The LifestyleTech Competence Center: A Platform for the Development of Promising Technologies and R&D Collaborations

The Association strategically promotes cooperation between companies like Microsoft and academic institutions like Università della Svizzera Italiana.

With well known big names like Accenture, Guess and Microsoft involved, the LifestyleTech Competence Center Association is on a mission to promote and support innovative companies. Hoping to benefit Ticino as a tech business destination when it comes to innovation and job creation in the region, the Association aims to promote synergies between relevant partners and to create a center of excellence for the lifestyle industry. 

Also known at LSTCC, the Association pursues the non-profit purpose of promoting and supporting innovative companies that conduct research and development in the fields of LifestyleTech, FoodTech, FashionTech, MediaTech, Traveltech, DesignTech, ArtTech, Smart working and Smartliving. This to improve their competitiveness, create skilled jobs, strengthening their innovative power and promoting the attractiveness of the region in social and economic terms. In particular, the Association aims to encourage synergies between relevant partners and to create a center of excellence for the lifestyle industry that supports the organic growth of the community at Swiss and international level. Also, the Association aims to promote cooperation between companies and academic institutions and the transfer of technology and knowledge.

An Innovation Hub To Transfer Technology and Knowledge

Supporting organic growth of the community at Swiss and international level, the nine founding members include Accenture, Bally, Dagorà, Guess, Hyphen, Loomish, Microsoft, the Scuola Universitaria profesionale Della Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI) as well as the Universita Della Svizzera Italiana (USI). Working together Nicolas Girotto, CEO Bally shared: “I am proud to announce our support as a founding member of the Ticino LifestyleTech Competence Center. Investing in talent and encouraging new ways of thinking is critical to enriching our business, leveraging innovation and sustainability for the next generation.”

Marianne Janik, CEO Microsoft Switzerland added: “We are really excited to be a partner of the LifestyleTech Association and look forward to working with the whole ecosystem at the Switzerland Innovation Park to drive innovation in Ticino. This platform is not only important for Ticino but for the whole of Switzerland because it brings together people who are tackling the important issues for Switzerland with creativity, courage, openness and curiosity.”  

“I believe that the Association will become a point of reference in the European innovation landscape and will attract many investments and research projects in our Canton”

Carlo Terreni, President LSTCC & CEO Loomish Investment Management

The Association plans to support and co-finance, research and development projects, the creation of equipped innovation laboratories, global scouting activity of scale-up technologies and community building, events and workshops. On their endeavours Carlo Terreni, President LSTCC & CEO Loomish Investment Management shared: “It is an honour to be appointed president of the LifeStyleTech Competence Center. Since its ideation, we have experienced an extraordinary engagement from universities, investors, brands and tech companies in the creation of an Innovation Hub for fashion, food, design and travel sector. I believe that the Association will become a point of reference in the European innovation landscape and will attract many investments and research projects in our Canton”.

With education playing a vital role in the foundations of the Association Boas Erez, Rector of Università della Svizzera Italiana believes that structured cooperations with companies are very important for USI, as they enable to extend our expertise and to create added value in the region. Adding: “We are happy to strengthen our presence in a sector in which we are already involved – for example with the Master in Digital Fashion Communication, offered in collaboration with Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris – and we are committed, from the outset, to championing Swiss talent in the fashion industry”.

Located in Lugano’s Dagorà LifestyleTech Innovation Hub is made up of offices, innovation and research laboratories, a media center, the latest technological tools for research and design projects and numerous innovation rooms. It is a space designed to attract universities, brands, investors, technology companies and start-ups to use to develop ideas, tools and strategies. LSTCC hopes to drive the next generation of digital companies in Ticino and beyond. 

Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.