Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste is a multidisciplinary international research center of excellence, specialized in generating high quality synchrotron and free-electron laser light and applying it in materials and life sciences. Its mission is to promote cultural, social and economic growth through: Basic and applied research; Technology and know-how transfer; Technical, scientific and management education; Role of reference in the national and international scientific networks. We develop excellence by providing state-of-the-art services for high-quality, internationally recognized research, thus contributing to enhance the positive impact and relevance of science on society.

The Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (FHS) is the university for technology, health and media. Here, 2,700 students receive training in the disciplines of Engineering, Business and Social Sciences comprising Tourism, Business Management and Social Work, Design, Media & Arts and Health Studies. This regional research and teaching institution, with its 320 staff members, is focused in solving applied questions with innovation purposes. With its international outlook applied in research and teaching, the university is a pioneer of future-oriented degree programmes and practice-oriented solutions for business and society.

Area Science Park is a public national research organization that promotes the development of innovation processes. For forty years, its mission has been to boost connections between research and enterprise, public administration and the private sector, supporting national and international initiatives and fostering territorial development. Area Science Park manages the multisectoral science and technology park located in Trieste which employs around 2.500 people. Over the years, Area Science Park accrued considerable experience in European projects’ management, under various Programmes: FP7, IEE, H2020, ETCP such as MED, Central Europe, IPA-Adriatic, Adrion, Italy-Slovenia and in the last 2 years Italy-Austria too. Within these projects Area Science Park often assumed the role of coordinator managing very large and articulated partnerships, thus allowing project teams to gain considerable experience in the operational and financial management of international initiatives. The development of partnerships with public and private entities aimed at allowing companies to take advantage of the advanced skills, laboratories and research infrastructures settled in Area’s campuses, is the purpose of one of the four lines of activity of Area Science Park, which is called Technology Platforms. Thanks to the development of the “Open Lab” methodology, which “opened” and made available research laboratories characterized by high scientific skills and equipment and instruments that are not easily replicable, third parties (public and private) can access to them to implement experimental activities in a structured and constantly monitored form. Area’s forty years of activity in supporting innovation with a multisectoral approach, made also possible to build a widespread knowledge of Friuli Venezia Giulia productive fabric and to establish a continuous dialogue with regional SMEs.

The Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS), with over 18,000 students and 2,800 employees in research, teaching and administration is the largest educational institution in both the city and province of Salzburg. As an integral part of the cultural and economic life of Salzburg, it is a meeting place between teachers and students, scientists and the public. The name of the university reflects its founding by Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron in 1622. Since the re-establishment of the University of Salzburg in 1962, it has developed into a modern and lively university that meets the highest requirements with its four faculties, Theology, Law, Cultural and Sociale Sciences, and Natural Sciences, in teaching and research.

Innovation Salzburg GmbH is the regional development agency and a technology transfer institution of the province of Salzburg with competences that integrate well with those of the associations and will thus enrich the project results and also enable long-term sustainability. Innovation Salzburg GmbH consists of about 28 employees and is financed by the Province of Salzburg, the City of Salzburg, the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Austrian Industries.