Other activities

Milano Hub engages in dialogue and cooperation with other Innovation Facilitators and Institutions to promote the exchange of experiences and the development of joint initiatives in the field of innovation.

Innovation Data Challenge

The initiative

In January 2026, Milano Hub and the Central Bank of Ireland launched the Innovation Data Challenge, a joint program designed to foster applied research and support innovation in the retail payments sector.

The initiative stems from the shared commitment of the two Institutions to promote international collaboration, the responsible use of data, and advanced experimentation with the technologies that are transforming the world of retail payments.

The collaboration with the Academia

Several leading Italian and Irish universities were invited to take part in the Innovation Data Challenge: Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Politecnico di Milano, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, University College Dublin, University College Cork, University of Galway, and the University of Limerick.

Participating students have access, through a dedicated platform, to a wide range of real and synthetic data to support their research on the retail payment market.

The research outputs are assessed by a panel of experts and presented during a Virtual Showcase with representatives from the Academia and the market.

Attachments

Official press release