In the first week of October, the TECH2X team from Esade and Università di Bologna took part in the International Design Factory Week (IDFW2025) hosted by Pace University in New York City — the annual gathering of the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN).
Over 67 participants from 14 countries — including Finland, Italy, Spain, the United States, Korea, India, Israel, Colombia, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Romania, Japan, and Singapore — came together to explore how universities can bridge the gap between deep-tech research and spin-off creation.
Through collaborative workshops, discussions, and hands-on sessions with academics and non-academics, the TECH2X team contributed to shaping new ideas on how the Design Factory mindset can empower Knowledge Transfer Offices (KTOs), entrepreneurial hubs, and researchers to transform scientific discoveries into impactful innovations.
TECH2X focuses on strengthening deep-tech innovation capacity and fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems within universities. The participation of our teams in IDFW2025 was a step forward in expanding collaboration with global partners and in training and co-creating tools that help academic institutions replicate and scale entrepreneurial practices in the deep-tech domain.
“We’re not just here to observe — we’re here to empower others. Let’s co-create, replicate, and scale,” shared the TECH2X team during the event.
The insights and collaborations sparked in New York will continue to feed into the development of scalable training pathways that support researchers in translating ideas from lab to market, reinforcing TECH2X’s mission to build stronger, innovation-driven higher education ecosystems across Europe.
Working with academics and non-academics at IDFW 2025