Atenei co-generatori di conoscenza e relazioni: il laboratorio del Piemonte orientale

[Machine translation] The short article published in the issue of the UPO magazine dedicated to research and public engagement focuses on a project carried out as part of a research grant supported by the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino Foundation. The research is dedicated to the relationship between universities and society. Universities compete and collaborate, in globalized networks for research, recruitment and placement of students, and doctoral students, continuing education, technology transfer. At the same time, they are regionalized and part of “local innovation systems” are discovered. As “mooring” institutions for their territories, universities tend to become partners and co-producers of knowledge, maintaining relationships structured on multiple levels and territorial scales. These processes are interpreted as emerging phenomena of social organization in and of space. Eastern Piedmont, in this scenario, is an illuminating case. Here, the birth of a new university was decisive for the formation of a geographical entity previously devoid of historical and political-cultural identity. The case study is divided into three levels. The first consists of the “upo” university in the context of eastern Piedmont; a second level of analysis, on the other hand, examines two departments, selected because they are more active, in proportion, in collaborations with companies and third parties. Finally, the third level of analysis consists of the in-depth study of three projects involving UPO and other local actors.