Testimonials from our members in the world of education

Testimonials from our members in the world of education

On Thursday, March 25, the classes of the Technical Institute of Borgonovo Val Tidone participated in a meeting with the entrepreneur Mary Franzese , a member of Women & Tech - Women and Technology Association. The STEM project of the Technical Institute of Borgonovo Val Tidone, funded in 2020 by the Department for Equal Opportunities, is coordinated by Professor Simona Corsini , a teacher of applied mathematics. Here is the reportage made by the students and published on PiacenzaSera.it on April 10. The meeting began with an initial presentation by the startupper who shared her story and career, then allowing space for the curiosity of numerous students who took the opportunity to ask her questions. The entrepreneur talked about how, after receiving rejection from her father to join the family business, she decided to leave her homeland to graduate in Business Economics. After studying abroad in Finland, Argentina, and China, once back in Italy, after enrolling in the Master's in Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy at SDA Bocconi in Milan, she became the co-founder of Neuron Guard, an innovative start-up that developed a system for managing brain temperature in intensive care, emergency, and sports medicine. Mary is part of "Women&Tech - Women and Technology Association," an association created to promote female talent in technology, innovation, and scientific research and to promote projects and actions aimed at fighting stereotypes and gender discrimination. In this regard, she talked about how she often faced prejudices as a woman in the technology field and how she managed not to be demoralized by continuing to fight for her goals. She emphasized how resilience is important for creating a start-up, to learn not to be discouraged by obstacles and to keep the goal in sight. She also highlighted the importance of knowledge of foreign languages, especially English. The world of start-ups is an increasingly relevant topic, especially for those entering the workforce; what struck the students the most during the "chat" with Mary Franzese, as she defined it herself, were the simplicity and clarity with which the entrepreneur addressed this topic. Anna Daturi On April 22, the students of IIS Alessandro Volta in Borgonovo Val Tidone met the entrepreneur Elena Sgaravatti , President of Plantarei, Co-founder & SH, DemBiotech, member of Women&Tech - Women and Technology Association and Technovisionary 2020. Here is the reportage made by the students and published on PiacenzaSera.it on May 13.

In recent days, a video conference was held between Dr. Elena Sgaravatti and some classes of the Technical Economic and Technological Institute of Borgonovo Val Tidone. Currently, Sgaravatti is involved in Planta Rei, an innovative plant biotechnology start-up, founded by herself, which pays particular attention to enhancing the biodiversity of Italian flora. "Transferring research knowledge and turning it into innovation" is what the doctor refers to as the company's goal. In her nearly thirty-one years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, she has held managerial positions in various companies: in 2009, she accepted another challenge and revived the fortunes of a biotechnology company on the verge of permanent closure, so much so that the English multinational Croda International plc decided to acquire it. During the meeting, Dr. Sgaravatti offered her knowledge on biotechnology and sparked interesting reflections on various topics closely related to each other: from waste to supply, soilless cultivation, viruses, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.
The key, says Sgaravatti, is to "consume intelligently" because it is necessary to preserve natural resources. "Plants are of fundamental importance: they produce substances essential for our bodies, which alone are not able to produce." She continued explaining that biotechnologies, mistakenly considered harmful, contribute to the healthy growth of foods such as out-of-season vegetables, allowing to cope with the difficulties triggered by rising temperatures and the consequent depletion of agriculture. At the end of the conference, she reminded the young students that with determination and intelligence, they can actively contribute to addressing the complications affecting our planet, emphasizing that each of them possesses the necessary skills, if encouraged. These problems can be solved by the new generations with innovative, ethical, and rewarding solutions, and Sgaravatti is fully confident in the young people and in a future that supports the Earth.

Nohaila El Aydani - Class 5A, Administration Finance and Marketing program