The Innovation for Change project started on 1 February at CERN.

The project involves 50 students and researchers, with scientific and engineering backgrounds, who will be working for the next five months in Geneva and Turin.

Split into several groups, but with a common goal: to apply the most advanced technology to societal challenges, such as how to achieve a better use of water resources in towns and farming, how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions or how to increase power generation’s efficiency.

Several researchers, representatives of institutions and companies assisting the students as mentors attended the kick-off event yesterday.

The researchers at CERN and Politecnico di Torino will show the students the potential of some advanced-technology based tools and devices, challenging them to invent prototypes of products or services, which at the end of a testing phase may be launched on the market, laying the basis for the creation of new startups. 

The Knowledge Transfer Group at CERN and Politecnico di Torino will show the students the potential of some advanced-technology based tools and devices, challenging them to invent prototypes of products or services, which at the end of a testing phase may be launched on the market, laying the basis for the creation of new startups. 

Five institutions and companies joined the project and selected relevant social challenges that could benefit from a joint effort, in order to find viable solutions: the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Barilla, ENEL and SMAT.

At the end of the project, scheduled for June 2016, the students will share the outcome of their work with a group of companies and investors, in the occasion of a public pitch attended by the heads of the founding institutions.

The project is run by Scuola di Alta Formazione al Management di Torino, Politecnico di Torino and IdeaSquare, a dedicated facility for experimental innovation at CERN.