The Interaction Design Institute Ivrea Association was founded on 16 June 2000 by Telecom Italia S.p.A. and Olivetti S.p.A. with its headquarters in Ivrea (TO). It is part of Telecom Italia's Progetto Italia.

The Association's members contribute to the achievement of the Association's goals by actively promoting the Association's image in the countries and markets in which they operate and in the scientific and financial communities of their own countries, particularly regarding venture capital. They collaborate with the internal bodies of the Association in attracting the most brilliant and inventive students. They enable students and researchers to get to know their companies' operations and have access to their laboratories. They collaborate with the Institute's laboratory on research projects and send their own researchers to it. They also give bursaries directly to particularly deserving students.

Its mission is to carry out activities directly or indirectly aimed at developing technological and cultural knowledge, managerial training and business initiatives.

The Association pursues these aims by the creation and the support of Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, which operates in the sector of interaction design (linked to the area of communication services) and consists of a Masters programme and a design innovation research laboratory.

The Institute is an advanced learning institute and an international centre of excellence, characterised by a strong orientation towards experimentation and multi-disciplinary approaches. It is open to students and researchers from anywhere in the world.

The Interaction Design Institute Ivrea Association originated from the desire to merge creativity with the new cultural impulses coming from all over the world. It is an international network where professional skills and entrepreneurship merge to create new communication services.

The cultural mission of the Institute is clearly stated in its ethical principles:

The Institute aims to achieve international standards of excellence in the fields of interaction design and the specialised post-graduate and professional education of researchers, professionals from various backgrounds, intellectuals, artists, designers and people in related fields. The Institute pursues these goals through the quality of its academic activities, which include research, teaching and practice, and through its relationships with educational institutions, business entities and design related technologies.

The Institute intends to achieve its objectives by:

• Promoting a high level of understanding and development of the principles, values and practices of interaction design.
• Encouraging individual creativity and innovative teamwork throughout the teaching body, which includes professors (with fixed term tenure), associates, visiting professors, tutors, lecturers, professional researchers and other teachers, and all the other human resources involved.
• Choosing teachers of proven excellence within their field of study.
• Choosing people of proven ability as students and promoting their further professional growth.
• Exploring innovative applications of particular technologies and processes within the context of interaction design.
• Stimulating the understanding of more general cultural, social and environmental developments related to or connected with the study of interaction design.
• Encouraging the knowledge of cultural, social and environmental developments of a global nature, where such developments relate to, or are connected with, the study of interaction design.

The Association's assets consist of:

• The original contributions, and subsequent ones made to reconstitute or increase them, according to the commitments underwritten by the Associates when they enter the Association.
• Any funds made up of the excess of income over expenses from operations.
• Any contributions, receipts, donations or gifts, which may also come from third parties who are not Associates.

The income of the Association consists of:

• Revenues and income, which accrue to the Association from any source whatsoever, relative to services and activities carried out by it.
• Any other income, which accrue to the Association.

The Associates can be industrial, commercial or financial enterprises with either their main headquarters or a significant presence in Europe, which are privately controlled, agree with the aims and objectives of the Association, and make a request for admission, accompanied by a declaration accepting the Articles of Association. The Board of Governors decides upon the admission of Associates. In case of liquidation and the ending of the Association, any residual funds will be passed on to another association, foundation or entity with similar, and/or related, objectives to those of the Association.

It is important to point out that the Association ensures a constant flow of relationships for interaction design projects, between businesses and research centres outside the Institute on one hand and students, researchers or internal work teams on the other. This also enables the Institute to receive contributions and financing for the supply of real services. This funding is then used to support the teaching and research activities. The Association pays particular attention to participation in European research programmes financed with EU funds.

Financing methods

External businesses and organisations can sustain and support the activities of the Association in the following ways:

Participation in ongoing thematic projects.
Partner companies can establish mixed work teams (company/institute) aimed at developing integrated design activities with groups of interaction designers and students on projects relevant to the academic programme of the Institute. In this way they can use these new methodologies experimentally and eventually contribute to the further development of possible applications of products and services developed during the teaching activity.

Pilot project sponsorship.
External organisations can commission from the Institute in-depth international research on new interaction design pilot products/services relating to areas of mutual interest.

Post-graduate bursaries.
Partner companies can support the Institute's activities by promoting competitions for two-year stipends, aimed at specific categories of students.

Projects analyses and design clinics.
Companies intending to develop a new product or service that has specific relevance to interaction design can obtain the support of work teams guided by teachers and experts.

Prospecting visits and meetings.
Many companies possess technologies and expertise which have untapped potential in different applications or markets. Designers are good at making these lateral connections. Companies can request that the Institute provides a special team of designers who explore at the requesting company's premises the technological or market potential of developing these products or services.

Annual end of year gathering.
Each year companies and financial partners are invited to a two-day encounter with students and researchers. This gives them the chance to visit the Institute and have direct contacts with students and teachers.

Specialised research services.
The Association can, on request, arrange meetings on specific themes, documentary research, and the planning and implementation of brief courses for external persons on various subjects.