Smart Week of the Executive Master in Food Innovation and Regeneration: four days into the future of food
3 February 2026Participants in the Executive Master in Food Innovation and Regeneration experienced their first Smart Week: four intensive days of company visits, meetings with the innovation ecosystem and project-based sessions dedicated to the possible futures of food systems.
The week opened in Modena with a visit to Italpizza, where participants explored the evolution of the frozen pizza category, the journey that led the company from private label co–packer to brand leader in Italy and an internationally expanding player, and a guided tour of the production plants, ending with a product tasting.
In the afternoon, the group was hosted by Tetra Pak at the Customer Innovation Centre in Modena, for a session focused on food & beverage trends, new tools for co-design with clients and the Digital Product Passport, followed by a company tour.
On the second day, the class travelled to Lavezzola (Ravenna), to Surgital, where the company presentation and factory tour were complemented by a training session with the Operations Director and the R&D team, confirming the key role of research in premium frozen fresh pasta. Returning to campus was an opportunity to rediscover Villa Guastavillani and the new facilities, and to take part in a team-building activity in the Sala del Ninfeo.
On Friday the focus shifted to Felsineo, a benchmark in mortadella production, with a company visit dedicated to supply chain processes and a product tasting lunch, before heading back to the classroom.
In the afternoon, Smart Week moved to the heart of the innovation ecosystem with “Almacube | Empowering Innovators”: a session led by the innovation hub and certified incubator of the University of Bologna, with contributions from Felippe Fontanelli, Francesco D’Onghia and Nicole Monti, dedicated to open innovation pathways for SMEs and corporates and to startup programs.
This was followed by talks from Vaimee, O-Damp, NuhPro and Altograno/Molino Casillo, bringing concrete cases on how to turn ideas into solutions, validate them with industrial partners and scale their impact. The day ended with a Veganuary networking aperitif with the Faculty, featuring a fully plant-based menu built around innovative products from food-tech startups: an experiential way to discover the new frontiers of plant-based food beyond the stage.
Smart Week concluded on Saturday with the workshop “Prosperity Thinking for Future Food Systems”, led by Matteo Vignoli, who invited participants to rethink food systems through the lens of prosperity, integrating economic, social and environmental dimensions and connecting what they had seen in companies with the long-term challenges of food innovation.
Taken as a whole, Smart Week enabled the Executive Master in Food Innovation and Regeneration community to move from direct observation of plants and products, to dialogue with startups and innovators, and finally to strategic reflection on the futures of food. A concrete example of how in Bologna Business School learning is built at the intersection of classroom, enterprises and the innovation ecosystem.
