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Thursday, 25.04.2024, 20:53
Italians to establish biomedical engineering research centre in Kaunas
Print versionGreatly impressed by infrastructure and talent
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Supported by foreign investment development agency Invest Lithuania, Italian company Gruppo Fos decided on Kaunas thanks to the advanced scientific infrastructure at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), the availability of skilled experts with the necessary scientific competences and the huge potential of KTU’s IT and engineering students.
On the initiative of Invest Lithuania, the Italian high-tech enterprise came to
Kaunas to meet KTU scientists and visit the National Innovation and Business
Centre (NIVC) in June of this year. This fact-finding tour gave Gruppo Fos the opportunity to evaluate
Kaunas’ science infrastructure and business development opportunities in the
area of bioengineering, electronics and IT. The delegation also visited the
Santaka Integrated Science, Studies and Business Valley, which is to open
shortly.
According to the director of the NIVC Almantas
Danilevičius, the guests were impressed. “I think that the company was
greatly impressed by the infrastructure at Santaka Valley, and by the
opportunity to work under the same roof as our researchers and students in new
premises and state-of-the-art laboratories. We only had to encourage them and
ensure we provided the right conditions for them to set up operations here,” Mr
Danilevičius said.
Kaunas – an attractive location for research centres
According to Matteo Pedrelli, CEO of Gruppo Fos, the company was looking for a particularly attractive location for its business expansion. “We were looking for an attractive strategic location in Eastern Europe, where we could apply our experience in research and development. Our international expansion plan includes development not only in Western Europe, but also in the Central and Eastern European region. We have already implemented projects in Bulgaria, Romania, China and Germany,” Mr Pedrelli said. “In Kaunas we found the ideal conditions for our biomedical engineering centre: well-developed logistics, direct contact with scientists and students, and modern research facilities. We were also impressed by the help of the various institutions – all the institutions we encountered made a significant contribution towards the implementation of our project in Lithuania.”
At the signing of the cooperation agreement, KTU Rector Petras Baršauskas said that Santaka Valley has become a focal point
for progressively minded businesses not only from Lithuania, but also from
abroad. “We have agreed to cooperate in the research and commercialisation of
science products. I’m pleased with the trend that businesses are investing in
Kaunas and our University. Cooperation with business is a strategically
important area for KTU.”
According to Arvydas Arnašius, the
Director General of Invest Lithuania,
the Gruppo Fos investment will
contribute significantly to the core of science and research competencies in
Kaunas. “Kaunas is attractive for companies that create high added-value,
particularly due to the presence of the largest university of technical
sciences in the Baltic States (KTU). Private sector investment in science and
research provides new opportunities for local researchers and gifted students.
Furthermore, increased science commercialisation activity will raise Kaunas to
a whole new level on the map of European applied science.”
Gruppo Fos, based in Genoa (Italy), is a high-tech enterprise involved in IT and the Internet of Things. The company is focused on R&D and technology transfer, carried out at joint laboratories with leading Italian research institutions: the University of Genoa and ENEA (the Italian National Technology Agency). |
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