Val di Fiastra, located in the upper Macerata area, exemplifies a fragile ecosystem. It is a seismically vulnerable region experiencing a steady demographic decline. This essay presents the "Errante" project, one of the regeneration measures proposed by the "Qui Val di Fiastra" initiative, which was awarded the PNRR 2023 Borghi Call. The project is the result of a collaboration among the INABITA laboratory, local organisations, and the University of Camerino. Errante serves as a mobile infrastructure to promote socio-cultural activities. By integrating the principles of participatory design with rapid prototyping methodologies, which have been "transferred" from the university to the community, Errante establishes a unique approach for empowering territories in fragile contexts.
The education of architects is characterised by the integration of theoretical knowledge and professional practice. However, changes in the university system and the increasing specialisation of research have deepened the divide between academic training and professional work. Research, often focused on the development of guidelines and policy tools, tends to have limited or fragmented applications in the construction sector. In this context, the contribution explores the transfer of technology and knowledge between universities, institutions, and non-academic actors, highlighting the role of design as a research tool and the need for dialogue between academia, the profession, and the production sector to foster innovation.
Val di Fiastra, located in the upper Macerata area, exemplifies a fragile ecosystem. It is a seismically vulnerable region experiencing a steady demographic decline. This essay presents the “Errante” project, one of the regeneration measures proposed by the “Qui Val di Fiastra” initiative, which was awarded the PNRR 2023 Borghi Call. The project is the result of a collaboration among the INABITA laboratory, local organisations, and the University of Camerino. Errante serves as a mobile infrastructure to promote socio-cultural activities. By integrating the principles of participatory design with rapid prototyping methodologies, which have been “transferred” from the university to the community, Errante establishes a unique approach for empowering territories in fragile contexts.
The study examines the theoretical-methodological approaches (undertaken by the Technology Research & Development Office, in the Third Mission exercise) directed towards the practices of “technological substitution” and “typological re-configuration” of building systems. The methodological process involves incremental transformation techniques aimed at controlling and reducing complexity, supporting both Architectural Engineering Services and Systems Manufacturing Stakeholders. The thesis aims to provide an evaluation method to determine the technical, economic and time effectiveness of systemic evolution procedures, as well as potential transfer developments calibrated by the practices of Topology Optimisation and Advanced Manufacturing.
This contribution explores the role of technology transfer in urban innovation development, focusing on the contribution of institutional, academic, and industrial actors. Adopting the perspective of the Triple Helix, this paper analyses the collaborative dynamics that generate innovations dedicated to the management and use of urban areas. According to an evolutionary perspective and the perspective of the Quadruple Helix, this study also emphasises the importance of citizen participation in a co-creative context within the so-called collaborative networks that promote innovation, well-being, and the sustainability of urban spaces, which stem from the synergistic and collaborative activity of institutional, academic, industrial, and social actors.
The RETURN Extended Partnership aims to produce and share knowledge about environmental, natural and anthropogenic risks by promoting the active and proactive involvement of several interdisciplinary research groups, industrial partners and stakeholders. Against this scenario, the activities of Spoke TS1-Urban and Metropolitan Settlements included, among many initiatives, the activation of a series of workshops on the Urban Living Lab model in the Site of National Interest of Bagnoli-Coroglio aimed at sharing knowledge and experiencing processes of co-exploration, co-design and co-testing. The objective of the workshops organised according to the Urban Living Lab methodology is to develop cognitive and operational processes in which the technical approach enables the integration of socio-cultural and ecological-biophysical dimensions in the design processes.
The paper illustrates the experience of the scientific collaboration agreement of the research group of the DiAP, Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University, Rome, with the company Fabrica Immobiliare SGR, in carrying out activities aimed at defining “Sustainable strategies of enhancement of the managed building stock” with a view to ESG. The operative research presents an opportunity for development and transfer of technology, of theoretical knowledge, and of technical skills, aimed at implementing methodologies in support of evaluation and decision-making tools. The purpose is to achieve energy/environmental requalification and decarbonisation targets in the regeneration and enhancement processes of the built environment, in accordance with sustainable finance criteria.
This paper describes the technology transfer process involving expertise developed by the University of Camerino and Sapienza University of Rome in the field of timber digitalisation and parametric informative models. The research was applied in collaboration with an Interior Contract company in the Lazio region for the design of a complex wooden architectural element. The adoption of a methodology based on informed digital models, spanning from design to fabrication, enabled a reduction in production waste (-30%) and an optimisation of design and production time (-20%). The case study demonstrates how the synergy between multidisciplinary research expertise and the industrial sector can generate efficient and replicable solutions. From an academic perspective, the experimentation has strengthened the collaboration between universities and industry, fostering the development of transferable know-how for future applications.
In the third mission (TM), once scientific validation through research has taken place, content specificity is of little importance so that technology transfer (TT) and public engagement (PE) in very different fields could, with very high probability, be similar in form, process and media used. The real difference between PE and TT is that the former aims to reduce sterile ignorance as much as possible, while the latter invests where fruitful ignorance opens horizons. It is good to have a view of the overall scenario of the systemic model (aka “academic capitalism”) in which the three missions are placed. TT fits into the third one. Without this overview, the risk of a proletarianisation of the scholar would be high within a process, whose upstream and downstream stages he or she ignores.
The research addresses the difficulty of integrating ecosystem assessment into urban planning to respond to territorial vulnerabilities (Caldarice and Salata, 2019). Tech4You’s Pilot Project 4.6.1, on Reggio Calabria (Italy), develops a multidisciplinary approach that combines ecosystem assessment, digital twin and artificial intelligence for the creation of Climate Adaptation Plans (PACC). The critical testing of the “InVEST” model for calculating the “Carbon Storage and Sequestration” ecosystem service highlighted the limitations of current evaluation tools and the need for a more advanced platform. Hence, the P.P. 4.6.1 is developing a Platform that integrates predictive models and a Climate Intelligence Chamber in the prototype phase.
The RAISE project – Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment – funded by the MUR within the framework of the PNRR, strengthens innovation ecosystems by integrating research, industry, and local institutions. Leveraging robotic and AI technologies, it develops a citizen platform to enhance access to urban services and daily mobility. The methodological approach, based on integrating qualitative and quantitative analyses (user personas, journey maps, Urban Dashboard, and Multi Deprivation Index), is structured through co-design activities and the use of generative AI. This fosters active participation by citizens, public administration, and universities, providing replicable and scalable tools to create more inclusive urban environments oriented toward open and participatory governance.
The paper presents public engagement activities carried out by the interdisciplinary group comprising the Department of Architecture and Design of Politecnico di Torino, together with the group “Urban ecology and green areas” of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences of the Università degli Studi di Torino as part of the scientific support service to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo in strategic planning on the issues of biodiversity protection and the fight against and adaptation to climate change. The paper illustrates the adopted methodology, the supporting activities, and the results achieved in terms of implementation of interventions (calls for proposals “Percorsi di Sostenibilità” 2023 and 2024) monitored through environmental and social indicators.
The paper aims to analyse the Italian scenario regarding the role of universities in Third Stream activities and knowledge value enhancement, the enterprises sector and their attitude for R&D and innovative activities – with particular reference to SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) – and the existing relationships between them and universities, highlighting the obstacles encountered today in starting joint research activities. Moreover, the paper aims to propose some strategies that can bring universities and enterprises closer towards such activities, considering both the requests coming from the world of politics and several virtuous examples of cooperation between enterprises and universities present in Europe.
The set of activities undertaken in the field of environmental accessibility and inclusion, based on the skills of the Dalt Laboratory research group, provide an example of the potential of structured sharing of knowledge between public bodies and institutes for the social enhancement of the architectural heritage. Among the various Third Mission processes developed at the University of Udine, the essay describes the processes carried out for the development of universal design activities, cultural dissemination and technical support to create tools aimed at implementing the FVG law – Regional Law 10/2018, General principles and implementing provisions on accessibility. In particular, a case study, considered emblematic, is addressed, which involves the Municipality of Udine for drafting the Plan for the elimination of architectural barriers.
The European Union (EU) has identified the digitalisation of the building permit (DBP) process as strategic to the twin digital and green transition of the construction ecosystem, enhancing transparency and collaboration along the entire value chain by a data-driven approach. In 2021, under the Horizon Europe programme, three innovation actions (DigiChecks, ACCORD, CHEK) were funded to investigate the synergy between processes, human resources, and advanced technology in DBP, providing system prototype demonstrations in operational environments. The research outlines the objectives of the three projects, contextualising them within the international literature through a bibliometric analysis, and highlighting the main emerging research topics.
The university today is called upon to play a key role in the innovation and regeneration of territorial systems through the Third Mission, which combines research and teaching with technology transfer and knowledge co-creation initiatives. However, there remains a gap between theory and practice, which tends to reduce Third Mission to mere dissemination. This paper contributes to bridging the gap by presenting an integrated, co-designed and data-driven approach to open innovation that integrates stakeholders from the earliest stages of the process. Strategies and actions are presented in the framework of action-research in European projects where digital tools and quintuple helix collaboration generate impacts and enable long-term technology transfer.
The evolution from Social Housing to Urban Housing prompts rethinking of the relationships between inhabitants, spaces, and services. In the current context of fragmented social cohesion, viewing housing as an integrated system of social, economic, and cultural factors highlights the central role of inhabitants’ participation and fruitful dialogue among all stakeholders. The research, therefore, proposes an approach based on action-research and collective prototyping for the development of visual tools capable of improving the effectiveness of participation, information access, and inclusion in complex social networks, enabling the recomposition of knowledge and networking among stakeholders.
The climate crisis and hydrogeological fragilities make it necessary to raise public awareness and empower local administrations on the issues of natural hazards and urban resilience. With the aim of triggering synergies between circular and biophilic city regeneration and emergency prevention, the public engagement project ‘Code4Risk’ uses co-design as an interdisciplinary and multi-actor practice embedded in the Third Mission objectives. The article presents the first phase of the project, a workshop developed in sessions of knowledge sharing and co-design through thematic tables that investigated the relationships between urban spaces and multi-hazard conditions, envisioning transformative scenarios aimed at disaster resilience.
