Pisa – Palermo, October, 1st 2024
Today it has been established a cooperation in the fields of medicine and bioengineering, integrating with tech transfer biomedical research and bionic technologies, bioengineering, robotics, artificial intelligence, in order to systemize complementary knowledges, infrastructures and competence in areas of mutual interest in the wider field of One Health.
An agreement has been signed between RiMED, based in Palermo, the Institute of Robotics at the Sant’Anna High School in Pisa and ARTES4.0, highly specialized Center of Competence and funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and of Made in Italy, based in Tuscany and owning a satellite center in Sicily, to favor the generation of a strategic cultural and scientific partnership, in the field of the so called One Health, a model of health system which finds its strength on the integration of different disciplines. Aim of the agreement is to create a reference point for the international research community and to favor the growth of a productive network in South of Italy. The agreement foresees a cooperation in the field of medicine and bioengineering, thus integrating tech transfer with biomedical research and bionic technologies, bioengineering, robotics and artificial intelligence, to systemize complementary knowledge, infrastructures and competences in areas having mutual interest in the field of One Health. Key points of the agreement are to scout profiles of researchers and coordinators of national and international research projects, to promote joint research programmes, the joint planning of new laboratories and the promotion of initiatives, promoted by the leader institutions, such as research projects, workshops and meetings, the exchange of research staff, the promotion of tech transfer, the generation of spin-off companies as result of joint activities.
- The declarations
“This important collaboration is strategic for the whole Mediterranean basin, that might become springboard for novel technologies and new companies to support the welfare and health of human being. We want to be protagonists of a new developmental programme that through technology and the generation of enterprises aims at launching Sicily and the South as a leader and not as a follower of new rebirth”, Paolo Dario says, Scientific Director of the Center of Competence ARTES 4.0, emeritus professor of Sant’Anna high school and inspiring founder, adds: “by coordinating a European Digital Innovation Hub on the themes of sustainability and ‘human-centric’, ARTES 4.0 will contribute to give an European dimension to the tech transfer, sustaining innovation development and competitivity between new companies born in Sicily with an international dimension”.
“The world has changed and keeps changing faster and faster, for this reason it is very important to support the creation of a new generation of innovators capable of confronting with new scientific and technologic challenges, to an international level”, says Cesare Stefanini, Director of the Institute of Robotics of Sant’Anna high School. “We – he adds – would like to favor, on the one hand, exchanges between researches, students and promote an increasing involvement to global projects; on the other hand, we want to concretely be part of the development of territory with a huge potential, such as Sicily, favoring the generation of competences and by collaborating with the productive world exploiting activities that could contribute to the socio-economic sustainability of Italy and, in particular, with the Southern territories. For us, RiMED represents an interlocutor with a great cultural affinity with whom we share the same vision, we are therefore sure that this collaboration will be mutually fruitful”.
“We are on the verge of a great future that will see the interplay between humans, health and environment: bioengineering and biotechnologies offer extraordinary opportunities, and Sicily is the perfect place to investigate the intimate relationship between human and environment”, Giulio Superti-Furga, scientific director of RiMED and appointed director of the RiMED research center, currently under construction near the city of Palermo, says. “In the RiMED research center we will study the interaction between human health and environment according to the approach One Health – starting from the influence of the sea on an everyday routine, to the impact of the Mediterranean diet on our microbiome – focusing the research on specific organs and related pathologies: lungs and respiratory diseases, liver and metabolic disorders, heart and cardiovascular pathologies, etc. This will be possible also by the integration of competences with our clinical partner IRCCS ISMETT, a hospital specialized in transplants and treatments of end-stage solid organ diseases. The agreement signed today opens new amazing scenarios in the technology application in the field of life science, as well as opportunities of growth for this territory.”
- The partners in the agreement
The Institute of BioRobotics of the Sant’Anna High School in Pisa is a leading international reality in research, education and technology transfer, and has built over the years a wealth of knowledge and expertise in different fields of frontier research and emerging technologies such as biorobotics and bionics in various applications of interest to the Ri.MED Foundation (medical robotics, wearable technologies, collaborative robotics, bio-inspired robotics, neural science and technology, rehabilitative robotics, artificial organ technologies, tissue engineering, medical microrobotics and implantable technologies). Focused on the training of engineers, scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs, the Institute of BioRobotics at Sant’Anna High School develops strategic research topics for the future of the world – such as human well-being, sustainability, health and related technologies, and social inclusion – for which it has an absolute position of prominence in the Italian and international rankings.
With its headquarters in Sicily, at the CNR of Palermo, and extended capillarly throughout the national territory with 13 operating units located in 7 regions (Tuscany, Sardinia, Liguria, Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Sicily), the Competence Center ARTES 4.0, of which the Sant’Anna School is a founding member, is a high-specialization competence center funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy with technological focus in the area of Advanced Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. The Competence Centre promotes and supports science-driven innovation, bridging the gap between research and business, thanks to the collaboration of some 150 highly qualified associates including universities, companies and research centres of excellence, to support, through the provision of innovative services, the competitiveness of Italian companies and the acceleration process of startups and companies towards the market: The Commission has also proposed a number of measures to help the Sicilian industry.