The Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino has signed a letter of intent to cooperate with renowned research institution Virginia Tech. According to a press release issued by the innovation park, this strategic cooperation is set to expedite innovation in key areas of artificial intelligence and drone technology.
The press release explains that the three main pillars of cooperation include advanced research and student exchange between the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) and Virginia Tech, applied research and vertical applications, and industry and market-driven innovation. The latter will be led by the Swiss Drone Base Camp together with Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership.
In Switzerland, Virginia Tech already runs the Steger Center for International Scholarship, based in Riva San Vitale, Ticino, which offers semesters abroad and summer study programs.
From 2032, the Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino will move into its permanent headquarters in the newly built SBB workshop quarter (Nuovo Quartiere Officine) in Bellinzona. From 2024 until the headquarters are ready, it will operate from the new site of the Lifestyle Tech Competence Center in Lugano, which is one of the Innovation Park Ticino’s competence centers. The other two are the Swiss Drone Base Camp on the former military airfield in Lodrino, Ticino, and the Life Sciences Competence Center in Bellinzona, which was established at the start of 2023.
