On December 3rd the final of PNI 2021, the National Innovation Award of PNICube, the Italian Association of University Incubators and Business Plan Competitions, was held. Competing for this year's prizes were the 63 startups that won the regional Italian Start Cups, from which the 16 finalists were selected to take part in the awards ceremony at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata".
On the top step of the podium, respectively for the Life Science/MedTech and ICT categories, were Fidelio Medical and Algor, two projects from Turin from the 17th edition of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta 2021, la business plan competition promossa dagli incubatori I3P, 2i3T and Enne3incubators. The Special Prize UniCredit Start Lab was awarded toReefilla, a startup incubated at I3P that deals with Energy Management. Also present in Rome was the team from Elemento, a startup that recently won the Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta and has just been established at the 2i3T incubator. Elemento, on the other hand, has become one of the four best national startups in the ICT sector.
The four startups in detail
Fidelio Medical
1st prize Life Sciences/MedTech - €25,000
Incubata in 2i3T, è nata con l’obiettivo di portare sul mercato globale la first digital diagnostic solution for the screening and diagnosis of iron deficiency directly in doctors' offices and pharmacies, designed specifically for women. By avoiding late diagnosis, it is possible not to overlook important symptoms that can lead to serious complications such as anaemia, especially during pregnancy or in the presence of other concomitant health problems.
Algor
1st ICT prize - €25,000
Supported by I3P, this innovative edtech startup has created Algor Maps, an online platform that uses artificial intelligence to support the creation of concept maps to help people with learning disabilities study. Algor also won the award for Best Social Innovative Startup, thanks to its positive impact on education, awarded by Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
Reefilla
UniCredit Start Lab Special Prize
Startup that has developed a dispositivo fast charge connesso e trasportabile, basato su batterie interscambiabili, che permette l’attivazione del primo servizio di ricarica predittivo per veicoli elettrici. Attraverso una piattaforma digitale cloud-based è possibile controllare i device e coordinare le attività operative di ricarica. The prize awarded by UniCredit Start Lab includes access to UniCredit's business platform, the assignment of a mentor selected from UniCredit's professional network who will offer periodic support on strategic and growth aspects, access to the Startup Academy, a coaching programme, the assignment of a UniCredit Relationship Manager who will manage the startup's banking needs and the possibility of organising Business Meetings with UniCredit's corporate clients and potential investors.
Elemento
Top 4 ICT startups in Italy
Startup that has created Elemento Modular Cloud, a new, more ethical and accessible way of doing cloud, in which users cooperate to create a neutral and distributed resource sharing platform. Essentially, this project was created to simplify the creation and implementation of a personal and private cloud, as advanced as that of the big internet providers but so user-friendly as to become the new standard even for less experienced users.
Institutional comments
Elena Chiorino, Councillor for Education, Employment, Vocational Training and Right to University Study of the Region of Piedmont, commented: "The innovative entrepreneurial environment that is born within the university incubators is more than ever the result of young talents who deserve to be supported and encouraged: this recognition is the right epilogue to what we have been supporting for some time. We would like to thank all those who believe in this project, who work on it with passion, and who have achieved important goals that make it an excellent example for all of us and for future generations to follow".
Andrea Tronzano, Councillor for the Development of Productive Activities of the Piedmont Region, added: "A month ago we rewarded the commitment of many young people and researchers who presented projects and proposals within the Start Cup programme. These activities are now receiving the right consecration also at national level, all this can only confirm the validity and quality of a path that enhances the Piedmontese research. We must have faith in people, in young people, in their spirit of always putting themselves on the line, of overcoming their own limits and working and inventing through the tools that we can provide them with, and the teamwork that underpins the Start Cup can only be strengthened".
"The Piedmontese startups present in Rome have demonstrated talent and excellence in different disciplines and this represents an extraordinary peculiarity of our territory", said Fiorella Altruda, President of the 2i3T Incubator. "We can consider the prizes obtained as a brilliant result of Technology Transfer, which translates the results of the academic research of the Universities into economic and reputational value for our Region, which we hope will become more and more lively and attractive for new resources and competences thanks also to the commitment of all the actors of our innovation ecosystem".
Finally, Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P, said: "Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta confirms its ability to bring to national attention valuable projects and startups that can have a strong impact on socio-economic development in various sectors. We are proud to show the vitality of the Piedmontese ecosystem which, thanks to the support of institutional, industrial, financial and research partners, continues to grow year after year: this year's successes motivate us even more to put in place activities and initiatives for the coming months".
