On April 14 and 15, 2018, at the School of Public Policy & Management of Tsinghua University in Beijing took place the “2018 Research & Development Management Workshop” on Emerging Technologies and Industries in the “Smart Era,” a collaborative event organised by the Research & Development Management Conference Office (RADMA), the Research & Development Management Journal and Tsinghua University.
The aim of the workshop was to create a platform where international scholars and East Asian scholars could meet to discuss the state-of-the-art research topics that are particularly relevant to the R&D and Innovation Management community, as well as to discuss publishing about R&D and Innovation Management in international journals by providing the audience with R&D Management editors’ practical tips and tools.
This event, the first of this kind held in the Asia region, saw the participation of Alberto as member of the Senior Advisory Committee and panellist. In front of an academically prestigious cohort of participants, Alberto presented the results obtained by his research projects currently underway at the School of Advanced Studies in Pisa (SSSA), as well as the advancements in the implementation of the Sino-Italian Innovation Base-Camp Project in Chongqing.
In the morning, during the panel session on “Innovation Policy & Governance,” Alberto made a speech on the importance of Open Innovation. The panel focused on the trends, myths and realities of open innovation paradigms in the digital era. Open innovation paradigms are instrumental for spurring the creation of “smart technology” industries. Openness has enabled China’s universities and research institutes to enhance the science and technology developments and to play an active role in the industrial network through intensive collaboration and knowledge exchanges with international industrial partners. The panel discussion answered the following questions: what Open Innovation models work best in what circumstances? Which Open Innovation approaches facilitate innovation ecosystems in the East and in the West?
In the afternoon session on “Open Innovation and user-driven innovations in the“Smart-Technology Era”, Antonio Crupi, research at the Institute of Management of SSSA, presented the paper co-authored with Alberto and Prof Fabrizio Cesaroni with the title “Deus ex Machina. Policies, innovation and regional growth – finding from China.” The paper was later awarded with the “Commendation paper” prize.
On Sunday morning Alberto held a keynote speech titled “New frontiers on the scientific & technology cooperation in fast growing but peripheral areas of China. The case of the Sino-Italian Innovation Base-Camp Project (SIIB-C) in Chongqing.” The SIIB-C Project resulted from cooperation between Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) in Pisa, Chongqing University and Bishan District – a region in Chongqing Municipality which hosts a National High-Tech Zone.
The SIIB-C Project will be developed over 3km2 of land in Bishan, during a pilot phase of two years. The Galileo Galilei Italian Institute (GGII) – based in Chongqing and managed by SSSA – is in charge of all the activities and funds assigned by the Bishan Government. During this two years’ timeframe, the GGII will conduct a feasibility study to understand whether is possible for an Italian academic institution to establish a long-lasting presence in fast developing but peripheral areas in China, such as the Municipality of Chongqing. Alberto remarked the .importance of the SIIB-Camp as case study for the understanding of the best practices to interact with the Chinese academic and business environment.
Some of the issues discussed during the keynote targeted topics such as the facilitation of tech transfer operations between Italy and China, the successful models of joint tech laboratories currently operating in China and how to engage into tech-scientific cooperation in a fast growing but peripheral areas of China.