Naples Federico II University, Cornell Tech, and OECD-EECOLE came together for a collaborative workshop focused on fostering entrepreneurship in higher education institutions. The prestigious Italian Academic Center, shared by the University of Naples Federico II, Rome Sapienza, and Bologna universities at Cornell Tech in New York, hosted the event.
The workshop, led by Mita Marra (Federico II University), Fernando Gomez-Baquero (Cornell Tech) and Raffaele Trapasso (OECD-EECOLE), gathered 35 international experts and professionals to establish a strong network of universities and businesses capable of creating sustainable territorial ecosystems. These ecosystems aim to support research and innovation in technology transitions that are both socially and environmentally responsible. The event comprised three sessions covering topics such as deep-tech skills for global production, socio-economic and environmental impact assessment of technology transformations, and support for SMEs to foster territorial development.
Fernando Gómez-Baquero’s presentation on the startup ecosystem revolving around Cornell Tech was illuminating. The Runaway Program for Entrepreneurship trains fellows as entrepreneurs while they are engaged in their graduate programs or post-doc research. Aspiring entrepreneurs benefit from the thriving ecosystem, which includes over 9000 startups, scale-ups, and established businesses, surpassing those in Silicon Valley in the past two years. The ecosystem is further supported by Andrew Chang, director of activate.org New York, who facilitates connections between scientists and various experts from academia, industry, government, finance, and more, helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed in their ventures.
From Europe, Rafal Hys, Delegate of the Association of Municipalities of Crans-Montana in Switzerland, shared his experience of business development within local networks of entrepreneurs, benefiting from international influence. Crans-Montana, known not just as a tourist resort, is a vital economic hub in the region, collaborating with local schools and international educational institutions in the technological sector.
Paola Fantini, Director of Education at EIT Manufacturing in Europe, described Learning Factories as specialized manufacturing facilities for training and research associated with higher education institutions. These Learning Factories serve as showcases for equipment and learning experiences, supporting continuous training, research, and knowledge creation and diffusion. Peter A. Creticos, President & Executive Director at the Institute for Work & the Economy in Chicago, emphasized the importance of trust at the local level for successful university-industry collaborations.
The discussion on green transitions brought attention to the barriers faced by diverse and disadvantaged students in venture creation. Therefore, higher education institutions should focus not only on technology but also on enabling underprivileged individuals to become entrepreneurs, as highlighted by Heath Brown, Director of a fellowship on social entrepreneurship at CUNY. The debate also centered around Veronica Olazabal’s evaluative work at the BHP Foundation, critically examining sustainability metrics to avoid performance assessment distortions in the university system and address greenwashing associated with the use of ESG indicators and SDGs targets. The need to shift from a metric-focused approach to a theory of change with a longer-term perspective, involving multiple stakeholders in sustainable transitions, was highlighted by Lelio Iapadre, professor of applied economics at the University of L’Aquila. Maria Puch, vice-president of the UN Network of Sustainable Development, emphasized the ecosystem view to overcome administrative and structural constraints of local contexts in reinforcing socially transformative practices.
Significant experiences were shared by Edna Primrose, founder of Difference, a consultancy in Washington DC that focuses on workforce training and environmental justice, and Cliff Paredes, head of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a support program for SMEs in the United States and Brazil. Both showcased the long-lasting commitment to assisting entrepreneurs and shed light on the human and competent assistance to SMEs, challenging current incubation and acceleration practices.
The topics discussed are critical for strengthening regional innovation ecosystems in Italy and worldwide. The workshop launched a multidisciplinary discussion, creating a platform of ideas and practices at an international level. The event received the moral patronage of the Italian Consulate General in New York and is part of a broader project aimed at creating and strengthening collaborations between universities and companies, supported by the US Mission in Italy.
