources and technological support, which will allow them to quickly scale the development phases of products and processes useful for meeting the unprecedented and complex needs imposed by the pandemic”.
The initiative involves the selection of ideas and projects proposed by research teams, spin-offs, startups and innovative SMEs, to be included in a dedicated incubation and acceleration program, according to the different degree of maturity and the time to market.
Selected projects will have access to a vast offer of services with high added value guaranteed by Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and Marzotto Venture Accelerator and their respective academic and research, financial and industrial networks, as well as ad dedicated offices and exclusive spaces. The program includes among other things in-kind mentoring, tutorship and support services in pre-competitive and pre-commercial verification of technologies, prototyping and engineering, as well as managerial training and support in identifying the most effective ways of scalability and market penetrability.
“Covid-19 Challenge” is launched in the context of Campus Open Innovation, a strategic innovation and technology transfer project, promoted byUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma in partnership with Marzotto Venture Accelerator, which aims to build a large and inclusive open innovation ecosystem, capable of enhancing the respective skills, organizational structures, formal and informal networks of collaboration. The project aims to promote an integrated system collaboration between actors such as universities, research teams, startups, venture capital and large companies
“The model has enormous potential – comments the Rector of the University, Raffaele Calabrò since it is from the intertwining of skills and the sharing of experiences that innovative processes are nourished and, ultimately, successful innovation is produced. In this way, we confirm our closeness to the world of innovation and its support to the community of young researchers, capable of intercepting market needs with innovative ideas based on the valorisation of research and in line with the Third Mission objectives and that ethical culture of sustainable development that characterizes our University”.
“The full complementarity of the partnership between a University of excellence such asUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and the resources and skills made available by our Accelerator - explains the Managing Director of Marzotto Venture Accelerator, Roberto Guida - will allow the launch of the first Open Innovation Academy in Italy”.
