For The Second Time, The Aeroporti Di Roma Innovation Hub Is Putting Out A “Call For Ideas” To Local Startups. “Placing Emphasis On The Needs Of The Traveller”

As a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) has announced a second “Call for Ideas” from the startup community. Following the first ‘Call for Ideas,’ which resulted in the implementation of 10 projects chosen from over 100 applications, this new round of ADR’s acceleration programme will offer eight successful applicants the opportunity to work on their projects directly from the ADR Innovation Hub, which was inaugurated in October 2022 and is located at the heart of Terminal 1 at Rome Fiumicino Airport.

Aeroporti di Roma Vice President of Innovation & Quality Emanuele Calà says, “Following the successful initial ‘Call for Ideas,’ it is always much difficult to reproduce, but the goal is always to deliver value to both our company and the entrepreneurs we want to focus on this year.” To achieve this goal, we have refined both the terms of our agreement and the contracts governing the solutions’ eventual deployment. By anticipating their wants and requirements, we hope to put the traveller first.

Each startup can receive a maximum of €105,000, and their solution can be contracted for a maximum of €2 million.

Click here to apply to test your startup’s product or service at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. The application date is February 16, 2023.

We don’t want to put limits on things, as Calà puts it. “We welcome applications from entrepreneurs all around the world, but we’re especially interested in those that have a well-defined product or service and are eager to work with our “Innovation Cabin Crew” to refine it over the course of our program’s months.”

The accelerated time frame is capped at eight months, and the areas of concentration for the “Call for Ideas” are as follows:

Using cutting-edge technology, “predictive maintenance” provides answers that facilitate maintenance avoidance.

Improving final-stage processes by providing tools for increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Solutions that speed up the turnaround time for aircraft are needed to enhance airside operations.

Environmental impact: strategies for lowering carbon emissions and utility bills.

Value creation for the region, its people, and its natural resources is at the heart of our approach to community and sustainability.

Improved passenger service, both at the airport and beyond, is the focus of this field of study.

Commercial possibilities: approaches aimed at expanding business prospects.

An unrestricted zone where any new company can offer an answer, regardless of the problem’s subject matter, is ideal for disruptive solutions.

It’s our commitment to ongoing development that allows us to pioneer fresh benchmarks

Successful applicants will be paired with mentors from the ADR’s “Innovation Cabin Crew,” and through the program’s “Runway to the Future,” startups will be able to network with national and international partners and collaborate with a network of airports focused on innovation in a space designed specifically for them.

In order to expand the choices and share their expertise directly with entrepreneurs, Calà explains, “one of the big improvements for this year is that we have six corporate partners, which are the best in their area.”

Plug and Play Tech Center, a major private investor in Silicon Valley startups with over 60,000 startups in its portfolio, is one of the many organisations supporting the “Call for Ideas.” Airports for Innovation, a network dedicated to innovation launched in 2021 by ADR and Aena, has also gained the support of other international airports.

“We believe in a perpetual improvement strategy that allows us to set new benchmarks for the airports and, ideally, for the industry,” Calà says. We have been working on an automatic solution for Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRMs), autonomous delivery for retail, improved customer care and wayfinding, and a novel airside solution that we are piloting for all our stakeholders, including airlines and ground handlers, over the past few months.

FTE’s new digital innovation and startup hub takes “a true outside the box approach.”

The FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, of which Aeroporti di Rome is a Corporate Partner, is, as Calà points out, a crucial venue in which to exchange ideas, find new business connections, work together productively, and effect positive change. Joining the FTE Hub allowed us to work with a talented group of people who think creatively and whose ultimate goal is to bring together all of their partners and potential customers. “Collaboration is a real crucial feature that FTE is completing successfully since, at the end of the day, most of us are working on the same issues and technologies and even some technology, such as biometrics, can’t rely on a single touchpoint.

To learn more about how you can become a part of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub and contribute to our one-of-a-kind digital transformation and innovation community, please get in touch with us here.