2i3T Incubator
2i3t manages the Business Incubator and Technology Transfer process at the University of Turin. It is primarily focused on commercially valorising the results of academic research by creating, promoting and supporting new, knowledge-intensive businesses. 2i3t can be defined as a “bridging institution”, as it brings together the activities of the University and its associated industrial fabric by acting as a facilitator at the point where the knowledge derived from academic research and business management skills meet.
Ideas that have blossomed from research and that are suitable for technology transfer are identified by couting activities. They are then nurtured and developed with an eye to drawing-up a project business plan to assess the feasibility of the business. Next comes the pre-incubation phase which sees the project team accompanied towards the founding of their business.
Research is an essential asset for the growth of businesses: the University of Turin actively participates in the development process in Piedmont through 2i3t. The main goal is developing the area’s economy by valorising the results of scientific research. Technology transfer includes all activities that see research results valorised via support for their commercial applications on the market: inventions, patents, licences and spin-offs.
The Incubator offers itself as a reference point within the culture of innovation for students and PhD students alike, informing them of the opportunities that Technology transfer has to offer and involving them in company creation.
2i3t activities include workshops and seminars, the presentation of professional experiences and case histories, scientific scouting in university departments and, above all, events specifically dedicated to feasibility studies. Furthermore, the incubator systematically keeps track, and informs students, of any funding calls and competition announcements in the field of innovation.
Ideas that are suitable for Technology transfer and are selected by the scouting process and events are guided towards the development of a sustainable business model.
A business idea begins to take shape in the form of a business plan, during the pre-incubation phase. This is done thanks to the help and guidance provided by a dedicated tutor, management training and the network of skills and contacts fostered by the incubator in many emerging sectors.
Idea protection is a further area of activity.
2i3T gives full support to new start-ups and offers new-entrepreneurs and businesses the chance to benefit from the professionalism of the industry and business consultancy worlds, as well as the expertise in national and international business development and management they can offer.
This post-creation phase comes together in the form of an individual business support project which focuses on assisting new entrepreneurs by:
- promoting the idea in the relevant markets
- encouraging reflection on the business model and value creation
- supporting the creation of the organisational and managerial instruments a new business requires, including the “basic tools” needed when addressing the desired market
- mentoring on specific projects
- implementing dedicated management training projects.
2i3T is a bridging institution towards businesses in the Piedmont area.
Businesses can also launch, through the incubator, research themes and search for academic skills which may help them to resolve technical issues and develop new business.
Trade associations can participate in many ways in the dissemination of a culture of innovation by testing new promotion and communication models which favour the economic and social growth of the area.
Entrepreneurs can also contribute to the development of ideas and start-ups, by investing their capital and also by investing their time in mentoring projects, all according to a development model that is closing in on the potential of the territory.
The development of ideas that spring from business planning and incubation is valuable for investors as it allows a business project to be defined in qualitative and quantitative terms.
Many types of investor, institutional, venture capital and business angel find in the incubator a representative who can present and analyse projects that are suitable for investment according to shared parameters and criteria.