A fifth of all italian companies' investment in research and development: the life blood of innovation .

A fifth of the entire expenditure of Italian companies in research and development is concentrated in the metropolitan area of Torino. This life blood feeds innovation and allows the business system to make its mark on world markets with state-of-the-art products. Internationally renowned research centres are located in Torino, such as the Fiat Research Centre, the Italian national research council, the Polytechnic of Torino, CSI (the regional computer centre), the Alenia laboratories, TILAB, the research centres of Italgas, Omnitel and the RAI, the Istituto Colonnetti, the Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris. Other important bodies cover the agro-foodstus, environmental, chemical and biotechnology sectors.
However, for know-how to become a resource for the system, research is not enough. Knowledge needs to be spread to individuals and throughout organisations.
In Torino, this role is played by a close-knit network of training centres: international institutions (the European Training Foundation, the International Training Center, the Sta College of the United Nations, the International Training Centre of the ILO), private centres (like Isvor Fiat, Europe's largest business training company), and post-graduate institutes (like the SAA business school). Also of great interest is the experience of COREP (Consortium for Research and Permanent Education), where the polytechnic and university, public authorities, the chamber of commerce, the confederation of industry and companies all work together.
In1996, the International Pole for the Support of Education and Training (IPSET) was founded in Torino, made up of 50 public and private Italian and international training bodies.
Both in research and training, the role of Torino's two higher education bodies (the university and the polytechnic) is fundamental. As two of Italy's oldest universities, they hand down a solid scientific culture and a lively tradition in the humanities. The approximately 150 degree and university diploma courses are attended by over 85,000 students.