One Clik to innovation
There will be a virtual assistant to welcome and support the students that will be at work in the new space CLIK – Contamination Lab & Innovation Kitchen. This is the theme of the upcoming hackathon held on 27-28 September in the CLIK student design space that will be inaugurated at the Politecnico di Torino where innovative projects and prototypes will see the light before facing the challenges of real markets. The concept of CLIK is to offer students a space that stimulates networking activities between individuals of different knowledge backgrounds (contamination) and challenge themselves with advanced technologies resulting into innovation (innovation kitchen).
During the event scheduled on 27 and 28 September, students will be called to develop a project and produce a working prototype for the creation of an innovative voice-controlled virtual assistant. During this 2-day time, the combination of forefront technologies like Amazon’s Alexa and the low-cost development board Raspberry PI 3 will be used to help create a smart environment into CLIK with a voice-activated virtual butler to assist students with repetitive tasks.
The hands-on opportunity to “make” will provide the students with an innovative didactical way to experiment and apply the knowledge acquired in class, in addition to promote innovative concepts into CLIK which could generate business ideas or development for new patents, thanks to the knowledge transfer services offered at the Politecnico.
The Politecnico has decided to invest in this initiative by renovating the historical areas that once hosted for decades the university’s computing centre and promote the projects that will result from CLIK.
A key element for the success of CLIK are the sponsorships from industry partners that are contributing with providing access to leading edge technologies and defy students with technological challenges. The hackathon will not only be the inauguration of CLIK but also the launch of the collaboration with Conrad Electronic and Mouser Electronics as two important industry partners.
“We are proud to have been selected by Politecnico as partner of this new lab concept. CLIK is not only a laboratory, but a combination of skills and knowledge coming from students, professors and companies. It is a place where a new product inspires ideas and address new solutions. This is exactly what in Conrad looking for. With our 3D printers and other innovative products, we want to be a great fellow student”, commented Massimo Valtorta, Managing Director of Conrad Electronic Italia.
Mark Patrick, Mouser’s Supplier and Technical Marketing Manager for EMEA also commented: “This program is a perfect example of how Mouser is positioning itself as a technical marketing organization in Europe, supporting innovation and development. As a leading NPI (New Product Introduction) distributor we are delighted to be involved. We have worked with CLIK Lab leader, Professor Massimo Violante, before, and we are sure that his expertise and enthusiasm will ensure that this is a highly-successful program”.
“This initiative brings two values to our campus: first of all, it is an additional motivation for our students to graduate, secondly it is an opportunity to increase our ability to deliver innovation and create entrepreneurship spirit, giving a new dimension to the role of the university”, commented Emilio Paolucci, Vice Rector for Knowledge Transfer.