Innovation Day / Giornata dell’Innovazione

Innovation means spirit of initiative but must be cultivated and channeled: this is the idea behind the project, started since 2008, by the Chamber of Commerce of Como. The aim of the project is to support students from secondary schools and VET institutions in developing entrepreneurial skills, by the mean of creating their own product/enterprise and taking part in a final competition among them.

Three basic principles:
1) to help create a synergy between the world of school and the world of work;
2) collect and convey the spirit of initiative through the value and the method of co-designing, and building a system;
3) to confirm the value of the method as an instrument of “making things”.

The project covers the whole school-year and takes on the characteristics of a “project method”, within which skills and training are developed.
It ends with an event day, June 5, which emphasizes all the projects developed with dedicated moments and in which the goal of doing continues with a proposal of short afternoon workshops and the award ceremony of the winners of the IdeaImpresa Award.

The instrument:
“IdeaImpresa” is the Innovation Award, that the Chamber addresses to all students of upper secondary schools in the province of Como.
Each year has been touched a different topic, always paying attention to sustainable development.
It includes several steps, in which students develop their innovative idea with the support of the Chamber which provides them with contacts with businesses, institutions, and cultural operators, as well as specific training.

The steps of the project:
1. administration of collective and individual training (in direct contact with companies and cultural operators);
2. healthy spirit of competition (diversified prizes for all the participants, including teachers and school of belonging);
3. teamwork (min.3 max 6 students);
4. emergence of the concepts of feasibility and communication of an idea;
5. final event attended by all the protagonists with the presentation of all the participating ideas.

All the ideas in the competition will be presented during the Innovation Day which will be held in the local Innovation Hub (ComoNExT) in June.

Consolidated Partners include Research centres, Enterprises, Universities, including: ComoNExT, Politecnico di Milano, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria , Conservatorio Musicale, Accademia Delle Belle Arti A.Galli, Trade Associations.