Focus on young talents, support the business sector, promote incentives for research and development, strengthen investments in startups and speed up the processes of ecological and digital transition for a more competitive Italy in Europe and in the world in the name of sustainability and Made in Italy. This and much more was staged during the third edition of the Young Innovators Business Forum, within the prestigious setting of the Testori Auditorium, promoted by Angi - National Association of Young Innovators in collaboration with the Offices of the European Parliament in Italy and in the presence of the 'gotha' of the world of businesses, institutions and opinion leaders of digital. The president of Angi, Gabriele Ferrieri, opened the proceedings and highlighted “the importance of relaunching that public-private partnership that is fundamental for the development of the Italian and European economy in the name of innovation, focusing on young talents and startups, on incentives and research to support the competitiveness of the country and of the economic and industrial sector.”
Following is the important message from the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin: “If Italy is a global leader in many sectors, we owe it to our ability to invent, to innovate, to create the new. This quality comes from our culture, from the will of scholars and businessmen. Italy is a country rich in inventiveness and poor in raw materials. This has always led us to seek original solutions, to assert our talents where others, instead, had resources. Doing more with less, using what others discard, taking new and never-before-traveled paths: it is a challenge, but this is one of the engines of Italian genius. Where others slow down, we are able to accelerate. We can see the fruits today. Italy is a G7 country, our economy appears healthier than others, it is among the greenest in the world and we export sustainable solutions. The other theme is the ecological transition, which is the twin of the digital transition. One without the other will not be able to resist, just as both are going through challenges that are crucial for our future. This is why the Italy of today and tomorrow welcomes events like the Young Innovators Business Forum with great favor. We need young people and innovators, so good work to all of you”.
The Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council, Alessandro Morelli, then spoke, highlighting how “Technologies must be considered as a large mosaic to obtain the best possible result. There are so many pieces: let's start with artificial intelligence, think about the cloud, 5G, the super computer. In Italy, thanks to government investments, thanks to the investments that are being produced regarding this national strategy of new technologies, we can smile at a near future that sees a path now traced. On the subject of the super computer, Italy is among the first countries in the world to have such a powerful one and the case is that of Bologna. As for the arrival of data, these days in Genoa the new cable pipeline is being inaugurated, which is really necessary to transport data from half the world to Europe through the Genoa channel. Then there are important investments related to the cloud and artificial intelligence: I am referring in this case to the government's announcement of the intention to invest about six billion euros precisely on this theme, on which the public administration must not be left behind, indeed, it must be the driving force of an entire supply chain to be formed that will follow. The task of young innovators is precisely this: to be protagonists also in the training of people."
The presentations will be accompanied by the interventions of technicians from CNR, ENEA, the Presidency of the Council and the Assessors Guido Guidesi of the Lombardy Region and Emmanuel Conte of the Municipality of Milan together with the main trade associations (including the intervention of Riccardo Di Stefano, National President of Young Confindustria) and the universities of the territory. To put the dots on what to expect for the future, the interventions of the Founder of Eataly Oscar Farinetti, the director of Wired, Federico Ferrazza and Giovanni Lionetti Ceo of Swag. On the ecological transition and sustainability front, the intervention of A2A is of particular importance, through the testimony of Patrick Oungre, Group Head of Innovation, CVC and Digital Hub A2A. “To confirm A2A's commitment to supporting the innovation ecosystem, we have recently launched two important initiatives. We are sponsors of the '360 Life II' fund, in partnership with 360 Capital, which aims to raise 200 million euros for investments in early-stage startups. The project involves the participation of institutional and industrial investors and has the ambition of becoming the largest national climate-tech sector fund and among the main ones in Europe in terms of resources and relevance. '360 Life II' will identify pioneering solutions and technologies to promote the energy transition and the circular economy, the two strategic pillars of the Group's new 2024-2035 industrial plan. Furthermore, we have launched in parallel the corporate venture building program 'Life Ventures', which aims to create and accompany new entrepreneurial realities to the market capable of contributing to the decarbonization process”.
On the agritech front, Patrick Gerlich, CEO of Bayer Crop Science Italia, followed, stating in his speech: "Innovation drives us to constantly seek new solutions to support farmers to ensure greater productivity and at the same time respond to environmental sustainability needs, optimizing the use of available resources. This occurs through a multifactorial approach that integrates the use of innovative agrochemicals, digital technologies that combine big data with artificial intelligence and genetic solutions that offer seed varieties that are increasingly resistant to adversities. Bayer is constantly committed to further strengthening synergies with all players in the supply chain, working closely with agricultural entrepreneurs and contributing to cutting-edge agriculture that supports Italian excellence". Gerlich in this context emphasizes the importance of regenerative agriculture which “represents the new frontier that Bayer is working on. A production model that maintains high production standards and environmental impact by optimizing the use of available resources and, for example, regenerating the soil at the end of the biological cycle of crops.”
The central moment of the event was the presentation to the Milanese ecosystem of the 'Manifesto for a competitive Italy under the banner of Open Innovation', which represents an important step towards a future in which Italy can be a protagonist of innovation at a global level. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Massimo Bitonci, spoke on the topic: "The manifesto is the mission of our ministry which, with its new name, aims to create innovation and new businesses. We have a precise idea about the various innovative sectors, the EU must indicate the objectives, leaving the member states free to reach them autonomously, each according to their own national excellence. Technological neutrality is important, according to which, once the objectives and parameters have been set, our excellences are free to take their own path".
Together with the undersecretary, important voices from the startup world on the theme of the Manifesto which saw the presence and intervention of: Federica Pasini, CEO and co-Founder of Hacking Talents; Manila Di Giovanni, CEO and Founder of D-World; Edoardo Di Pietro, Innovation Strategist, first graduate in the Metaverse, co-Founder of KIIAI; Mirko Puliafito, CEO of Digitiamo; Giusi Fiorentino, CEO Artificial Intelligence Monitoring; Alessandro Fadini, CEO of Virevo; Lorenzo Feruglio, CEO of AIKO. “Completion of the digital single market, harmonization of regulation among the twenty-seven Member States and a partnership relationship on artificial intelligence between the EU and American tech companies around common values.” These are the priorities identified by Flavio Arzarello, head of Economic and Regulatory Affairs at Meta for Italy. According to Meta, “Europe has the opportunity to recover the accumulated delay if in the next 5 years it arrives at a harmonized regulatory framework that accompanies and does not hinder innovation.” In this direction, Arzarello proposed to accompany each new legislative proposal with an “impact assessment on competitiveness through a rigorous economic analysis.”
In conclusion, of particular relevance is the third report of the Observatory on innovation and digital promoted by ANGI Ricerche in collaboration with Lab21.01 and edited by Roberto Baldassari, director of the Angi scientific committee. “The data collected and analyzed show the trend of innovation in Italy, the digital and ecological transition, the relationship with megatrends, the search for work and what the characteristics are for being an innovative company”, explains Prof. Roberto Baldassari, general director of the LAB21.01 polling institute and director of the ANGI Scientific Committee. “Young Italians put 'Request for experience' in first place (69,7%) followed by 'Poor propensity of companies to hire' (59,3%) and 'Difficulty for a graduate who is often considered too qualified'. Today - he continues - we have seen a very strong drop in this data, (-8,8% or 30,1%) thus rewarding the most qualified”.
But what makes an innovative company for young Italians? Last year's podium is confirmed with the same order that sees in first place 'investments in cutting-edge tools, machinery and technologies', in second place 'a management group' and in third place 'knowledge of digital tools'. Among the Megatrends of new technologies for the future in first place we still find Artificial Intelligence with (27,3% - +6,7 compared to 2023), followed by Blockchain (12,3%), Hyperautomation (11,2%) and Augmented Reality with (9,7%) and Nano technologies in the queue which however grow by (+1% or 9,6%). The topic of Cybersecurity always remains a topic of high interest even for the very young, as can also be seen from the results obtained. 30,8% of those interviewed said that it should be introduced as a school subject starting from primary school.
Article published on 6 June 2024 - 19:14
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