Space: Valente (ASI), Accelerating Startups

The sector can count on global excellence in scientific and technological fields and on important resources, also thanks to Pnrr, but to guarantee the future it deserves, it is necessary to stimulate the birth of start-ups to keep pace with the technology field. “Innovating and increasingly leading young people towards STEM courses,” explained the head of the Italian Space Agency, Teodoro Valiente, to whom we asked some questions on the sidelines of the opening of the exhibition, sponsored by ASI itself. Italy’s technological and scientific skills in the field of space, through distinguished missions, space programs and cosmic sciences.
Question: Can the G7 presidency be positive about Italy’s candidacy to host the Einstein Telescope?
– R: “I hope that the G7 presidency will be a positive element. “We have had a relationship for several years with the National Institute of Astrophysics, we have always worked together, we have always worked as a system, so I hope it will pass. There is full support from the ASI, that is clear.”
– Q: Is this ability to create order also reflected in the industrial complex? What does he need to improve?
– A: “In the industrial complex, the ability to create a system exists due to the presence of large players operating in the supply chain of small and medium-sized enterprises, which has grown significantly in recent years. What does he need to improve? We need to give some impetus to the procedures that allow startups to be born, because, given also what happened abroad, they represent the most dynamic realities – and this is not a criticism, it is a matter of a regulatory nature – where innovations are born more quickly. This is a measure that we have implemented and will adhere to.”
– Question: Is Italy’s provincial system also reflected in the space sector?
– A: “Yes, in Italy there are twelve technology parks as well as a national space technology cluster and about 70 R&D nodes with the participation of universities and public research bodies at the national level. There are many areas where public-private partnerships are being created and tested. With the recent advent of commercialization of space activities and the entry of individuals, they cannot be left off the table.
– Question: Are there enough young people in universities choosing the necessary skills to ensure that the sector does not find itself under-resourced in the future?
– A: “We have a training system of absolute excellence that is recognized all over the world, but we need – but we are not alone if we look even just at Europe – to give a boost to interest, and therefore enrollment, towards degree courses known as STEM degrees And mathematics (STEM), and also looks at the high abilities and qualifications of female students, and therefore courses in science, engineering and mathematics. We need to make an effort to ensure the growth of numbers, this is important. This does not mean that space activities depend only on qualified resources in this sense, which is certainly essential “But there are other aspects that are also necessary. It is a multidisciplinary sector but the field of STEM degrees definitely needs to be strengthened.” (I come)
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