InnoNext, the hub of the European innovator search programme in Turin

One of the key hubs of the InnoNext system, the EU-funded programme supporting the European innovation ecosystem, is in Turin. The project aims to connect deep-tech talents and aspiring innovators with entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs through 600 Innovation Internships. The initiative is led by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and is funded with resources from the Next Generation Innovation Talents programme within Horizon Europe. The idea is to bring researchers and aspiring innovators closer to the main European funding programmes and the fabric of innovative SMEs through innovation internships. The project is implemented by a consortium of three partners, the LINKS Foundation, Réseau Entreprendre Piemonte (REP) and Zucchetti, with the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation in the role of ecosystem developer.

InnoNext can count on a steadily growing ecosystem, to which 60 companies and 200 talents have currently joined. The collaboration between the three promoting entities, supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, will be able to guarantee the right mix of skills and resources needed to generate a concrete impact on the innovation ecosystem.

The starting point of the platform is therefore the official website https://www.innonext-project.eu, a meeting point for researchers, innovators and SMEs. The platform offers the possibility of activating Innovation Internships, offering fully funded innovation placements. The aim is to bridge the gap between research and business, with a concrete and lasting impact that strengthens the innovation ecosystem in Europe. InnoNext's mission is to create opportunities for encounters and synergies between the main players in innovation through a true matching activity and thanks to tutoring and mentoring paths available to innovators.

Implementer of the programme is Réseau Entreprendre Piemonte, a sui generis incubator that offers start-ups a support programme based on collaboration with a network of entrepreneurs. "InnoNext represents an opportunity to see our expertise on talent and business matchmaking applied on a European scale. We strongly believe that, in order to best accompany the innovation experience undertaken by talents within companies, it is important to put people, their potential and the human capital of the host company at the centre of the proposed model," explains director Lisa Orefice

For the Links Foundation - born out of the collaboration between Compagnia di San Paolo and Politecnico di Torino to operate in applied research -, 'InnoNext stems from a European vision that LINKS has made its own thanks to the stimuli of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation: bridging the gap between talent and enterprise through a targeted use of technology. Artificial intelligence can help people and companies recognise each other, even before they choose each other. Tools such as these will be of strategic value in connecting the skills developed by PNRR to the Italian entrepreneurial fabric,' explains Fabrizio Dominici, head of the AI, Data and Space area.