Over 500,000 Euros for Technological Research: FBK Funds 9 Entrepreneurial Projects

Each research team can receive up to €80,000 in funding, a training program, access to FBK’s facilities, and a network of contacts with venture capitalists and companies.

FBK’s goal is to support research ideas with high technology innovation potential. Through the PoC by FBK: Test your idea! Program, the Foundation encourages young researchers and PhD students to embrace more entrepreneurial risks and perspectives.

Out of 37 submitted ideas, 17 were selected, involving over 120 participants. Nearly 40% of the researchers in the teams are under 30 years old. For those up to 35, the percentage increases to 60%, and for those under 40, it reaches 80%.

For each of the nine selected projects and their corresponding research teams, the prizes include funding for up to €80,000, access to FBK’s facilities (including the Clean Room), a six-month training and coaching program, and networking opportunities with venture capitalists and companies.

FBK’s Clean Room is an ultra-sterile laboratory where silicon wagers are processed into radiation detectors used in high-energy physics experiments, at CERN and in space on the International Space Station.

“We must overcome the culture of fear of failure and recognize that risk is an integral part of research and innovation – says Ferruccio Resta, President of Fondazione Bruno Kessler – The challenge is to accompany our researchers in transforming an idea into an entrepreneurial project. This is why PoC by FBK: Test your idea! was created – to support talented individuals eager to generate development and new opportunities for the local communities. Through this initiative, FBK strengthens its role as a key link between research, technology, and the market, contributing to building an ecosystem that generates value. The enthusiasm from this first edition shows we’re on the right track,  and we’re looking to expand the project’s impact by involving new partners and laying the foundation for national growth.”

The selected projects share high innovative potential and technological maturity, with many at the prototype or validation phase (Technology Readiness Level – TRL). At the end of the program, these ideas will be ready for operational implementation, large-scale production, and commercialization.

The chosen technologies cover areas like artificial intelligence, sensors, innovative hardware, and information technologies, with applications in sectors like society, health, manufacturing, sustainable energy, new materials, and innovative devices.

The top three projects, chosen by a jury of key stakeholders in the Trentino innovation ecosystem and a representative from Cassa depositi e prestiti, are:

1. FLEX PRODUCTIONS (team leader David Novel):
   the team will work on the creation of super-flexible and ultra-thin miniaturized electronics in FBK’s Clean Rooms with various applications: from space, to CERN’s large experiments to medical physics.

2. IN-SIGHT (team leader Alberto Gola)
   The team is working on advancing the next generation of cancer detection machines using PET (Positron Emission Tomography) technology, which is currently costly and not widely available. The goal is to make this technology accessible to smaller treatment centers while keeping the patient at the heart of the process.

3. xPERCEPTIO (Team Leader: Fabio Poiesi)
is focused on industrial robotics, creating a vision algorithm for robotic manipulation based on foundational AI models. The algorithm allows the robot to manipulate objects without requiring specific training for each object.

The a!Poc by FBK: Test your idea! Program was developed in cooperation with Fondazione Hub Innovazione Trentino.