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Abstract:
13 companies will be hosting the student internships of the Master FSE, promoted jointly by the University and Fondazione Bruno Kessler. With "intelligent systems", a look beyond conventional technologies.

Master the Micro: The Companies of Trentino Rise to the call

Trento | Posted on June 15th, 2010

Cantine Mezzocorona, Cavit, CET Servizi, Dormer Tools, Eurocoating, Far Systems, Mahle, Marangoni Meccanica S.p.A - Meccanica Costruzioni, Molecular Stamping, Optoelettronica Italia s.r.l, Z2M, as well as the Swiss ISC-Konstanz and System Photonics of Fiorano Modenese: these are the companies that have seized the opportunity to host one of the students of the Master Nano Micro for an internship. The list of companies that won the selection competition was announced this morning during a press conference held at the Trento Rectorate.

In mid May the organizers of the Master Nano Micro, financed by the European Social Fund and promoted jointly by the University of Trento and Fondazione Bruno Kessler, had put out a call to invite companies to host an intern within their organization. A signal sent to the business world, with the aim of stimulating constructive dialogue with those involved in scientific research, to find points of collaboration and ideas for industrial innovation projects, but also to offer new employment prospects to students, suitable for taking advantage of their skills as innovation professionals.

To give the results of this initiative and to discuss the relationships between the world of research and companies in the field of nanotechnologies, those taking part were the rector of the University of Trento, Davide Bassi and the President of Fondazione Kessler, Andrea Zanotti, together with the head of the Master, Lorenzo Pavesi from the University of Trento and Mario Zen, from Fondazione Bruno Kessler. The press Conference was also attended by Sergio Bettotti, head of the Innovation, Research and ICT Department of the Autonomous Province of Trento and Roberto Busato, director of the Trento Confindustria.

The competition and selection

Being involved in nanotechnologies and "intelligent devices" today means taking a look into the future. Micro-technologies, products of the consolidated micro-electronics industry, make it possible to innovate entire product types and conventional industrial processes, building a multitude of functions into a single miniaturized device, such as only much more cumbersome and costly pieces of equipment can do. The advantages are mainly in terms of cost, reliability, energy consumption, portability, connectivity and, in general, application potential in spheres hitherto forbidden to conventional technologies.

There are many applications for this new generation of devices. And there will be many more in the future. This is why it is important to form a new class of experts in the forefront of nano and micro technologies, an area already identified as strategic in innovation lines at European and international levels. This is exactly what the Master Nano Micro is all about, promoted by the University of Trento (with the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences and the Department of Physics, Engineering and Information Science, Materials Engineering and Industrial Technologies) and by Fondazione Bruno Kessler (with the Materials and Microsystems centre).

To help these young people to develop, it is however necessary to put their talent to the test and nurture it directly in the field. This is why the promoters of Master called upon companies in the area to compete for call for applications for 16 free internships. Companies interested in hosting one of the Master students took part in the call, proposing research projects concerning industrial innovation of their own processes or products that could benefit from nano and micro technologies. Project themes included in the call were also market research, in-depth study into technological sectors of interest or feasibility studies on innovative ideas.

The internship will last for a total of 400 hours and will take place between the months of July and November 2010, with flexible hours to be agreed according to needs. Each student will be assisted by a tutor provided by the Master as well as a company tutor.

Hosting a student internship can bring certain advantages for companies. First of all it allows them to contribute to the in-service training of a new professional figure, maybe a potential future collaborator, an expert in innovative technologies with a wide spectrum of applications also suited to the company's own business sector. In addition, it gives the company the possibility of laying the foundations, without any financial implications, for potential innovative projects or feasibility studies to assess the advantages of a new technology in its own sphere of the market, in close collaboration with the research centres. In doing so, the company can also enjoy the technical and scientific support of the University and Fondazione Kessler, as well as benefiting from contacts at national and international level through the network of excellence in the field of science and technology promoted by the research institutions.

For further information on the master, contact the directors of the Master, Prof. Lorenzo Pavesi (0461 281605) and Dr. Mario Zen (0461 314500) or Dr. Barbara Sartori 0461 314665 )

The Master Nano Micro

The Master Nano Micro offers its students the opportunity of acquiring a wide raft of skills including "vertical", focussed on micro and nano technologies, and multidisciplinary (with elements of management, marketing and security) as well as applicational skills (from microelectronics to photonics, from mechanics to biotechnologies, from the environment to energy). A solid theoretical component together with continual reference to the applicability of the research results towards technological and industrial innovation.
The Master Nano Micro has been selected as part of the Operational program of the 2007 - 2013 European Social Fund of the Autonomous Province of Trento and receives financial support from the European Social Fund, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policies, and the Autonomous Province of Trento.

For further information on the Master: www.nanomicro.it