Startup Thinking

Startup Thinking Observatory activities

As part of the annual edition, the Startup Thinking Observatory performs the following activities:

• Research & Scouting: Five research cycles concerning six specific fields of enquiry chosen each year. Each study is developed by specialized Digital Innovation Observatory Researchers, leveraging their long-term specific expertise to identify and analyez the most interesting startups in each specific field. For every defined research field (five per edition), the process consists of conducting a survey, mapping and analyzing start-ups founded over the past five years in Italy and internationally that have been financed, and then closely examine the most significant start-ups, preparing a detailed data sheet for each, as well as producing a detailed database and analysis booklet. In addition, a detailed Database, an analysis booklet, and infographic summary are produced for each census. Over 19.000 startups have been surveyed in the first 9 years. Every research cycle ends with a Pitch Workshop on the innovation opportunities analyzed, with presentations by some startups (approximately ten at each meeting) chosen with the partner.

• Informing: the project also includes annual advanced training events (five workshops in the 2023-2024 edition) covering typical Open Innovation related processes and the relationship between companies and start-ups, in order to share best practices through the participation of professors from the Politecnico and other Universities, experts, guest speaker presentations and direct experience sharing between partners, open discussions, and experience sharing round tables. A weekly Newsletter is added to Research reports and Workshops covering the most important news on Italian and international startups and on open innovation, to deliver broad and extended knowledge of the opportunities provided by this sector and the most promising organizations.

• Collaboration and discussion round tables: these can be organized between partners, conducted directly by them, focused on topics related to cultural transformation and revising innovation processes, or topics of interest to partners. The discussion tables are supported by Politecnico experts from a methodological and operative perspective.

• Community: Startup Thinking aggregates the leading and most active Community of Innovation Managers in Italy, that every month meet and debate on the most important innovation topics, aiming to share experiences, projects, successes, and issues. The Community is supported and enlivened through specific instruments handled by a dedicated Community Manager: group work, social platform dedicated to the project, Team Building activities. The ninth edition of the project counted over 600 participants from Partner companies at project meetings. Furthermore, Startup Thinking provides the opportunity of conducting projects with students of the Politecnico di Milano based on briefs that are considered relevant by the partners, of visiting the over 200 laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano, and granting privileged access to startups hosted by Polihub Innovation Park and Startup Accelerator of the Politecnico di Milano.

• Visibility: the project helps to promote the visibility of partner organizations undertaking their process of cultural transformation towards open innovation, with positive implications for their brand awareness and attractiveness, with the additional goal of livening up and stimulating Italy’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Visibility is supported by participating at collaboration and experience comparing discussions, round tables, Workshops and Digital Innovation Observatory Conferences as guest speakers at Mip Politecnico di Milano classes, as well as through collaborations with newspapers and press outlets (EconomyUp, Startup business, Digital4Executives, over 60 editorial publications in the eighth edition), which regularly publish material agreed with the Observatory regarding partner initiatives and projects.
• Conference: furthermore, an open Conference is held every year addressed to everyone who “deals with” innovation, to which Partners participate at round tables as spokespersons. The event is organized jointly by the Startup Hi-tech Observatory and the Digital Transformation Academy Observatory. Last year 30 speakers and an audience of over 500 people attended the Conference.

Become a supporter of the Startup Thinking Observatory

The Startup Thinking Observatory is supported by several sector partner and sponsor companies. Take part in the Research, access Observatory exclusive data before anyone else, network with companies and qualified experts and gain visibility in our events.

For more information please contact Eliana Bentivegna at: eliana.bentivegna@polimi.it.