EIT Manufacturing South as protagonist of the Start Up Factory at MECSPE 2023

Between 29 and 31 March, Bologna will host the MECSPE, one of the world’s leading trade fairs dedicated to innovations for the manufacturing industry. The Bologna event is also a fundamental ‘showcase’ for many Italian companies in the sector that, as is well known, generates 17% of the Italian GDP. 

Bologna, 30 March 2023. Once again this year, among the flagship initiatives of MECSPE, now in its twenty-first edition, there is the Start Up Factory, a three-day pathway made up of talks with experts, speeches by managers and innovators with great vision, and presentations of new technologies. In particular, EIT Manufacturing, the largest innovation community in industry supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, will provide visionary content on the topic of Industrial Metaverse, offering new perspectives on the intersection of manufacturing and digital technology. Additionally, the Simulation Summit, a dedicated conference on engineering simulation, will take place within the Startup Factory setting, providing a platform for thought leaders to exchange ideas and collaborate on the most pressing challenges facing the industry.

The Start Up Factory is managed by the accelerator and hardware investor Industrio Ventures, which with its 6 exits and its presence throughout Italy (Rovereto, Bolzano, Vicenza, Reggio Emilia and Belluno) and in Boston represents a real unicum in the Italian innovation ecosystem.  

Furthermore, the Start Up Factory is promoted not only by Industrio Ventures but also by Gellify, Senaf, MECSPE, e-FEM and Trentino Sviluppo’s ProM Facility. 

The event, which will start on Wednesday 29 and end on Friday 31 March, is an excellent opportunity for startuppers and innovators, who will have the chance to illustrate their scientific and productive activities to the many entrepreneurs who will converge on MECSPE from all over Italy.  

Start Up Factory speakers will include eminent researchers, managers and entrepreneurs; start-ups of excellence will “pitch” their technology.  

Industrial Metaverse: a new frontier for the industry of the future 

Speaking at the Start Up Factory will also be Gian Mario Maggio, Managing Director of EIT Manufacturing South, one of the six Co-Location Centres whose mission is fully in line with that of EIT Manufacturing, i.e. to bring together players from across Europe who belong to the manufacturing industry to boost innovation and technology, with the aim of adding unique value to European products, processes and services and inspiring the creation of sustainable and globally competitive manufacturing. Dr. Maggio gave a Vision Speech on Thursday, 30 March at 11:20 a.m., on the occasion of the day dedicated to AI, computer vision and cybersecurity. Director Maggio’s speech will focus on the industrial metaverse; more precisely, he will illustrate its state of the art and development trajectories, offer food for thought and talk about concrete application cases in some manufacturing verticals (e.g. automotive). 

“The Industrial Metaverse is rapidly emerging as a game-changer for the manufacturing industry, opening unprecedented opportunities for collaboration, virtualization, and automation. Thanks to this new paradigm, companies can simulate production processes, test prototypes, and train their employees in virtual environments, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. At EIT Manufacturing South – says Gian Mario Maggio – we are at the forefront of this transformation, and in the context of MECSPE, I will be happy to share our vision on how the Industrial Metaverse can help companies achieve their business objectives and remain competitive in the global market.” 

For Gabriele Paglialonga, General Manager of Industrio Ventures, “MECSPE has been for years an unmissable appointment for the Italian manufacturing industry, and a great opportunity not only for business, but also for comparison. A chance to understand where the industry is going, and which are the technological trends, the managerial innovations, the market transformations taking place. Start Up Factory, therefore, wants to be a ‘window on the future’, thanks to the speakers and startuppers who will take part in our journey. We look forward to the Vision Speech by Gian Mario Maggio, who will touch on some key topics for those who innovate in our industry. We are aware of the frontier contribution of the EIT Manufacturing South to the Italian and European innovation ecosystem, and we believe that Gian Mario’s Vision Speech will offer us new, authoritative perspectives”. 

EIT Manufacturing – Making Innovation Happen!