Bernini, “The Golden Period of Italian Research Thanks to Pnrr”

The funds available after Covid, in particular those from Pnnr, have led Italian research to now experience a golden period and the birth of new infrastructures that are also essential for the future: now we must know how to make the most of them. This was stated by Minister of Universities and Research Anna Maria Bernini during the presentation ceremony of the National Innovation Award “Premio dei Premi” held in Rome at the headquarters of the National Research Council.

In this twenty-third edition, awards were distributed to 43 champions of innovation, and this event is organized by the Cotec Foundation, which awards awards with distinction from the President of the Italian Republic. “Covid has created amazing dramas of all kinds, but despite this it has had positive repercussions: in research, it has made us take a 10-year leap forward, for example in the gene therapies available today,” Bernini said. Another important result is the large amount of resources that have reached the world of research, a large part of which comes from Pnrr, the Minister added. “They are funds – Bernini concluded – that can lead part of the research to overcome some critical systemic issues and create the strategic infrastructures that we must now exploit.”

From the space camera that filmed the first planetary defense mission in history, to new systems to value human resources, through to the smart trains of the future and the safety of helicopters: these are some of the 43 champions of innovation who won the 13th edition of the National Innovation Award “Premio dei Premi”. It was delivered on the occasion of the “InnovAzione – Tracking the Progress” event held in Rome at the headquarters of the National Research Council.

“Innovation is not technology, but a change in mentality, a new strategy that allows us to change the past for the better,” said Luigi Nicolais, President of the Cotec Foundation, the organization that bestows the award with distinction from the President of the Foundation. Italian Republic. He added: “It is important to emphasize that being a researcher is very different from being an innovator. Research moves the threshold of knowledge, and the innovator needs to conduct good research, but his goal is to put an idea on the market.”

Overall, 43 awards were given to innovative ideas in many different sectors: from new systems and technological solutions to ensure safety in the workplace, to valuing human resources as a key factor in innovation, to developing innovative solutions in the fields. Medicine, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and much more.

All innovations based on scientific research. “It is important that our country always supports basic research, because only research can provide answers to things that remain unanswered – only from research can innovation arise, and research can provide answers, but at a level and in At the same time finding solutions for new technologies or new medical treatments.”