Innovation Studio is the area of POLIMI Innovators dedicated to supporting research projects with the greatest valorisation potential. Here, students, researchers and teams can develop their ideas and steer them towards concrete paths of innovation and impact.
Within the Innovation Studio, Technology Transfer Managers and Innovation Managers provide complementary expertise to analyse the technological, market and team potential of projects. Through dedicated support paths, research groups are assisted in identifying the most appropriate valorisation trajectory — from intellectual property management to the development of new entrepreneurial initiatives.
The aim is to help teams transform research results and innovative ideas into solid projects, defining a development roadmap consistent with the group’s ambitions and with the opportunities offered by the market and the innovation ecosystem.
Objectives and activities
Innovation Studio aims to identify, support and accompany research projects with the greatest valorisation potential, offering teams structured support in transforming ideas and scientific results into innovative initiatives. The Studio is a working environment in which different areas of expertise come together to help researchers and innovators navigate the various possible development paths, assessing opportunities, risks and conditions for success in an informed way. In this context, Technology Transfer Managers and Innovation Managers work together, bringing complementary experience in intellectual property management, market understanding and the design of sustainable development pathways.
The Studio’s activity first and foremost takes shape through ongoing work to identify and engage with the University’s research groups, with the aim of spotting ideas, technologies and scientific results that may find application beyond the academic context. Once the most promising projects have been identified, teams are guided through an analysis process that makes it possible to understand their degree of technological maturity, market opportunities and the strength of the working group. On this basis, Innovation Studio supports researchers in defining the most suitable valorisation strategy, which may translate into the development of industrial collaborations, the valorisation of intellectual property, the creation of new entrepreneurial initiatives or other forms of innovation transfer.
Through this support work, the Studio helps strengthen the University’s ability to turn knowledge and research into value for society and the productive system, fostering the emergence of solid projects that are aware of their opportunities and better prepared to face the subsequent stages of development.
The support team
Innovation Studio is the area led by the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) of Politecnico di Milano, in which Technology Transfer Managers (TTMs) and Innovation Managers (IMs) operate.
- Technology Transfer Managers (TTMs)
TTMs are the operational point of reference for Departments and researchers. They oversee the technology transfer pathway: handling disclosures, protecting and managing intellectual property, technological maturation and validation, and market valorisation through agreements with companies (licensing, assignment). They coordinate with legal and administrative functions for the management of processes and contracts, including commissioned research, and with IMs to identify the most effective valorisation pathway. - Innovation Managers (IMs)
IMs support TTMs in a complementary role. After identifying researchers and teams with a stronger interest in entrepreneurial valorisation, they organise a mapping based on the development level of the solutions and activate strategic support for the groups with the greatest potential, supporting the entrepreneurial pathway and facilitating connections with partners, networks and funding opportunities.
Innovation Studio tools
To support researchers and teams in developing their projects, Innovation Studio uses a range of methodological and operational tools that help assess the potential of ideas, bring out new opportunities and support research groups in defining concrete valorisation pathways.
These tools make it possible to analyse in a structured way the technological maturity, market potential and strength of teams, while also enabling the experimentation of new ideas and the creation of the conditions for the development of innovative initiatives.
VRL Valorization Readiness Level
The VRL (Valorization Readiness Level) is the model used by Innovation Studio to assess the maturity level of innovation projects. The framework analyses three key dimensions: the technological maturity of the solution (TRL), its market potential and alignment with real needs (MARL), and the strength of the team leading the project (TERL). Through the VRL, it is possible to gain a structured understanding of a project’s starting point and define the next steps in the valorisation pathway with greater awareness.
0>1 Lab
The 0>1 Labs are experimental laboratories in which students, researchers and market experts collaborate to develop new innovation ideas and possible entrepreneurial initiatives. Starting from research results or concrete needs expressed by the market, participants work together to explore applications, develop prototypes and build initial project hypotheses. The aim of the laboratories is to foster the emergence of new innovation opportunities, bringing out ideas and teams through collaborative and interdisciplinary work.
Valorization Track
It is the Innovation Studio support pathway dedicated to research projects with the greatest valorisation potential. Over the course of this pathway, which lasts approximately six months, research groups work closely with Innovation Managers to carry out a structured analysis of the solution’s technological potential, market opportunities and team composition. The aim is to help researchers navigate the different possible development paths and define a coherent valorisation strategy. Through discussion, analysis and in-depth review, the pathway enables teams to clarify the positioning of their idea, identify any critical issues and build a stronger vision of development opportunities. The outcome of the pathway is the definition of a structured project assessment and the development of a valorisation roadmap, which may lead to different development and funding paths.
An ecosystem that multiplies opportunities
Innovation Studio is not only an internal support pathway within the University: it is also a gateway to a broader ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Through active relationships with venture capital firms, corporate venture, accelerators, industrial partners and other ecosystem players, projects have the opportunity to engage with the market, validate their assumptions and initiate strategic collaborations.
Its close connection with Tech Europe Foundation (TEF) further strengthens these opportunities, offering teams access to international mentoring, specialist expertise and competitive programmes at the European level.