The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) has been created in 1998, merging the University of Modena (founded in 1175, one of the oldest universities in Europe) with the University of Reggio Emilia. UNIMORE has just over 27,000 students, including 3,500 postgraduates, 900 faculty members and 15 graduate (PhD) schools. UNIMORE is located in the heart of one of Europe's wealthiest and most dynamic regions, which is world-renowned for its production of mechanical parts, engines, sports cars (e.g., Ferrari and Maserati) as well as for its agri-food sector, ceramic tiles and manufacturing industries. According to the most recent independent research assessment sponsored by the Italian Government, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is considered one of the best universities in Italy for teaching and research: it ranks among the top 8 medium-sized Italian universities for its high-level research and educational programs. UNIMORE offers state-of-the-art facilities with internationally sponsored research activities and, through the technopoles of Modena and Reggio Emilia, is an essential component of the Emilia-Romagna High Technology Network. Ongoing research is conducted by the university departments in collaboration with 11 integrated medical departments with numerous departmental and interdepartmental centers involved in specialized research activities. Many of them are nationally and internationally recognized. The university has a strategic commitment to promote research in the following seven major areas: i) advanced mechanics and automotive design: innovation in product development, materials and manufacturing; ii) smart ICT for smart social worlds; iii) stem cells and regenerative medicine; iv) nano- and emerging materials and systems for sustainable technologies; v) genomic and molecular medicine; vi) environments, food and health; and vii) models and methods for economic analysis: growth, business cycle, financial stability, public policies and innovation.

UNIMORE has an excellent international network being part of, among the other, BIC, FCH, ECTRI, ETP Nanomedicine networks including academic and industrial players. The University project portfolio comprises 90 Horizon 2020 projects, plus 60 projects financed by other international funders. UNIMORE is part of the High Technology Regional Cluster, involving all the Universities in the Emilia- Romagna Region.

Research Office provides RTD advisory, project management services, training and capacity building in transferable skills supporting the building of transnational collaborative projects and industry-academia partnerships. A dedicated Industrial Liaison Office supports spin-off and provides IPR tech-transfer advisory.

UNIMORE has also built a Nanomedicine Platform (www.nanomedicine.unimore.it) composed 70 principal investigators, 40 laboratories, 13 different departments involved dealing with different projects, technologies and platforms for the design, chemical synthesis, analysis, formulation, production and characterization of innovative approaches for curing difficult-to-treat diseases and mainly in the fields of Nanotherapeutics, Nanobiomaterials, Nanodevices and Nanocarriers for Regenerative Medicine.

The Department of Life Sciences (DSV) originates from the aggregation of the schools of Agriculture, Biosciences and Biotechnology, and Pharmacy and merges more than 120 faculties from the former departments of Agricultural and food sciences, Biomedical sciences, Pharmaceutical sciences, Chemistry, and Biology. The strategic objective of the Department is to coordinate, in a single organizational structure, the scientific researches and educational activities in all areas of science and technology for life. In particular, the mission of the Department is to harmonize and make synergistic cultural activities for human health and wellness, with a specific focus on genomics, bioinformatics and bioengineering, nanomedicine, gene and cell therapy, stem cells and regenerative medicine, and diagnostics and biosensors.

Departments involved in projects on nanotechnology are also reported below.

The Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering (DISMI), within the St. Lazzaro Campus in Reggio Emilia, conducts research, training and technology transfer in engineering and basic disciplines that support them. In particular, the researchers of DISMI are specialized in engineering management, mechatronic engineering and energy, in an integrated and interdisciplinary approach that includes all subjects of basic sciences. DISMI is characterized by an inherent interdisciplinarity in research. In the Department, a number of research groups of excellence span a multitude of disciplines, from physics and mathematics to information and industrial engineering, and conduct research activities that are deeply integrated within the international scientific community and the local industrial background.

Established twenty-five years ago, the "Enzo Ferrari" Department of Engineering was founded in the Academic Year 1990-91. Its main building, which covers more than 160,000 sqm, meets the highest teaching and research requirements. The Department regularly cooperates with renowned firms in the car manufacturing, chemical, mechanical, ceramics and biomedical fields, as well as enterprises in the sectors of information technology, telecommunications and industrial electronics. The Department has benefited from this productive network, and over the years it has improved and has further developed the high-quality level of its research and technological application.

The Department of Physics, Informatics and Mathematics is the main teaching and research place in the fields of Physics, Informatics and Mathematics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The first goal is therefore the training of students in these three disciplines for future involvement in both business companies and research work. The second but not less important goal is research, which covers various fields of physics, computer science and mathematics. The research is funded by a number of national and international projects, and industrial partners and is carried out in collaboration with Italian and foreign Universities.

The Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences operates in the field of fundamental and applied science putting together the competences developed in the areas of Chemistry, Geology and Evolutionary Biology.