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Description
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This project consists in the creation of an interdepartmental research centre named, “Bio- Nanotech Research and Innovation Tower (BRIT) – Creating Bridges Between Universities, SMEs and large enterprises,” operating within the scientific-technological area of nanobiotechnology, a regionally, nationally and internationally strategic sector, in which the University has the availability of both expertise and research facilities, participating in, among other things, innovative clusters represented by the Micro and Nano Technology District of Sicily and by the founding department of advanced technological Bio- Medicine of Sicily.
BRIT, which will be implemented and managed directly by the University and if configured as an independent “Dedicated Research Centre,” according to article 32 of the Statue, will occupy more than half the space of the complex of buildings, referred to as the "Biology Tower," presently in an advanced stage of construction by the University, in the area of section 10 of the University centre on Via Santa Sofia, in the district of Catania. Their construction was provided for by the three-year plan of the University’s public works for the period 2008-2010. The remaining part of the building complex will be designated as classrooms and educational laboratories for the studies of researchers, offices for the Departments therein transferred, as well as the Museum of Zoology.
The project of structural improvement - which refers exclusively to the BRIT - includes:
- The design and construction of building works and relevant technological systems for buildings that will host the BRIT ;
- The purchase of equipment and scientific instruments necessary for the research activities of the centre; the creation of networks for collaborating with other central research laboratories of the University and Italian and international research centres;
- The implementation of specific educational activities.
The project of structural improvement involves the construction of:
- Two interacting research laboratories dedicated to the research, predominantly in the fields of bio and nano technology, subdivided into platforms based on function;
- Three service facilities directly functioning for the research activities: the enclosure in which animals are raised for experiment;
- A computer centre for the simulation of complex systems;
- A centre for the circulation and confirmation of the results.
The project presents important elements of novelty compared to similar work carried out by the University in the past. It is designed as a combination of skills and "facilities" of the University: The University aims to enhance and construct its own competitive research facilities through the creation of a large research centre, which will have access to no fewer than 150 teachers and researchers, who are experts in various scientific fields and diverse departments. The multidisciplinary character of nanobiotechnology requires the integration of diverse skills, such as those of nanochemistry, physical chemistry, molecular chemistry, solid-state physics and materials engineering, biophysics, biodynamics of nanosystems, biology, biochemistry and cellular biology, genomics, computer science, engineering, microbiology, genetics, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, epidemiology, etc. BRIT will be open to scientific collaborations already in progress at the University with several national and international research centres, and aims to create the basic conditions for further development of these relationships. The centre will serve as an operational tool for the realisation of strategic research programmes of advanced technology to which the University is committed, aspiring towards ample public and private partnerships, and for the transfer of technology in the field of nanobiotechnology, and also through the support of secondary research findings. Training Project The implementation of specific training is one of the envisioned accomplishments of the enhancement project. The creation of a large research centre that operates in an open and collaborative logic, as an aggregation point of expertise and as a "Facility" of the University, requires the interventions of not only adaptation and strengthening of infrastructure and facilities, but also of the development of specific skills, required for the use of equipment and infrastructure provided by the project itself. The training project responds to the shared need to increase productivity through expert use of the BRIT research facilities centre, to provide services both within the University, and most importantly, for the local and international market. This responds to the need of the University of Catania to adopt an innovative approach to research activity, as a form of "business," in order to promote technological exchange and economic rewards of the results achieved by the University. The training course aims to enhance the wealth of expertise related to the BRIT research centre as well as to develop new research, with the specific aim of supporting the teachers, researchers and administrative staff with new knowledge and strategic commercial and technical skills. The training program includes the distribution of technical and scientific information focused on the following high profile specialist positions: - Roles of research management, particularly those internationally focused Expert Roles (TO1); - Technical and commercial roles, capable of managing commercial negotiations, including those involving highly technical content (TO2); - Research positions particularly for those with expertise in the use of equipment and infrastructure provided by adaptation and structural reinforcement work (TO3). The first training objective- TO1 - aims to create a team of research managers within the BRIT research centre. Course participants will in fact be identified within the research roles most directly involved in the management of the BRIT research centre, such as, but not limited to: the manager of the project, those responsible for the Biotech and Nanotech Laboratories and their related platforms, as well as administrative positions- including managerial profiles - who will oversee BRIT. It will address the issues of strategic planning, management of international joint projects for the enhancement of facilities to strengthen the BRIT research centre, so as to develop the ability to supply its own financial sources over the course of time, through the commercialisation of scientific and technological services and/or the profitability of intellectual property, and finally to develop skills in organising international distributions with the objective of establishing alliances with public and private partners located abroad, particularly within the Mediterranean area. TO2 - aims to create qualified roles with an international approach and experienced profile for the management of complex commercial negotiations of technically advanced materials, particularly BRIT nano-technology products / services. TO3 regards the creation of sub courses, aimed at graduates and researchers, mainly in the following areas of expertise related to nano-biotechnology. The goal of the training programmes is to attain specialised experts in the development of services that support research activities and the communication and dissemination of results.
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