The projects developed within NETiX (Networked Industrial Systems) lie at the intersection of industrial engineering, network theory, and digital transformation, aiming to understand and manage the growing complexity of contemporary production systems.
Understanding how companies in an industrial production network address their technological dependencies and vulnerabilities , data governance, cybersecurity and the adoption of artificial intelligence in the current geopolitical context: this is the objective of the “ Digital Sovereignty ” project, jointly developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, LIUC University and Confindustria Varese.
This initiative, which combines JRC research activities, LIUC’s academic knowledge, and field experience, transforms a selection of companies from Varese, Lombardy, and Italy into a research laboratory for a pilot project.
One of the project’s main goals is to raise awareness among industrial players of the importance of digital sovereignty as a new strategic direction. The goal is to support them in assessing their technological and digital dependencies on various international players and identifying their vulnerabilities, then drawing conclusions on the scalability of the approach and its results.
Companies today operate in increasingly complex digital networks, consisting of platforms, suppliers, data, clouds, artificial intelligence, and expertise. These interdependencies can become strengths but also sources of risk if they are not recognized and managed.
Hence the dual objective of the Digital Sovereignty Project: to allow the JRC to collect information, drawn directly from the companies identified in collaboration with Confindustria Varese, which will help design relevant policies and, at the same time, to raise awareness among companies about their digital network, identify the areas of greatest vulnerability and understand where to strengthen autonomy, security and the ability to adapt.
Through a focus group methodology, the project aims to produce operational tools for businesses, empirical evidence to support EU policies, and advanced training content developed with the support of LIUC.
This is neither an audit nor a compliance exercise, but a guided process to transform digital sovereignty into concrete strategic choices, in which a sample of the Varese, Lombardy, and national productive fabric will act as a trailblazer for the rest of Europe.
Investigating the extent to which companies in the local textile sector are involved in industrial symbiosis, mapping their material and energy flows, and identifying collaborative opportunities for resource recovery: this is the objective of the “TESERE” project, jointly developed by LIUC – Cattaneo University and Confindustria Varese.
One of the project’s main goals is to raise awareness among industrial players about the strategic value of circular practices, particularly in alignment with the European Green Deal and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. In this context, industrial symbiosis serves as a valuable enabler, helping firms identify practical ways to reuse resources, reduce disposal costs, and create new value from secondary materials.
Hence the dual objective of the TESERE project: to advance the scientific understanding of symbiotic networks to help policymakers design better regulatory frameworks, and simultaneously to offer local companies practical tools to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy transition.
Identifying the most relevant recycling and treatment technologies to promote resource efficiency and sustainable production systems: this is the objective of our research.
This initiative focuses on the Material Matchmaking Platform (M3P) to support material matching and recovery strategies. The textile sector faces growing pressure to adopt circular economy principles, but comprehensive knowledge regarding the best recycling and treatment technologies remains fragmented.
One of the main goals of this work is to classify textile recycling technologies to identify priority technologies capable of achieving more circular textile production. the study aims to show how specific recycling methods can optimize resource use and facilitate the exchange of secondary raw materials.
This data driven approach aims to guide technological decisions and a transition toward a more circular economy. It provides empirical evidence to support local industrial symbiosis, helping stakeholders understand the systemic role of circular production system technologies beyond individual technical performance.
