The university system in Lombardy comprises 13 universities: seven state universities, five private universities and one higher education centre with special charter. There are 56 university departments of the Faculty of Medicine, 18 IRCCS – research hospitals (representing 42% of the national total), 47 institutes and 32 research centres.
In addition to universities, Lombardy hosts several prominent research centres, both private and public, among which there are 12 institutes of the National Centre for Research (CNR) and 18 teaching hospitals/institutions (out of 42 Italy-wide).
An Innovative Region
Lombardy is the premier Italian region in the field of life sciences thanks to the large number of companies, facilities, human and financial resources present in the area.
The system has a number of globally-recognised centres of excellence that are protected and supported by the distinctive Lombardy business model, one that is characterised by a mix of private–public financing, whereby public initiatives are implemented predominantly on a regional administrative level, and private initiatives take place fundamentally through banking foundations.
Special attention is paid to biotechnology. Of all the Italian companies that operate in biotechnology, 35% reside in Lombardy, and the region accounts for 73% of national investments in biotechnology research & development. These 78 companies employ 11,555 people and generate annual revenues of € 2.4 billion.
About 60% of the productive pharmaceutical enterprises operating in the country are located in Lombardy. In addition there are internationally-recognised universities hosting medical-scientific disciplines, sufficient to make the region one of the best international biomedical and biotechnology research centres in existence, particularly in the fields of genomics and nanotechnologies.
The Lombardy biotechnology chain includes not only large, midsize and small companies, but also modern science parks, internationally important universities, and clinical institutes and networks involved in experimentation. Within its territory there are about 500 Research & Technology Transfer Centres in the field of life-sciences, as well as six science and technology parks that are active in several highly innovative sectors, including life-sciences, bio- and nano-technologies, food and agriculture, and other fields. Lombardy hosts 24% of the courses dedicated to biotechnology and 25% of the Italian science parks.
The region offers an ideal location for research into medical devices, new drugs and innovative technologies.
Focus on "Human capital and the knowledge system in Lombardy".
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