what is the Digital Innovation Hub

The Digital Innovation Hub of Belluno Dolomiti (DIH) is an innovation hub that was set up to support businesses undergoing digital transformation in the context of the Industria 4.0 Plan.

The Hub acts as a link between companies and researchers, to activate a policy of pervasive territorial awareness, that is oriented above all towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Centre of Innovation Excellence, based at the Hub, will start to organise and disseminate a culture of technology and entrepreneurship based on the topics of Industria 4.0. and guide and support local PAs along the pathways of innovation and computerisation by implementing the Digital Agenda.

How does it work?

The Digital Innovation Hub of Belluno Dolomiti brings diverse individuals (public bodies, training institutes, trade associations) together around the same table, and helps them to work together to pursue a common objective: seizing the opportunities offered by the industrial revolution that’s underway.

To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding for the competitive digital transformation of the Province of Belluno has been signed, a process in which the Digital Innovation Hub has played a strategic role.

The headquarters of the Belluno Digital Innovation Hub are located at the Negrelli Forcellini Technological Institute of Feltre, which represents an important link between the worlds of culture and businesses, and will allow the activation of experimental training courses on the themes of Industria 4.0 and the Digital Agenda, involving students (including university students) and trainers.

What does it do?

  • Raises awareness about the opportunities available in the context of Industria 4.0;
  • Supports SMEs in the planning of innovative investments;
  • Connects businesses and Skills Centres (Universities, Polytechnics, etc.);
  • Provides support for accessing public and private financing tools;
  • Facilitates access to public and private financing tools;
  • Provides businesses with a targeted mentoring service;
  • Interacts with other Italian and European Digital Innovation Hubs.

In addition to supporting and helping businesses to face the Industria 4.0 revolution, the Digital Innovation Hub of Belluno Dolomiti will help to create the conditions for setting up a territorial ecosystem that’s favourable to innovation and the new entrepreneurship, support it in establishing itself as a point of reference for technology transfer and training at all levels, and serve as a centre for activating initiatives to raise awareness, and encourage and involve people in these strategic issues.

Areas of activity

  1. technology transfers: a network of collaborations between companies, universities and researchers will be activated, starting with the University of Trento, a partner for the initiative, as well as with other centres of excellence at a National and European level;
  2. training, information and awareness: training will be aimed at students, managers and entrepreneurs, and workers.

As far as students are concerned, the activities will initially be directed from the Negrelli Technical Institute in Feltre, home of the Belluno DIH, with the aim of extending them to other high schools in the Province.

The University of Trento will offer initiatives and training projects for university students, new graduates, as well as managers and entrepreneurs. Initiatives will be activated to raise awareness about these issues, using conferences, workshops, meetings, debates, etc.

Types of intervention

  • Support services for companies, public administrations, students, workers and NEETs on competitive digital transformation
  • Supplying, that is, arranging physical and virtual spaces geared towards creating information/training/laboratory activities involving companies, students, workers, NEETs and employees of Public Administrations within the DIH

Management and monitoring

The Digital Innovation Hub of Belluno Dolomiti will be monitored by a Management Committee which will meet periodically to define lines of action in accordance with the lines of activity listed for this project, and to check that times and costs have been respected.

The Management Committee is composed of a representative of every signatory of the Memorandum of Understanding for the competitive digital transformation of the Province of Belluno.

This Committee is associated with select Technical Scientific Committee that will translate the lines of activity into concrete content for achieving project results.