A LifestyleTech Competence Center for Ticino

FashionTech, MediaTech, FoodTech, TravelTech, DesignTech, ArtTech, Smartliving... Companies or organisations performing research and development projects in these and other 'tech' domains will now have in Ticino a suitable place to interact with the regional innovation ecosystem, where they can engage also with academic, institutional and industrial partners. The new "LifestyleTech Competence Center", in Manno, was opened on July 16, 2020, with the foundation of an association of the same name - the LifeStyleTech Competence Center Association - which also sees Università della Svizzera italiana among its signatories.

As the Rector of USI, Boas Erez, comments, "In the 21st century, knowledge is not only to be found in research institutions, but it is distributed more largely. Hence, structured cooperations with companies are very important for USI, as they enable to extend our expertise and to create added value in the region. We are happy to strengthen our presence in a sector in which we are already involved – for example with the Master in Digital Fashion Communication, offered in collaboration with Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris – and we are committed, from the outset, to championing Swiss talent in the fashion industry. One concrete example: we will soon support the online communication of the Bally Schuhmuseum, which in Schöenwerd exhibits one of the largest collections in the industry".

The Association aims to foster and support innovative companies active in research and development in the LifestyleTech sector. This will directly benefit Italian-speaking part of Switzerland as a business tech destination and promote job creation in the region. The nine founding members are: Accenture, Bally, Guess, Hyphen Group, Microsoft, Dagorà, Loomish, SUPSI and USI. 

A LifestyleTech Competence Centre for Ticino

The newly established Association seeks to develop synergies between important partners and to create a centre of excellence for the lifestyle sector,  to enable organic community growth at Swiss and international level. In particular, the Association will foster collaboration between enterprises and academic institutions and the transfer of technology and know-how by supporting and co-financing research and development projects, the creation of equipped innovation laboratories, international scouting activities for scale-up technologies, and the creation of communities, events and workshops.

The Association will be based at the Dagorà Innovation Hub, a co-working space located in Manno, in the heart of the industrial area near Lugano, which includes offices, innovation and research laboratories, a media centre, advanced technological tools for research and design projects and many spaces for innovation. In this new facility, universities, brands, investors, technology companies and start-ups will have the opportunity to develop ideas, tools and strategies at this location that will drive the next generation of digital companies in Ticino and beyond.

For further information:
https://dagora.ch/inauguration-of-the-lifestyletech-competence-center-association/