Institutional framework

The actors in research and technological development are:
- Universities  
- Public research institutes  
- Companies

Universities

At present the data on universities in Italy are as follows: 94 universities, which include 3 polytechnics, 2 universities for foreigners, 3 university institutions specialised in postgraduate studies (the 'Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa', the 'Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant'Anna di Pisa' and the 'Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi avanzati di Trieste').

Some data on the Italian University system (Year 2005 or latest year available):
60.251 lecturers and researchers
36.944 enrolled PhD candidates
1,823.886 students

In 2003 the total expenditure on research activities in Italy was 14.7 billion euros Universities in Italy provide teaching and research activities.

Public research institutes

A substantial part of research activity in Italy is carried out by public bodies:  

- Large bodies:CNR | ENEA | ASI | INFN | INFM | ISS | ISPELS | ISTAT

- Smaller bodies supervised by the MIUR

- Research institutes of the Ministry of Health

- Agrarian experimentation institutes of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies

- Other bodies supervised by various Ministries for which research is not the main activity

Companies

Companies play an essential role in the development of the country by applying scientific innovation and experimenting with new technologies.

The Italian industrial system is made up for the most part of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and these are responsible for about 70% of the production of goods and services. On the one hand, this is a factor that works for flexibility, but on the other it does not allow a sufficient ‘critical mass’ for large-scale research projects.Research, in fact, is carried out in the main in a small number of large-scale industrial groups (such as ENI, FIAT, Pirelli and Telecom) which have notable financial resources.

Over 200 industrial districts have also been developed in Italy and these are often world leaders or co-leaders in their sectors. They have over two million employees and are responsible for about a third of Italian exports.Some data on industrial research are available on the web site of AIRI (The Italian Association for Industrial Research)

There is also an extraordinary production of new knowledge in the sectors of nanotechnologies and new materials, biotechnologies, medical technologies, the application of information and communication technologies, operational and innovative software, and new systems of communication. This raises the possibility of broad areas of development for highly innovative companies and the prospect of new forms of qualified employment. It is to these areas open to the future that the joint action of regional governments and the Ministry for Instruction, Universities and Research is directed.

Science Parks

In Italy, science and technology parks were born in the 1990s as a result of funding from the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research and from the European Community through the Structural Funds, in particular for the southern regions of Italy.The principal aims of these parks are: the promotion and the carrying out of research activities, the development of links between the world of research (universities, research centres, training centres) and the world of companies, in particular small and medium-sized businesses (PMI).

Source: CRUI Foundation

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