Technological transfer in an industrial sector in crisis. The relationship between universities and the clay brick and roofing tile industry in Italy

Abstract

Over the last two decades, technological transfer between universities and the clay brick and roofing tile Italian industry has changed profoundly, going from extremely strategic and anticipative experimental research, which produced product innovation, to research restricted to confirming performance levels of products and solutions already successful on the market. To fully grasp the opportunities for the two sectors to work together, context conditions must be developed able to facilitate the relationship and work plans must be drawn up for carrying out research in those market segments which look all set to grow, so as to provide the clay brick and roofing tile industry with a way to overcome its structural weaknesses and the errors of evaluation it currently suffers from.