EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
Documents concerning this section include mainly research work and educational material for the management and promotion of various aspect of technology innovation. Concerning research our interest is mainly in development of methodologies and understanding the process of technology innovation particularly in structures such as industrial clusters. We have tried in such case to use concepts, methods and repr4esentations typical of the Science of Complexity. The interest of such science in supplying models and descriptions of typical processes in industrial districts has been already acknowledged. We may cite for example a conference on this subject organized by Fondazione, Comunità e Innovazione at Milan in June 2001. In such occasion we had the possibility to hear conferences of two world famous figures in Science of Complexity: John Holland and Murray Gell-Man, Nobel Prize in Physics, and founder of the Santa Fe Institute that represent the most important research centre in this discipline. References to Science of Complexity permeate many documents and articles reported in the various section of this site.
Working documents include an extensive note on complex systems summarizing many important aspects of the Science of Complexity and a work on a model of technology, described as an ensemble of processes organizes in terms of technological operations. This model is an extension of previous models, already developed for activities such as learning by doing, and covers the whole process of technology innovations, including R&D, and presents an example of application in planning research experiments.
About publications there is an article concerning education and dealing with updating of chemistry arguments learned in the secondary schools based on teaching experiences. This work would show that the more recent aspects of chemical science i.e. atoms and molecules descriptions, that are fundamental in the field of nanotechnologies and biotechnologies, may be introduced to students of secondary schools promoting the interest of students toward these topics that may lead to a favourable view on research and technological innovation.
Concerning available educational material we have reported a collection of lectures and presentations of various courses given on technology. R&D and technological innovation management in the frame of a post education activity of SUPSI, the professional university school in Lugano (Switzerland) in academic years 2001/02 and 2002/03. There are also presentations for a course on environmental technology management given by Unione Industriali del Verbano-Cusio-Ossola to technicians of industries of this province, and a prepared course on management and promotion of technological innovation in SME. Finally there is a documentation work in not traditional teaching of chemistry in secondary school already cited previously.