Design as a driver of change. This is the idea behind the new partnership signed by the Dexelance group with POLI.design, the postgraduate training and innovation center founded by the Politecnico di Milano.

The agreement establishes a multi‑year collaboration on two levels. On one side, a Design Advisory program dedicated to the Dexelance group, including international market analysis and strategic support; on the other, a series of vertical pilot projects involving selected brands.

The first two case studies feature Saba and Davide Groppi. For Saba, the initiative takes the form of an Education partnership focused on new retail models. A workshop has been launched to explore the evolution of retail spaces as places of interaction and experience, capable of engaging younger audiences and contemporary languages. With Davide Groppi, a “Sustainability Design Lab” has been created to integrate sustainability principles into creative and production processes, with a pilot project based on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) criteria.

The program also includes talent‑development initiatives and exchanges between academia and industry, with the aim of strengthening the role of design as a bridge between education, research and business.

According to Giorgio Gobbi, Managing Director of Dexelance, “a structured dialogue between business and academia is an innovation accelerator, capable of generating tangible value for companies and supporting them in developing international markets”. For Walter Ruffinoni, General Director of POLI.design, “this collaboration stems from a shared commitment to work on design as a strategic lever to read the present and shape the future”.