176 companies, 10 universities, 5 national research centers, and over 20 professionals employed in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors: Lazio today represents a true life sciences ecosystem and an innovation incubator, with annual exports of €14 billion, equivalent to 26 percent of the sector's national exports. To remain competitive, however, the region requires skills suited to evolving research and production standards, supported by university and postgraduate programs that meet the sector's evolving needs.
This is the theme at the centre of the meeting "The Life Science Ecosystem in the Lazio Region", promoted by UCBM Academy of theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma in collaboration with Lazioinnova, the Rome Chamber of Commerce, and Unindustria, and hosted in the new headquarters of UCBM Academy on Via Amsterdam, in Rome's Eur-Torrino district.
During the event, institutions, academia, and businesses discussed the skills required by the Life Sciences sector and how to adequately prepare future professionals. The meeting was attended, among others, by the Vice President of the Lazio Region and Councilor for Economic Development. Roberta Angelilli, the director of the Office for the Promotion of Innovative Industrial Supply Chains and Start-ups of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sergio Strozzi, the president of Lazio Innova Francesco Marcolini and the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome Lorenzo TagliavantiThe president of welcomed them. UCBM Carlo Tosti, the Rector Prof. Rocco Papalia and the CEO and DG of UCBM Andrea Rossi.
To underline the role of training in responding to the transformations of the sector was Giorgio Minotti, Director of the Master in clinical research, open innovation and market access in the digital age of UCBM Academy:"Today, traditional degree courses in Biology, Food Science, Pharmacy and Medicine, and numerous Masters and advanced courses offer significant job prospects in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. But standard training is one thing, and bringing to the pharmaceutical and biotech sector knowledge and a vision that already embraces the future of the industry is quite another. Those who join a company enter a world that, to be competitive, moves at a speed and requires a depth of knowledge that doesn't allow for long adaptation times. As teachers and trainers, we feel a responsibility to fulfill this role and support local entrepreneurs, listen to their needs, and respond with appropriate training programs.
During the meeting the white paper edited by UCBM, illustrated by the Director of Research and Innovation Alessandro CaforioThe document analyzes the characteristics of the regional ecosystem and identifies collaboration between universities, businesses, and institutions as one of the key elements for the sector's development.The report provides a clear picture of the region's life science ecosystem: all the key players are represented—large companies, SMEs, startups, research centers, universities, IRCCS, and innovation players—and helps highlight the elements that can enable the region to be recognized as an international cluster in this field. Namely, university-business-institution connections for large-scale supply chain projects involving academic and continuing education, co-design of research projects, and technology transfer. From this perspective, the report itself is an example of how a university can serve those called upon to act as innovation leaders—Lazio Innova, in our case—by providing research-based tools to address a systemic problem.
The round table Innovation in the Life Sciences Sector of the Lazio Region: Success Factors", moderated by prof. Giorgio Minotti, has explored the relationship between training and the professional needs of companies. "For UCBM At Academy, dialogue with businesses has always been the cornerstone of our training model. Constant dialogue with key players in various production sectors allows us to understand their professional needs and requirements. - he stressed Rossella Ferreri, administrative manager of UCBM Academy- The challenge for the Academy is to grasp these diverse and specific needs, identify the skills that underlie them and bring them back to a comprehensive training proposal, capable of offering a response to the demands of the industrial world.".
On the topic of the mismatch between supply and demand of skills, he intervened Nicholas D'Erario, Director of Work and Skills at Farmindustria:In Italy, the skills mismatch costs €1,8 billion a year. This gap can be bridged through a collaborative system that focuses on companies' needs. The goal is to develop tools, both academic and otherwise, to train professionals with a skill level as close to what businesses need. This result, in line with the Farmindustria – Mur Memorandum of Understanding, can only arise from cooperation between all stakeholders, from universities to businesses to trade associations like ours. This synergy must be structured to minimize the gap created by the evolution of a rapidly changing sector, strongly driven by innovation and new technologies..
The Luigi Aurisicchio, Assobiotec advisor and CEO of Takis, Evvivax & NeoMatrix, highlighted the need for a multidisciplinary approach and greater integration between training and the production world:Italian businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, where training isn't always easy, have a huge need for staff who can operate at full capacity from the moment they graduate from university and postgraduate courses. Concrete products and projects are developed in businesses: this requires our employees to have a multidisciplinary approach, a set of transversal skills, and the ability for various sectors to fuse together to streamline processes in an industry that has seen continuous growth and constant change for years. As Assobiotec, we are available to help build a supply chain path together, from student training to placement within companies..
The meeting was closed by the CEO and General Manager of UCBM Andrea Rossi, which recalled the role of the university in building a regional ecosystem capable of networking skills, research, training and innovation: "Three key points emerged from today's meeting: first of all, that resources must be spent in the most effective and responsible way possible. On this, for example, UCBM It has initiated the strengthening and reorganization of the doctoral school and the expansion of industrial doctorates, always in dialogue with businesses. The second key point is skills: we have opened a new Academy headquarters. UCBM where we want, together with companies, to fill the training gap they need for growth and development. The third point is the need for an innovation ecosystem in Lazio, a network that engages in continuous dialogue, pools ideas, and can put them into practice. In this regard, we thank the Lazio Region and Lazioinnova: our university is committed to creating this innovation and dialogue platform serving the manufacturing sector. Therefore, in the coming years, the creation of a life sciences hub will be a key element in implementing this strategy..
The training offer of fits into this scenario UCBM Academy, which offers two highly professionalizing Masters in the Life Sciences field. Master's Degree in Clinical Research, Open Innovation & Market Access in the Digital Age, now in its sixth edition, is aimed primarily at professionals and aims to develop skills through a practical approach, with a focus on upskilling and professional growth. This is accompanied by the new Master's Degree in "Sustainability in the Life Sciences Sector", designed to train professionals capable of leading the sustainable transition in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and biotechnology sectors, integrating technical-scientific, managerial, and strategic skills.
All information on the Masters and how to enroll is available on the website UCBM Academy
