CBI.ATTRACT

Project at a glance

The process is articulated in three phases:

• Discover: Tech understanding and opportunity identification
  This first phase is aimed at deeply understanding the assigned technology to be exploited, defining the technology abilities, assuming various potential applications in different fields, running a first validation with users and experts, verifying the early feasibility of the most promising fields with the ATTRACT project partner, in order to narrow down the opportunities.
• Design: Critical Prototypes
  This phase is aimed at developing a few concept solutions based on the chosen opportunities, at developing multiple prototypes and testing them with relevant users to verify the expected experience, and at testing and overcoming the most critical feasibility issues along with the Attract Project Partner.
• Develop: Proof of concept
  This last phase is aimed at developing the Proof of Concept, a functional prototype of the solution, designing the solution details and its validation with relevant stakeholders, and planning the implementation strategy.

Public summary

The aim of CBI.ATTRACT is to develop the students’ entrepreneurial mindset as future innovation players while ensuring the valorization of existing innovative technologies and applying them to resolve societal needs. In 16 weeks, 5 inter-university teams of multidisciplinary students investigate breakthrough technologies to exploit their potential and develop relevant solutions to solve society, human, and ecosystem needs.

The program methodology is a hybrid model based on the human-centred approach of Design Thinking and Tech-Driven Innovation processes to nurturing the students’ ability to identify and evaluate technology opportunities with societal impact on a global and local level.

Students will connect with researchers, either with those who developed the imaging technology and with other experts, to acquire a technical understanding of the technology; with users and professionals from different fields to understand the technology’s potential impact in different contexts; finally, they will develop various ideas in an iterative process and will verify with users which applications have more potential. Teams are supported by local coaches, valorizing knowledge from Attract researchers and Ideasquare professionals during scheduled design sprints.