MERGING TECHNICAL COMPETENCES AND HUMAN RESOURCES WITH THE AIM AT CONTRIBUTING TO TRANSFORM THE ADRIATIC AREA IN A STABLE HUB FOR A SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

The Vision of Europe as knowledge-based society isfunded on availability and application of knowledge in allsegments of European life. Universities, as key provider ofknowledge, and industry, as its largest consumer, are twopillows of this vision. Academic Institutions has a double rolein provisioning of knowledge: "research" for creation of newknowledge and "education" as dissemination of currentknowledge. In this investigation, a four-year cross-bordercollaboration is described, including strategy, mechanismsand tools adopted for supporting a wider cooperation betweenuniversities and industry. Background, challenges andconcepts of long-term sustainability are also presented.Furthermore, a general overview of technical outcomes andadvances, provided by a research and development jointaction, thanks to this international cooperation, is illustrated.A deeper description regarding these technical investigationsis proposed in the following articles of this Special Issue on"Wood: an Ancient Material for a Modern Quality".