From our campuses

The creation of a more efficient entrepreneurial ecosystem, a network of business acceleration programs, and new support services for enterprises and startups. These are some of the objectives achieved by the EU4EG – “EU for Economic Growth”,project, started in 2021 to relaunch North Macedonia’s economy and strengthen its competitiveness in the context of the country’s accession to the EU. Area Science Park was among its partners. In particular, the organisation contributed to the capacity building of Macedonian companies by creating an online training platform and offering specialist support to companies and start-ups. EU4EG officially concluded on November 26 in Skopje with an exhibition that brought together all the project’s partners, key institutions, and other stakeholders. Among the speakers was Luca Mercatelli of Area Science Park (Institutional Relations Office), who presented three successful cases of research-industry cooperation: a training grant model for companies located in the Science and Technology Park, the Deep Tech Revolution call to support innovative businesses, and support for participation in EU funding programs. The protagonists of the exhibition were 24 startups and 25 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that benefited from funding provided by the project. They presented the results achieved over the past four years in terms of innovation, from the purchase of new machinery to the development of new production methods. Coordinated by the German Federal Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), EU4EG involved Area Science Park, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate, and the Central European Initiative (CEI). For more information, visit: EU4EG – EU for Economic Growth – Area Science Park.   

The InterLynk project, funded by the EU and lasting four years, achieved significant milestones in regenerative medicine by developing an integrated platform for the repair of complex tissues, such as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The platform combines advanced biomaterials, computational modelling, and an innovative 3D bioprinting system to create customised scaffolds capable of supporting the regeneration of both hard and soft tissues within a single structure. The project’s main innovations include: New Biomaterials: development of hydrogels and bone inks based on human-derived platelet lysates, rich in growth factors and protected by a patent, which serve as building blocks for the scaffolds Manufacturing Technology: a 3D printing system featuring a new “Print and Cure” printhead and an integrated electrospinning module, enabling real-time material solidification and adding ultrafine fibres to mimic the texture of natural tissues Clinical Approach: the work involved co-creation with surgeons and nearly 200 patients to ensure that the solutions aligned with clinical needs, aiming to bridge the gap in regenerative options that combine hard and soft tissues.   Impact and Future Perspectives InterLynk demonstrates the feasibility of more integrated repair strategies for complex defects, offering the potential for future alternatives to prosthetics, especially in cases such as severe damage to the temporomandibular joint. The work lays the foundations for personalised and clinically relevant solutions with potential applications across a wide range of musculoskeletal defects. Promoscience’s Contribution Among the eight European partners in the project, Promoscience played an important role in enhancing and disseminating the project’s scientific results, drawing on its long-standing experience in communication and digital innovation. As part of the scientific communication activities, it also organised workshops at the International School Trieste to introduce middle-school students to biotechnology and to the outcomes of the InterLynk project.

On October 16, 2025, a delegation from Ljubljana Technology Park visited Area Science Park. The visit aimed to deepen insight into the structure and operations of the science and technology park managed by the national research organization, with the goal of identifying areas of potential partnership and joint initiatives. The Slovenian delegation was welcomed by Andrea Zelco, Director of the Science and Technology Park Management and Development Department at Area Science Park. In his remarks, Zelco provided an overview of the institution’s history—founded in 1978—and its mission to contribute to the knowledge society by building bridges between research and industry while supporting both digital and green transformation. He also shared the park’s vision: to further develop and strengthen its research and technological infrastructures to promote deep-tech innovation rooted in cutting-edge scientific research. The meeting covered a wide range of topics that sparked strong interest among the guests. Following a general introduction to Area Science Park and its main lines of activity, the program included in-depth sessions on several key areas: life sciences initiatives, with a focus on the PRP@Ceric research infrastructure and the Genomics and Epidemiology Laboratory (LAGE); support for the growth of innovative start-ups; the IP4FVG European Digital Innovation Hub; the management and enhancement of services provided to companies located within the park.

Learning about the organization’s research activities and the management of its science and technology park, sharing best practices and creating opportunities for future collaboration were the primary objectives of the visit by a delegation from the Kosovo-based Innovation & Training Park Prizren (ITP Prizren), which took place on October 23. The delegation from ITP Prizren, an organization established in 2019 through a joint initiative between the German federal government and the government of Kosovo, with the direct involvement of the German Federal Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), was composed of the Kosovo park’s top management, GIZ officials for the Balkans, ITP board members representing the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Industry and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Kosovo government, and the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Pristina. Welcoming the guests was Salvatore La Rosa, Director of the Research and Innovation Division at Area Science Park, along with a large representation of the organization’s members active in various fields, from the science and technology park to start-up development. Topics covered included management practices for campus facilities and operational sustainability, strategies for attracting new tenants and the design of value-added services for tenant companies. Two tenant companies, Idrostudi and Promoscience, also participated in the meeting, sharing their experience at Area Science Park and the opportunities arising from their collaboration with the organization. The meeting was a lively exchange of ideas and experiences, a discussion of the strategies and challenges facing science and technology parks.  

Area Science Park has significantly upgraded the hardware infrastructure and computing power of ORFEO, the Data Center that serves as a cornerstone of the organisation’s research and innovation ecosystem. Supported by the PNRR – Mission 4 “Education and Research”, the Data Center expansion marks a major step forward in computing performance and in the delivery of advanced storage and data management services for scientific applications in numerical simulation and artificial intelligence.   A more powerful and sustainable Data Center The €3 million investment through PNRR funds has enabled the creation of a new 125 kW server room equipped with high-efficiency cooling systems, reducing both the carbon footprint and operational costs. Computing capacity has been enhanced with new servers for simulations and predictive modelling, supported by three AI nodes, each with eight state-of-the-art GPU accelerators. These resources make it possible to train large language models, run computer vision applications, and analyse complex datasets in a fraction of the time. Internal interconnections have been upgraded with ultra-low-latency, high-speed links to ensure smooth data flow even under heavy workloads. Storage capacity has been increased by several petabytes, with the addition of an ultra-fast solid-state memory layer for “hot” datasets, further improving performance and efficiency. “ORFEO represents a strategic investment for Area Science Park, enabling the full operation of the organisation’s research and technological infrastructures,” explained President Caterina Petrillo. “It manages the entire data lifecycle from our genomics and virology research laboratories, materials microscopy, and soon, from the green energy production demonstrator. ORFEO also provides AI and HPC access and services to companies, driving digital transformation and business competitiveness in coordination with the regional data center network. To sustain excellence and the quality of our data science investments, Area Science Park has developed an advanced training programme for young researchers and technologists”.   A key infrastructure for scientific research As the digital core of Area Science Park’s research activities, ORFEO supports advanced projects in artificial intelligence, materials science, computational biology, and genomics. Thanks to its high-performance architecture, the Data Center enables researchers to run complex simulations, train large-scale machine learning models, and analyse massive amounts of scientific data in a reproducible and traceable way. The infrastructure also powers a broad research ecosystem focused on AI model interpretability and the energy sustainability of computational processes. ORFEO hosts automated pipelines integrating high-performance and cloud computing, ensuring data interoperability and faster analysis. Its evolution strengthens collaborations with universities, research institutions, and national and European infrastructures, consolidating Area Science Park’s role as a hub for computational research and digital innovation.   An ally for digital business transformation Beyond supporting scientific research, ORFEO is a strategic asset for enterprises seeking to innovate through high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Area Science Park provides consulting services, feasibility studies, and Proof of Concept projects to facilitate the adoption of advanced digital solutions—from numerical simulation to data science—within a secure, high-performance environment.   ORFEO is Area Science Park’s high-performance computing and artificial intelligence Data Center, designed to support scientific research and industrial innovation. Established in 2020 to serve the life sciences, it now functions as a cross-sector platform integrating HPC, AI, and big data management. It enables the training of advanced models, digital twin simulations, and FAIR-compliant data repositories linked to the organisation’s experimental laboratories. The infrastructure provides services in Infrastructure, Platform, and Software as a Service (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS) modes, with ready-to-use environments and tools for data science and HPC. The cluster delivers millions of computing hours annually, is connected to national research backbones (LightNet, GARR), and follows open standards to ensure interoperability and security. Technical management is entrusted to the Data Engineering Laboratory (LADE), which brings together expertise in AI, data engineering, and high-performance computing.