A journey that followed in the footsteps of the digital revolution, in the place that is the global symbol of technological innovation, of the visionary and courageous creativity of the start-ups that have conquered markets and transformed the world over the last thirty years.

This is the summary of the California Tech Tour undertaken by Silvia De Cleva, Nicandro Alberto di Salvia and Francesco Zamar, the University of Trieste students who won the 2023 edition of the CLab Think Tank.

The stimulating week-long educational experience allowed the three young people to visit institutions and centres of excellence, among the most important and influential places of innovation development and entrepreneurship culture in the world.

The trip, organised by the UniTS Innovation Office, began in San Bernardino at the ESRI-Environmental System Research Institute and the University of Redlands, where they met leading figures from academic governance and the business world. 

Later, in San Francisco, they were welcomed by Consul Sergio Strozzi at the Consulate General of Italy. In the same city, the clabbers got to know the reality of INNOVIT, thanks to a presentation by Director Alberto Acito, who illustrated the possibilities offered to Italian start-ups in the US.

A highlight of the trip was the seminar at the UC Berkeley University Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, where the UniTS students were able to learn advanced entrepreneurship strategies. 

The trip concluded with a visit to Silicon Valley, where they were given access to Google, one of the companies symbolising the technological revolution and the web economy, and NASA, the world's most important aerospace agency and a leader in technological innovation. 

For our clabbers, it was an exciting experience in an international network of extraordinary dynamism, from which they returned with an injection of knowledge and expertise in business development.