Gucci is partnering with Bocconi University to launch the Gucci Research Lab. This new three-year research project is designed to develop the so-called soft skills, and how factors like mindset, risk-taking and staff empowerment can enhance performance and growth, with a focus on the fashion and luxury industry. The underlying idea is that a company's culture can be a crucially differentiating factor for companies of all sizes. A team of four professors, coordinated by a Lab Director, will engage in research in to these topics. At the end of each year of the project, academic findings will be released in a public paper. Founded in 1902, Bocconi is a private university based in Milan. This new partnership is part of the ongoing relationship between the institution and Gucci. The Italian luxury house annually picks talents from Bocconi's Luxury Talent and Corporate Associate programs, placing these graduates in internship positions within the company. The launch of the new research lab has made Gucci a strategic partner of Bocconi University.