Pirelli has always believed in the potential of young people in whatever field they operate. And for those who work in research on innovative new materials, the focus and attention is ever higher thanks to the work of the CORIMAV.
The worlds of university and work have changed dramatically. The CORIMAV was created to deal with this changing world, and through it Pirelli has financed research doctorates for Materials Science students at the Bicocca University since 2001. It gives a chance for young students to work elbow-to-elbow with Pirelli researchers, getting to know the materials, the company and the philosophy behind tyre production.
The initial objective of CORIMAV, back in 2001: develop cutting edge technologies in the field of new materials, support research and experimentation with the aim of producing patents, and promote initiatives for training and professional updates for new researchers.
Today, CORIMAV enters a new phase: the consortium has evolved over the years, as have the research goals and the needs of the company. Research is becoming ever more structured and sustained, and from 2010 CORIMAV has worked on projects which are increasingly focused on tyre production. For the last six years, CORIMAV has transformed itself into a natural channel for knowledge and resources from the university to the company and vice versa.
Around 20% of scholars have later been hired by Pirelli: the last two examples being Antonio Susanna and Luciano Tadiello, CORIMAV PhD students who have come to work in Pirelli R&D and whose work has contributed to two patent applications on new materials for tyres to reduce energy consumption.Tyres which are more and more ecological, the focus of the work of the Consortium in recent years.This work is not only concerned with production, but also the disposal of tyres: CORIMAV is working on a biological vulcanisation process, where bacteria and other biological agents are used to treat tyres at the end of their life cycle.
Thanks to the CORIMAV PhDs, Pirelli has been able to steadily observe the growth of the researchers from the beginning to the end of their academic path and giving them the possibility of making contact with the Pirelli people and products, making it much easier if they later end up working in the company's Research and Development Lab.Having the chance to get to know all the elements of tyres during their studies - all the PhD projects are related to research and development of innovative materials applied to tyre production - allows the researchers to already acquire familiarity and confidence with the subject: in this way, once their studies are finished, they are already ready to work with the Pirelli researchers, bringing fresh and new ideas from university inside the company, with the two thriving sides of the new district of Bicocca in full synergy.
Today CORIMAV is a true bridge of knowledge, know-how and innovation, destined to last for a long time.
"The experience of the Pirelli-University Bicocca Consortium," commented Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli, "Confirms that companies and institutes of higher learning can activate virtuous circles which benefit both education and economic growth. We work with various university departments which represent excellence on an international scale and who help us to realise our most innovative projects and improve our products."
"With the renewal of the CORIMAV Consortium," said Cristina Messa, dean at the University of Milano-Bicocca, "We reconfirm the commitment of our university and Pirelli to investing in research and innovation in new materials. For fifteen years the activities of the Consortium have enabled us to develop advanced industrial research projects and start up original professional higher education courses such as the industrial PhD. This agreement, of which the CORIMAV Consortium is one of the most interesting and activate participants, is part of a wider strategy of appreciation and promotion of the knowledge and innovation that the University of Milano-Bicocca and Pirelli, together with other partners, are producing with the Bicocca District project, a new network of institutions and companies committed to developing the exchange of skills and opportunities, as well as the development of services and the growth of human capital."
