1 – What does your company do?

012factory Spa Società Benefit is a certified Business Incubator and Center for Technological Transfer. It supports the growth and development of startups and innovative SMEs, and the implementation of innovative products and processes in traditional enterprises. It also fosters the economic growth of territories through cross-fertilization and networking. B Corp certified and attentive to the well-being of employees and partners, it combines business activities with impact driven practices for ESG sustainability in collaboration with local NGOs.

Since 2014, it runs 012Academy, a free 6-month training programme for innovative entrepreneurs. It combines training and education projects with research work on the issues of innovation, long-term economic growth and the role of technology in economic and social development processes, in partnership with universities and research centers.

012factory has experimented with a method registered as Peer Innovation®. This is the basis of 012Tech, the first Italian consortium of startups founded by 012factory with the purpose to provide companies with the digital transformation services necessary for innovation. According to this approach, the SMEs come together in order to accelerate process or product innovation. Moreover, the startups collaborate in a structured way to be more competitive in the offering of technological innovation, rather than becoming subcontractors of large companies. The cooperation among peers enables the consortium to increase the offer capacity in B2C markets and its presence in the B2B market.

2 – Why did you decide to join the EU4EU programme? 

We believe that innovation is a collective process and the access to an international network that connects us with students from all over Europe is a good opportunity.

3 – Was it easy to join the programme?

Yes, the process is simple and the platform easy to use.

4 – How important do you think it is for a company to work internationally?

Internationalization is something we are working on. Our team is small but the network is growing, including well-known partners at a national and international level. It is a need of our organization and our incubated startups to have an international breadth.

5 – What are the advantages of working with a foreign student in your team?

Cross-cultural exchange (including discovering traditions and local cuisine), sharing approaches and ideas, bringing a breath of fresh air in the team.

6 – Based on your experience, how fast the students learn what they have to do?

In our team, activities vary periodically. Students are very smart and adapt to the dynamic environment quickly, handling different tasks along the traineeship period. They usually take a week to be able to work autonomously when involved in a new activity.

7 – How well trainees manage to adapt to the working environment?

It depends on the personality of each trainee, but our working environment is informal and welcoming, so they understand that they can feel at home and usually get to feel at ease very quickly.

8 – Will you participate in the EU4EU programme?

Yes, we participate every year.

9 – Would you suggest another company to join the EU4EU programme? Why?

Yes, we encouraged our startups to join, as it is crucial for startups to connect with international students to foster the cross-fertilization in their teams.