CesenaLab: a laboratory for Innovation Technology

Just over six years after its foundation, the CesenaLab incubator has launched 44 start-ups, invested more than three million euros in the area and created 158 jobs. 

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CesenaLab

by Virna Bottarelli |

Apublic incubator and accelerator of innovative enterprises, Cesenalab offers young teams spaces, tools and various mentorship services aimed at transforming today's start-ups into future enterprises with a capital "I". Born out of the need to provide young entrepreneurs, companies, students or simple citizens with a useful tool for the development of highly innovative business projects, Cesenalab declares as its main objective to give anyone with an innovative idea the necessary tools to turn it into a real company.

CesenaLab external

More than three million euros invested

Cesenalab was born in 2013 from the synergy between Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna - Cesena Campus, Municipality of Ces ena and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cesena, with the support of several trade associations of the territory. These include the Chamber of Commerce of Romagna - Forlì Cesena and Rimini, the CIA Agricoltori Italiani Forlì-Cesena, the CNA Forlì-Cesena, the Coldiretti Federazione Provinciale Forlì-Cesena, the Confartigianato FederImpresa FC, the Confcommercio Imprese per l'Italia comprensorio Cesenate, the Confcooperative Unione Provinciale Forlì-Cesena, the Confagricoltura of Forlì-Cesena and Rimini, the Confesercenti Cesenate, Confindustria Romagna and Lega Coop FC, and the Rete PMI Romagna. As of 1 January 2019, Cesenalab has become an asset of Ser.In.Ar., a company set up in 1988 by the municipalities of Forlì and Cesena, the Province of Forlì-Cesena, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture of Romagna Forlì-Cesena and Rimini and the Savings Banks of Forlì and Cesena, with the aim of promoting, supporting and qualifying Degree Courses and other initiatives planned by the University of Bologna to be implemented or activated or decentralised in the two cities of Romagna.

Cesenalab is therefore a public incubator whose aim is to connect with young entrepreneurs in the area. From 2013 to date, Cesenalab has assessed over 460 projects and admitted 44 start-ups to the incubation process. There are currently 13 start-ups in the structure, while 25 are the srl companies created based in Cesena. In these first years of activity, 3.2 million euro have been raised from financiers and calls for tenders and invested in the territory. Between start-up founders and employees, Cesenalab has contributed to the creation of 158 jobs.

From software to biotechnology

Most of the 25 enterprises created thanks to Cesenalab's support deal with software, application programmes/platforms. The remaining part deals with furniture, clothing and footwear (sustainable products), measuring instruments, innovative systems for man-machine interfaces, state-of-the-art components for footwear, organisation of events (support activities for artistic performances) and commercial distribution of products.

In the 13 projects currently under way, the main focus is on information technology: nine of them are software applications and platforms, while the others are linked to activities in the fields of biotechnology, medicine, agri-food and support for the real estate/furniture market.

Specialised workshops

CesenaLab in-house

Since January, Cesenalab has expanded its premises, acquiring new spaces for meetings and events (a 35 m2 multipurpose room equipped with a video projector and seating for 30 people), coworking stations (five tables with four workstations each distributed in a room of over 80 m2), fablab and specialised laboratories. Among the latter are the "City Sensing Laboratory", where single-board computers and various types of sensors are available, and the "PID Laboratory - Technologies 4.0", set up thanks to the collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Romagna, equipped with a 3D printer, 3D scanner and VR viewers.

These are spaces and tools that can be used by the incubated teams and by the users of Cesenalab's services, in particular young people, university students and high school students who intend to develop projects in the field of Innovation Technology (IT) with applications in the contexts of Smart City, Smart Environment and Industry 4.0.

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