From 14 to 18 May, the Metropolitan City of Bologna hosted delegations of Sabadell (Spain), Tartu (Estonia) and Region Wielkopolska (Poland) for the third Long Term Visit of the Interreg Europe RELOS3 project.
It was a unique opportunity to discover the innovative aspects of the economic and industrial excellence of the territory with a dense agenda of interesting encounters and opportunities for knowledge exchange.
It set off on Tuesday, 14 May, by an in-depth examination of Smart Specialisation in the Emilia-Romagna Region and its Clust-ER concept of innovation communities. Then it was the turn of the metropolitan territory with its Strategic Plan, the "Together for Work" project to stimulate employment and the focus on tourism, a sector that is growing in the Metropolitan City of Bologna.
In the afternoon, the delegation discussed cultural and creative industries with a visit to DAMSlab, a laboratory of the arts run by the University of Bologna, dealing with various companies and associations involved in spreading creative culture in the area. Among these is the Cineteca Foundation. The delegation visited this interesting centre, representing true international excellence in the training, research and production of the film industry.
On Wednesday 15 May, it was time for the fashion industry with a visit to Fashion Research Italy, a new research centre that enhances manufacturing excellence by bringing them together with innovation. On the same day, the circular economy was be explored with a visit to the Hera Ambiente waste treatment plant and the food industry with a visit to FICO Eataly World, the largest agri-food park in the world.
The following day saw the transition between tradition and the future of the Bologna’s industry. First at the Industrial Heritage Museum with its section dedicated to the Factory of the future, then with a visit to the Golinelli Foundation, the research, training, technology transfer and entrepreneurial promotion center, and finally to Granarolo, one of Europe's leading dairy companies.
On Friday 17 May, one-to-one and capacity building sessions were set up, also organise a small summary of the previous days. This deepened the knowledge on RIS3 in the European, national and territorial areas to improve knowledge, also because of other EU-funded projects attending. And with that, the official part of the RELOS3 programme ended.
However, some attendants also visited Bologna's Start-up Day, an annual event that brings together young people all over the world, eager to activate their own business project with the help of institutions, banks and local associations.
