On May 16, the Italian Innovation and Research Day was celebrated at the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA).
As part of the event, the Embassy of Italy in Tbilisi awarded two young Georgian innovators who won the “Stem Study Visit” competition’s 2022 edition: Davit Danelia and Mariam Maisuradze.
They will pay a study visit to Italy to gain professional experience at the renowned Digital Academy for Promotion of Innovation, Scientific Cooperation and Internationalization (SPICI).
The winners of the competition will have a three-month study visit to Italy, during which Georgian innovators will be able to develop opportunities and solutions for digital transformation for companies and public administrations, production planning and development activities, as well as scientific cooperation and international startup support programs.
The competition was held as part of the agreement between the Italian Foundation for Technological Innovation (COTEC) and the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) in 2018, in cooperation with the Association ‘Materias’ and subsequently renewed, which aims to enhance scientific and technological cooperation between Italy and Georgia.
The event was attended by leading innovators from southern Italy, academics and entrepreneurs.
After the award ceremony, the representatives of the Innovation Hub held a presentation on the topics of technological development strategies and participated in the Innovators’ Interactive Session “InnovItaly in Georgia,” which aimed to further strengthen the close cooperation between Italy and Georgia in the field of technology and innovation.
Ambassador of Italy to Georgia Enrico Valvo delivered a speech and addressed participants at the Italian Innovation and Research Day, noting that the event, thanks to the vibrant cooperation between the two countries in the related fields, is becoming an actual tradition.
“After the success of last year’s edition – it was the first one since the Covid-19 pandemic – we are proud to be able to celebrate the event again in 2022 by organizing a meeting in-person among Italian and Georgian innovators. Building on the solid partnership between the Italian “Fondazione per l’Innovazione” – COTEC and the Agency of Innovation of Georgia (GITA), with the involvement of further actors from the Italian side, starting from SPICI, “Company for Innovation, Cooperation and Internationalization”, we have been able to organize a visit in Georgia – the first since 2019 – of a delegation of innovators.
“Our gratitude goes to Prof. Luigi Nicolais, as well to Mr. Avtandil Karsradze and Gita’s team and Spici’s President, Mr. Vincenzo Lipardi, and his collaborators, for making today’s event possible. Today the Scientific-Technological Pole of the University of Naples, where Spici is located, and the broader community of innovators from southern Italy are widely represented, with a presence of institutions, academia and the business community.
“Let me introduce and salute the Assessor for Research, Innovation and Startup of the Campania Region, Ms. Valeria Fascione, and Prof. Giorgio Ventre from the University of Naples “Federico II” leader of the scientific-technological pole of the University and scientific director of the “Apple Academy” located therein.
“In continuity with last year’s edition, the winners of the competition for Georgian innovation will carry out a “Stem Study Visit” – financed by Cotec and co-sponsored by Gita – at Spici, part of the said innovation pole in Naples, with the ambitious goals to develop digital transformation solutions and to support entrepreneurial development, programs for scientific cooperation and internationalization for startups.
“Such a program, through the personal experience of the two young Georgian winners, will mean much more than this. By offering an immersive experience in an Italian innovation hub, with an individual training program and a step-by-step assessment of lessons learned and further opportunities, it represents quite a unique opportunity at the educational and professional levels,” noted the Ambassador.
