Abstract:

This contribution is about the relationship between University and Enterprise, which is fundamental for the economic and social development of a country (Langella, Pontillo, 2019).
Collaboration requires a mutual commitment to stimulate innovation, the training of a skilled workforce, and the integration of recent graduates into the world of work. As quoted in From Research to Innovation: Exploring the Translation Journey with OpenInnoTrain, cooperation between universities and industry should be seen as a process that enables the practical, social, and political application of the results of research. (Mention, A.-L., Menichinelli, M. Eds., 2021).
The aim is to move companies and universities from an individualistic approach to a cooperative one using, as process drivers, tools and methods from the discipline of design. The selected methodologies, able to create an equal language that hybridises very different skills and points of view, have been combined with flexible tools that allow interaction between the various nodes of the network, between academia and production. Thus, a method characterised by the strengths that emerged from those listed above was outlined, and tested within research projects that will be discussed in more detail below as case studies. The overall result of the research reported how exchange and active co-planning are essential for knowledge sharing within complex systems.
Indeed, it is precisely the network connotation that influences organisational, production, and social systems: continuous production, process acceleration, increased productivity, fragmentation, and delocalisation of production activities, are some of the most evident characteristics (B. Villari, 2012). The above considerations appear significant for the Italian context, traditionally characterised by small and medium-sized enterprises, grouped in districts that with their evolutions - mainly incremental innovation - require a specific approach. In addition, there are specificities in Italy for the development of a more contemporary relationship between businesses and research: points of contact between the territorial model and the circular economy (cf. the PNRR - PE11 Made in Italy Circular and Sustainable project), the role of intermediate structures in technology transfer, interest not only in the product, which has always been central, but in the Product System as a whole (Lotti, 2020).
These considerations were researched and explored in two case studies: NOTLAB - Network of living laboratories for materials (University of Florence, DIDA) and SMOX (patent no. IT2020000556). The results obtained indicate that the role of Design, thanks to an interdisciplinary approach, is central. In addition to the role of designer, the ability to interpret very diverse skills and coordinate different players in all the different project phases (conception, development, testing, and realization) emerges. There is an urgent need, therefore, to activate more continuous exchange networks and to transmit a critical approach in terms of creativity, sustainability, human dignity, and work ethics. The impact of such networked exchange leads the individual user and the entire community to a new idea of university, enterprise, transfer, and society.

Keywords:

knowledge sharing, networking, strategic design, co-design, Industry 5.0, work-based learning, collaborative system, research and development, active cooperation.