Is it enough to have an all-round cultural education and a winning idea to run a business? How do you start up a company with scarce economic and infrastructural resources? The Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, with its Acceleratore d'Impresa business incubator unit, wants to answer these questions positively, by offering young, aspiring business owners the opportunity to become part of the Italian industrial market. And the even better news is that the Fondazione is also supporting the development of young businesses that are already started up, offering them managerial training and business consulting services.

Since 2007 the Fondazione has run the Acceleratore d'Impresa del Politecnico di Milano, a university business incubator that hosts innovative start-ups and supports their growth. Since its beginnings, the Fondazione Politecnico has enabled incubated businesses to form close ties of cooperation with a network of institutions, industries, financiers and associations, in order to breathe life into their businesses and to identify new possibilities for development. The Politecnico has also run managerial training programmes for would-be business owners, and it has teamed them with business consultants with extensive experience.

Particular interest has always been devoted to scouting, inside and outside the Politecnico, to find young people who have the entrepreneurial "right stuff" and business ideas with a high potential for success. Every year a competition called the "Start Cup Milano Lombardia" (Milan & Lombardy Start Cup) is held. As well as a cash prize, the winners have the chance to be hosted at one of the incubator units in Lombardy run by the eight participating universities. And the first five go forward to compete for the National Innovation Award (Premio Nazionale per l'Innovazione), a sort of "champions' cup" for the best high-technology business ideas. In 2008 this event was held by the Fondazione Politecnico and by the Acceleratore d'Impresa at the Bovisa campus in Milan. More information is available on the www.pnicube.it website.