We accelerate organizations and people with method
Upskill 4.0 stems from a vision: to innovate Italian manufacturing by bringing together businesses, young people, and local communities.
We started as a spin-off of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, based on an idea by Stefano Micelli, an economist and professor who has always been committed to promoting artisan knowledge and new Italian production models. From the outset, our goal has been clear: to strengthen Made in Italy by supporting companies in their innovation processes and involving young talent and local communities. The project was born at the intersection of technical training and academic research, with the contribution of partners such as UniCredit, which believed in our ability to connect territories, businesses, and new generations from the very beginning.
Over the years, we have become a point of reference for companies and territories seeking innovative solutions, vision, and methodology. This has been made possible by an ecosystem of collaborations with academic institutions and companies, including the Venice School of Management and the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics at Ca' Foscari University.
Since our inception, we have completed more than 150 projects nationwide, involving over 400 young people and building shared innovation pathways in public and private contexts.
Our commitment remains the same: to promote the potential of Italian-made products and their key players, to make businesses and regions more innovative, more inclusive, and more attractive to new generations.
About us
An interdisciplinary group of innovators who believe in the combination of training and innovation to help organizations face the future.
What we do
We design services, strategies, local initiatives, opportunities for co-
, co-design, and active training to help businesses grow through skills and digital technology.
Contact us
Do you want to solve a problem, increase your company's innovative potential, or enhance your team's skills? Contact us and we will help you chart a customized path.
The method
Upskill has developed a method that stems from research and is consolidated through experience working with companies and local areas. It is an original approach that combines analytical rigor, the ability to take action, and a systemic vision. Above all, it is based on one conviction: you can only learn and innovate by facing real challenges.
The method is based on the integration of Design Thinking and the specificity of Made in Italy: each project starts from a concrete challenge, emerging from a real need of companies, institutions, or territories. Starting from these challenges, we activate mixed teams—students, professionals, experts, administrators—to generate solutions that are applicable, transformative, and sustainable.
It is a method that:
- is based on deep listening and understanding of the context,
- brings together different skills and generations,
- allows you to learn through direct experience,
- turns research into a driver of real change,
- enhances technology at the service of Italian companies' working methods.
We apply it in all our areas—business acceleration, territorial innovation, research, and community—adapting it each time to the specific challenge.
We don't transfer knowledge. We activate people. We transform organizations and territories.