Innovation: Italia lags behind in bridging the gap between research and the market

Whilst Italia excels in terms of scientific output and ranks among the top ten countries in the world, only 3 per cent of Italian publications are among the most influential globally. However, the figure remains at 3% when measuring the proportion of publications converted into patents, compared with 13% in France and 19% in Germany.

This weakness affects all the major macro-trends identified as priorities for the future (energy and water, AI & quantum computing, robotics and autonomous systems, biotechnology and advanced materials, defence, space and security); it does not relate to the quality of the research, but to the ability to capitalise on it economically.

In terms of innovation, it is generally large firms that lead the way; although they account for only 1.3 per cent of the district’s companies, they generate almost half of the expenditure on innovation. With 42 companies in the EU’s top 800 for R&D expenditure and aggregate investment of around 11 billion euros, Italia ranks fourth in Europe. This is a solid result, but one that masks a structural gap: Germany invests almost eleven times as much through its large companies, whilst France invests more than four times as much.

The brain drain is also a factor in the lack of innovation: out of 119,000 STEM graduates each year (4th in Europe, but 13th in terms of proportion of the total), 20,000 choose to emigrate. In any case, in the ICT disciplines, Italia is the only EU country with fewer than one student enrolled per thousand inhabitants.

In terms of labour demand, the study by TEHA Club and InnoTech Hub analysed 1.6 million job advertisements published over 15 months: only 2 out of every 100 vacancies relate to the five strategic technologies, accounting for 2 per cent of the market. There is, however, a positive sign: whilst the overall labour market is contracting (-0.3% month-on-month), demand for professionals specialising in cutting-edge technologies is growing by 4.2% every month.

Scientific output in the five strategic technologies is concentrated in Milan, Padua, Bologna, Rome and Naples – the only city in the South included amongst the scientifically productive hubs: alongside Pisa, the capital of Campania shows significant specialisation in robotics and applied AI. Patent activity, on the other hand, is concentrated in Milan, Turin, Bologna and Rome, and the same pattern is repeated when it comes to talent: Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna are home to the leading recruitment hubs across all five strategic technologies. Southern Italy remains on the fringes of the innovation ecosystem.

“If we look at Italy’s position within the international industrial innovation ecosystem,” explains Valerio De Molli, Managing Partner & CEO of The European House – Ambrosetti and TEHA Group – “Italia possesses real and recognised assets: an excellent scientific base, research infrastructure of international standing, and industrial expertise rooted in regions with a strong manufacturing tradition. However, the chain that should link knowledge, technology and the market tends to break down at the intermediate stages, squandering potential that other economies are instead capitalising on. The solution lies in making targeted choices, building on existing strengths and developing ecosystems capable of attracting and retaining capital, talent and innovation. Italia’s technological future will therefore be the result of choices, targeted investments and visionary leadership.”

The study proposes, for example, strengthening the link between research and patents: academic careers depend on criteria centred on publications, with the result that only 3% of scientific output results in a patent. The second gap lies between patents and business: Technology Transfer Offices have half the staff of the European average and often operate as legal departments, lacking business development expertise. The third limitation concerns the relationship between business and scaling: there is no shortage of capital in absolute terms, but there is a lack of venture capital funds with vertical expertise in technological macrotrends. The research proposes focusing innovation on four measurable objectives: building technology ecosystems on a global scale; promoting technological upselling in the manufacturing sector; increasing the conversion rate of research; and boosting the number of innovative businesses in Italia. To this end, it has drawn up four proposals: to reform the evaluation criteria for academic research; to strengthen technology transfer structures; to set measurable targets for public research bodies regarding spin-offs, patents and industrial partnerships; establish or attract venture capital funds with vertical expertise in the five strategic technologies through selective public co-investments.