Politecnico di Torino hosts the largest EIA - European Innovation Academy edition ever

In just over a week, Politecnico di Torino will open the doors of its Lingotto campus to more than 600 students from the best universities around the world and would-be entrepreneurs for the second edition of EIA - European Innovation Academy in Turin. It will be three weeks - from July 10 to July 28 - during which young talents will meet mentors and investors from Silicon Valley and from regional and national territory to transform a highly innovative idea into a start-up ready to be launched on the market.

A very innovative education format in which Politecnico wanted to be strongly included to provide its students with an unique opportunity. Thanks to an agreement between Politecnico and EIA that has allowed to take the school in Turin for five years, there will be 50 Politecnico students from all three levels of education who will be able to take part in the Academy.

“When I first came across the EIA event I immediately understood the huge value associated to the program. For this reason I did my best to include my university in this outstanding environment allowing our students to live Silicon Valley and directly benefit from the international and challenging environment. We first sent 10 students to France where the EIA was previously based and I’m so proud to say that Politecnico di Torino is now hosting the largest EIA program ever”, explains the Vice Rector for technology transfer professor  Emilio Paolucci, who continues: “For me it is an outstanding occasion to provide international education to 50 of our brightest students on innovation and high tech topics. The EIA is the right place to successfully merge the different cultural and high tech backgrounds characterizing each university”.

University of California Berkeley is one of the long-term partners for EIA and will come to Turin with the record number of students. “We will have a team of more than 60 students this year. We believe that the entrepreneurial and innovational mindset and and the unbelievable professional atmosphere in EIA play critical role for our students to become entrepreneurs and make an impact globally”,  says Ken Singer, the Managing Director at Sutardja Center of Entrepreneurship and Technology (Silicon Valley).

“Besides our students” - professor Paolucci continues - “Turin ecosystem will also benefit from the program since local firms can directly participate and innovate their processes proposing challenges to be solved. This serve to spread entrepreneurship culture within all the ecosystem actors and for this reason several local institutions are involved in it. Furthermore, it is incredible how the event merges students, investors and mentors together allowing their fruitful interaction. This aspect is unique and have an incredible value for participants fostering start-up creation”.

“We are proud to say Politecnico is boosting innovation in its ecosystem allowing its students to live Silicon Valley in Torino for three weeks and this is something in which we can all take pride”, concludes Professor Paolucci.