INSTM's added value for industry

No matter how small or large it is, the only way for any business to be productive and competitive is to enter a virtuous spiral of product and process innovation. INSTM is one of the players on Italy's field of innovation, and a considerable resource to companies looking to take this route to growth. Ideally placed to intermediate between the needs of business and the results achieved in the world of research, the Consortium has, since its inception, carried out, promoted, transferred and given value to research activities in materials science and technology, in order to expand our collective knowledge in this field and to support the country's scientific, technological, economic and social development. This is such a strong vocation for INSTM that it forms an integral part of the Consortium's mission and is underlined in its Statute: "In order to achieve its aims the Consortium guides the transfer of the results of national and international research in the field of Materials Science and Technology to the applicative and industrial environment. Together with industry, it develops technologically advanced equipment and innovative production processes, carries out specially commissioned studies and research and provides expertise and support in terms of human and material resources to solve issues regarding Materials Science and Technology".

But how does the Consortium do this? What added value does it bring to this delicate operation? At INSTM's core is a closely-knit network of laboratories that are distributed in the UdRs throughout Italy. Thanks to this network, INSTM can provide its industrial partners, wherever they are, with the very best and most appropriate resources for their needs, and fast.

In this way, INSTM facilitates and reinforces the relationship between the academic and industrial worlds while actively supporting Italy's competitive capabilities in advanced materials and related technologies. This is a winning combination, and one that has brought numerous Italian and foreign business partners to the INSTM community.

But that's not all. INSTM fosters the technology transfer of its affiliates' research results in order to enhance industrial materials applications. Thus it supports, develops and integrates affiliates' activities to encourage companies and public and private organisations to take advantage of their technologies, equipment and services for research, experimentation, analysis and measurement.

INSTM also develops and conducts joint projects aimed at spreading knowledge and innovative applications, and it supports work to identify the right channels to industrial research funding, enabling the application for and granting of patents and the creation of academic spin offs.