(v.l.) “Today we are undersigning an agreement with CNR that defines us as a direct partnership. The charter is open also to other research organizations and enterprises, and is an example of the dynamic approach taken by Fondazione Bruno Kessler in particular and the Trentino research system in general”. These are the words pronounced by the President of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Andrea Zanotti, in his presentation of the event this afternoon in Povo on the occasion of the signing of the charter of understanding between the National Research Council (CNR) and Fondazione Bruno Kessler and of the inauguration of the joint FBK -CNR laboratories at the science hub located in Via alla Cascata.
The President went on to introduce the lecture held by Nicola Cabibbo, one of the most renowned physicists in Italy and in the world, who before a vast public in the conference hall of the FBK headquarters in Povo spoke about the power and the role of science.
“The power of science normally is not recognized, even though absolutely all aspects of life are affected by it”, said Prof. Cabibbo, among other things. “The loss of Italy’s best researchers via the so-called brain drain is also equivalent to the loss of future entrepreneurs. Basic scientific research can give rise to the stimuli needed for the development of new technologies and new products. The agreement you are about to sign will extend this cooperation in many fields of research”.
The concept was picked up also by the CNR president Luciano Maiani: “Investments are required in order to put science in contact with the business world and to reduce the gap between basic research and its applications. This is the direction taken by the charter being signed today in Trento between CNR and Fondazione Bruno Kessler”.
"The partnership with CNR – said the president of the Autonomous Province of Trento (Provincia autonoma di Trento)  Lorenzo Dellai – has been a constant for many years now. In 1963, Kessler pioneered this path, and today we are investing in research and in high level education. This charter is proof of the long history of cooperation based on the active participation of the Province of Trento, among others. The plan is to prepare other cooperation projects in various fields of research in sectors such as energy, environment, biotechnologies and more. To this end we will meet again to work towards a new preliminary charter. In short, today’s signing is the tessera of a mosaic that in part still needs to be drawn. With these innovative formulae and tools, such as programme agreements, we aspire at creating a territorial platform of research and high level education that is close to the local society as well as on line with Italian and international research”.
The event then proceeded with the inauguration of the new joint CNR-FBK laboratories located in Via alla Cascata 56 in Povo, and with the signature of the charter of understanding between Fondazione Bruno Kessler and the National Research Council.
The charter envisages the implementation of research programmes and projects of mutual interest between the national organization and the federation aimed at promoting new scientific and technological development in the following fields: photonics, bio-physics, micro-systems, innovative materials, nano- and micro-technologies,  nano-science, collaborative systems for terminology mediation, human language and multimodal communication technologies, software designed for the services and the management of distributed processes, and Ambient assisted living.
The cooperation, lasting five years, shall be launched via the creation of a Strategy Committee and of a Technical and Scientific Committee.