About us

Oper.Lab is the Open Innovation Observatory of the Department of Management at the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, which supports the innovation ecosystem of Emilia-Romagna by analyzing, promoting, and designing concrete and replicable models of Open Innovation for organizations.

Oper.Lab identifies and systematizes successful cases, best practices, and experiences related to scientific publications on Open Innovation.

Specifically, the Observatory focuses on understanding and spreading the culture of Open Innovation in the region, identifying local and international best practices, and designing and experimenting with frontier methodologies and formats in partnership with stakeholders.

The community of Oper.Lab includes researchers from universities in the Emilia-Romagna region, innovative professionals, founders, affiliated companies, and international mentors.

What is the purpose of Open Innovation?

The goal of Open Innovation is to accelerate innovation processes through more effective collaboration among different actors in the region (companies, research centers, universities, startups, recent graduates, and students), leveraging knowledge, skills, opportunities, and technologies.

The Observatory is focused on understanding and spreading the culture of Open Innovation in the region, identifying the best local and international practices, and designing and experimenting with the most innovative methodologies and formats in partnership with associated companies.

Network

Oper.Lab is one of the three pillars of OPER.space, the Open Innovation factory of the University of Bologna. Oper.Lab conducts research and development on Open Innovation methodologies, while Almalabor focuses on education for students and faculty, and Almacube provides services to businesses.

Almacube

Almacube is the incubator and innovative hub of the University of Bologna and Confindustria Emilia Area Centro. We work to promote the economic development of the territory through innovation and the development of young companies, collaboration with established companies, and education of new generations in an entrepreneurial approach.

Almalabor

Almalabor is a Maker Space - a prototyping laboratory for realizing the prototypes of your business ideas, as well as a coworking and training space, where knowledge is shared to develop useful skills for creating new entrepreneurial ideas.

Design Factory Global Network

DFGN is a network of innovation hubs located in various universities and research institutions across the five continents of the world. A design factory is essentially a co-creation platform that involves students, universities, and research institutes, and is based on passion and collaboration among different cultures.

Oper.Lab is the design factory of Bologna.

Community

Map of european research centres, universities, laboratories with which we actively collaborate in funded research projects (Erasmus+, Horizon).

Want to know more? Contact us

Oper.Lab

Via Umberto Terracini 28 - 40131 Bologna

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